The main objective of this trip was to climb the six ultra peaks, and if there was time to spare, perhaps visit one of the other lower or easier peaks. Due to the subtleties of acclimatisation, weather conditions, and logistics, we chose Cumbres Calchaquies for our first climb. The plan and the order changed several…
Trip: 2022
Argentina food
I am by no means attempting to give a comprehensive overview of Argentinian gastronomy. That would require its own book. Our destination was the mountain tops, not the culinary heights. So in this short article, I have only stuck to what we found along the way, what we managed to taste in a few short…
Buenos Aires City High Point
We have breakfast, call a taxi to Ministro Pistarini International Airport (EZE), and indicate in the app that we want to go via Av. Francisco Beiró 4150, C1419. The taxi driver gives us the all-clear sign, and we go. The address was actually further away than I thought, but we have plenty of time; we…
Tucuman to Buenos Aires
The plane lands at Aeroparque Jorge Newbery (AEP), a few kilometres from downtown. The size of the city and the illuminated streets will leave few indifferent. And the clarity of the picture and lights only confirms the origin of the city’s name. We land and very quickly collect our luggage. At the entrance, with my…
Cerro Taficillo
This is the last major hill on this trip and likely the last for the year, though you never know, there might be one along the way. At the hotel, we agree to check out in the late afternoon and head towards the trailhead. We start climbing, and a local farmer shouts that we are…
El Balconi
And again, it is forbidden… And again, an interesting top, next to the golf course. We leave the car and somehow magically get punched on the other side of the fence. A hundred metres across the meadow, and we are at the top. We get a good view of the surroundings, measure the height, and…
Cerro Nuñorco Grande
There are no easily accessible ultra peaks around, so we opt for a nicely shaped ribu rising from the Dique la Angostura lake. Franco says that Nuñorco means breast, so we will climb the breast, which has a thousand metres of prominence. The weather is beautiful in the morning. We choose one of several trails…
Cerro el Pelao
There was heavy rain in the morning, but we are not afraid of rain, unfortunately the weather forecast for the rest of the day is even worse. The day starts late, and we are in no hurry, so we drive towards Dique la Angustura lake. On the way, we have to wait for a few…
Cerro Castillejos
After we drive ten or fifteen kilometres along a private road, we stop at a farm, Franco talks to the owner’s brother, and we pitch our tents in the yard. The most spectacular sight of the evening is the huge insects flying around and glowing bright green. The light is so strong that you can…
Cerros de Pereyra
For the second time, we head towards Cerros de Pereyra. The first time we came to a gravel road, due to a very heavy downpour, we turned around. Maybe we would have reached the village of El Fuerte, but we probably would not have reached the trailhead. This time the weather was good. We believe…
Cerro Bolsón de los Cerillos
Very prominent peak, one of the world’s top 100 by prominence. No other reason was needed to climb it. We are little acclimated from the previous two mountains – Cumbres Calchaquies and Cerro Malcante; and only need a good weather window. And here we go: Sunday morning should be fine for summit. Franco arranged mules,…
Ruins of Quilmes
After Cerro Malcante, we head towards Cerros de Pereyra. However, not far from Cerros de Pereyra, we stop, turn around, and go back. In heavy rain, the chances of us coming up the river bed to the trail are slim. Our plans changed due to rain, and we rolled south towards Cerro Bolsón de los…
Museum of the Vine and Wine of Cafayate
It would be hard to miss the Wine Museum when walking around Cafayate. Modern, inexpensive, and interesting. We saw the exhibits and found out how the grapes that make such delicious wine are grown in Cafayate’s land and climate. We learned about the history and tasted red wine at the end of the exhibition. In…
Cafayate
A cosy town at the foot of the mountains in Valles Calchaques. We even have to spend a couple of nights there. The first time was on the way from Cumbres Calchaquies to Cerro Malcante, and the second time was on our way from Cerro Malcante to Cerro Bolsón de los Cerillos.. So I feel…
America Cultural Center
In the morning, we have a few hours, and we head to the Museum of High Altitude Archaeology. But it doesn’t open until 11 a.m.; it’s now 9 a.m., and we are not in the mood to wait. We go back, and on the way, we see an open door and, behind it, a magnificent…
Los Cardones National Park
We descend from Cerro Malcante and follow the national park road. Cactus lovers will be ecstatic; there are thousands of them here, in every conceivable size and shape. The park gets its name from Echinopsis terscheckii, also known as the Argentine saguaro or cardon grande cactus. Lovely. It’s worth coming and exploring the park vistas….
Cerro Malcante
The forbidden fruit is sweeter, and Cerro Malcante also intrigues us more than the other mountains. We arrive early in the morning, park the car on the side of the road, and a few minutes later we are climbing up the steep slope. So far, no one has stopped us, but a few hundred metres…
Cerro Altar
We stay in the tidy town of Cachi. It’s still late in the evening, and through the hotel window I can see a few small hills, also marked on the map as viewpoints. We go to visit them. Start by checking out the UFO landing strip. It’s a meticulous job; the white pebbles are arranged…
Cumbres Calchaquies
The first Cerro Pan de Azúca climb was great, but it didn’t help us acclimatise and get used to the higher altitude. Next, we chose the Cumbres Calchaquies, as the first night would be at 3000m, the second night at 4100m, and the summit at 4740m. Optimistically, we decided that this would be the right…
Calchaquí Valleys
The Calchaquí Valley stretches across several regions of Argentina, from the southern regions of Catamarca and Tucumán to the northern regions of Jujuy and Salta. We have driven this road several times; most of the photos were taken through the car window, but this is just the tip of the iceberg of what this valley…