Experience the best of Cachi

Cachi lies in Salta province, about 84 km south-west of Salta city as the crow flies, at roughly 2,300 metres in the Calchaquí Valleys. Whitewashed adobe houses surround the main square, and the church of San José has a roof and confessionals made from the wood of the cardón cactus. A small archaeological museum holds pottery and tools made by the valley's pre-Hispanic peoples.

The snow-capped Nevado de Cachi, above 6,000 metres, fills the western skyline. On the road towards Salta, Los Cardones National Park spreads tall candelabra-shaped cacti across a high plain, and the Recta del Tin Tin runs ruler-straight through it. South of Cachi the valley road continues past Molinos and Angastaco to Cafayate, the centre of the region's high-altitude wine.

Food here is hearty mountain cooking: baked empanadas, locro, a thick stew of maize, beans and meat, and goat. Days are sunny and dry for most of the year, but nights get cold, especially from June to August. Most of the little rain falls between December and March, so the clear months from April to November suit walking and driving the high valley roads.