We decided to go to Jujuy, the northern-most province in Argentina, partly to get out of the cold in Mendoza, but also because there is now a non-stop flight (1 and a half hours) on Tuesdays between Mendoza and Jujuy. Everything was on time, and renting the 4×4 we reserved was a breeze. The Jujuy airport is only two years old and lovely—small, clean, and very efficient.
We left the airport in the capital, San Salvador de Jujuy, around 1:45 pm, heading up in altitude. At first, it reminded me of Vermont a little bit because of the rolling, very green hills, until I realized there were no evergreens, only jungle-like vegetation. In this part of Jujuy, we were north of Salta on the eastern edge of the province, much of which is jungle. The climb was steep and we noticed the change in altitude quickly. The terrain changed from green to massive green/brown mountains, but still appeared as rolling hills with beautiful coloring from pinks to yellow to greys. After an hour or so we began seeing the enormous castle-like, sphere-shaped, spiky mountainous structures formed by wind and water erosion that we’ve seen in Salta before, but these were brown rock instead of white.
Continuing to climb in altitude on a winding, mostly two-lane highway, there was virtually no traffic. We passed through the mountain town of Tilcara with about 14 minutes more to our hotel (Huacalera Hotel), a large, sprawling structure along the highway in a small village in between the larger communities of Tilcara and Huamahuaca. We found the room well appointed, and the restaurant featured great local cuisine.
We met a lovely couple from Rosario, Argentina who told us about the area in some detail, as they frequently come to hike. They told us the indigenous populations were quite “closed,” and protective of their lands, against excessive tourism, etc. Quite similar to the story of indigenous peoples in North America – a common conflict in terms of way of life, beliefs, etc.
Link to Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/2HTk74cZY1ZEwnKU7
Am loving the blog.
Do you pronounce it hoo-hoo-ee or hoo-hwee ?