Seclantás

Seclantás is a small adobe village on the Calchaquí river that has become the centre of poncho weaving in northern Argentina, and the road running past it is called the Camino de los Artesanos, the Artisans' Route, because weavers work in the front rooms and doorways of houses strung along it. The regional speciality is the poncho salteño, deep red with a black border, worn by gauchos across the north and made here on wooden pedal looms from sheep and llama wool, often dyed with plant and mineral colours. Buying means walking from house to house, watching the loom in motion and talking to the weaver, which is a very different transaction from a market stall. The village itself has a plain white eighteenth-century church and a plaza where almost nothing happens.

What you actually see

• The working looms - pedal looms in doorways and front rooms along the route.
• The poncho salteño - the red and black poncho the valley is known for.
• The Camino de los Artesanos - the road of weaving workshops beside the village.
• The village church - the plain eighteenth-century adobe church on the plaza.

When to go

April to November for the driest roads. Weekday mornings are when most weavers are at work; on Sundays and holidays many workshops are closed. Prices are set by the weavers and are fair rather than negotiable.

Honest expectations

There is little here beyond the weaving, and if you are not buying, the visit is short. Not every workshop is open on any given day. A genuine hand-woven poncho takes weeks of work and is priced accordingly, which surprises visitors expecting market prices.

Nearby

Cachi is north up the valley; Molinos lies a short drive south on the RN40.