Quebrada de Humahuaca

June 12, 2022

Quebrada de Humahuaca

Town of Humahuaca

A one-night stay in the freezing border town of La Quiaca was all we needed in order to realize how useless our debit cards would be in Argentina. Not a single ATM would take either of our cards, and, to our dismay, the usually numerous “casas de cambio” (currency exchange places) were practically nonexistent on the Argentinian side of the border. Solely through the advice of a helpful lady at the bakery were we able to find a place to exchange our remaining Bolivianos as well as some reserve US dollars: the pharmacy by the corner.

Argentine pesos

We were quite relieved in the morning when we were able to pay for our hostel and breakfast (we had skipped a warm dinner the night before). On our way out of town (after obtaining new SIM cards), we happened to stumble upon Mauri and Mica, two Argentinian travelers who had been touring the Americas on a massive road trip for the past four years! They were also on their way to Buenos Aires and, by chance, passing through at the same time as us. We spent a whole while exchanging stories, and they had us translate the name of their instagram (@viajando.para.vivir) into German :)

Group photo! If you look closely, you can glimpse their car on the right. It’s coated in stickers and has an impromptu water storage system on the roof.

Leaving La Quiaca

Then we were out of there. Seventy-three kilometers down the road, we settled for the night in a simple hostel in Abra Pampa.

Abra Pampa, a village in the middle of nowhere where restaurants are closed when you’re hungry

The next day we entered the gorgeously colorful Quebrada de Humahuaca valley. After a quick lunch break in Tres Cruces, we zipped along the lengthy but rapid valley descent, a treat we had gained by commencing our biking trip at a high altitude (around 4000 meters high!).

Tres Cruces

After several hours we made it to the endearing town of Humahuaca, after which the valley is named. Humahuaca’s miniature size and its hidden location in northwestern Argentina do nothing to betray its function as a veritable center of artisan crafts. All around the central plaza we discovered local vendors selling colorful textile products and pottery. Naturally, Karsten couldn’t help but buy several table cloths.

Local vendors all around the center of town

Pottery

Various cloths

Quesadilla

For the night we stayed at the brilliantly decorated Amalaya hostel, which offered wifi and breakfast and doubled as a cute café.

Façade of the Amalaya Hostel

Key to our room :)

A cookie and a “submarino” (a piece of molten chocolate in hot milk)

We were sad to leave this gorgeous place the next morning; however, we wanted to conquer the rest of the Quebrada de Humahuaca in one day—nearly 130 kilometers!

Stopping for lunch in the busy town of Tilcara

And conquer we did! Shattering previous records, we biked into San Salvador de Jujuy, the region’s capital, just as night fell. In spite of the city’s size, we would only spend a quick night here, however, for we had our eyes on the next prize: the city of Salta, 90 kilometers south of here.