Cachi

Cachi is a village of low white houses and cobbled streets at around 2,280 metres in the Calchaquí Valleys, sitting beneath the great bulk of the Nevado de Cachi, whose snow-streaked ridge rises above 6,000 metres to the west. Its plaza is shaded and unhurried, faced by the church of San José, a colonial building whose roof beams, doors and confessional are made of cardon cactus wood, the only timber the dry valley offers. A small archaeological museum sets out the long pre-Hispanic history of the valley, and behind the village a hilltop cemetery gives a view over the patchwork of irrigated fields, pepper drying grounds and poplar rows against bare mountain. The air is thin and dry, the light hard and clean, and very little happens, which is precisely the appeal.

What you actually see

• The church of San José - colonial adobe with cardon cactus wood roof and fittings.
• The white plaza - the shaded square at the centre of the village.
• The archaeological museum - the valley's pre-Hispanic history in a small collection.
• The Nevado de Cachi - the snow-streaked 6,000 metre ridge above the village.

When to go

April to November for clear skies and safe roads; the summer rains can wash out sections of the approach. Cachi is cold at night year-round. The village is quiet on weekdays and busier when tour groups arrive from Salta for the day.

Honest expectations

There is genuinely little to do beyond walking, eating and looking at mountains, and visitors who need activity will be bored. The drive in is long and includes the Cuesta del Obispo, which is not for nervous drivers. Services are limited and some places close for a long lunch.

Nearby

Los Cardones National Park lies on the road in; Seclantás and Molinos are south down the valley.