"Cafayate, For the Wine and Colorful... " a Cafayate Travel Page by Waxbag

Cafayate is a charming little town with about a dozen bodegas all within walking distance and is a great base to explore one of the most beautiful canyons in the country. Bodega Etchart and Bodega La Banda are good wineries to get a tour and to sample wine, but there are many other good ones around that do tours. Cafayate is known for its white wines that are grown from a Spanish grape. However, I think merlots are much better.

The Quebrada de Cafayate is the name of the stunning canyon. The years of rain erosion have exposed many layers of sedimentary strata in the quebrada, making it technicolored landscape. The wind has also made its mark here and many interesting structure stand like in a Dr. Sues book. The locals have names for all these formations like El Sapo (the toad), El Obelisco (the obelisk), and Los Castillos (the castles) to name a few. There is also a Garganta del Diablo (they love this name) here, which is an interesting canyon. The town is about 150 kms south of Salta and about a 4 hour bus ride. There is plenty of accommodation here, some good markets, and excellent restaurants.

The Garganta del Diablo is a good place to begin your exploration of the Quebrada. You can hire a bike in Cafayate and take the bus towards Salta, getting off here at the Garganta. It's all down hill to Cafayate and you can explore other intresting rock formations.

Having a guided tour is another way to go. These guys now exactly where to take you as it is not always clear where the best formation may be hiding off the road. It is not expensive, especially if you have a group to go with.