The Calchaquí Valley ( es, Valles Calchaquíes) is an area in the northwestern region of

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

which crosses the

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

of Catamarca, Tucumán,

Jujuy San Salvador de Jujuy (), commonly known as Jujuy and locally often referred to as San Salvador, is the capital and largest city of Jujuy Province in northwest Argentina. Also, it is the seat of the Doctor Manuel Belgrano Department. It lies near ...

and

Salta Salta () is the capital and largest city in the Argentine province of the same name. With a population of 618,375 according to the 2010 census, it is also the 7th most-populous city in Argentina. The city serves as the cultural and economic ce ...

. It is best known for its contrast of colors and its unique geography that ranges from the mountain desert to the subtropical forest.

Geography

The Calchaquí Valley is a graben valley, oriented north–south, between the Sierra del Aconquija and Cumbres Calchaquíes (4177 m) ranges to the east and the Sierra de Quilmes (5468 m) to the west. These ranges are part of the

Sierras Pampeanas The Sierras Pampeanas (also called Central Sierras or Pampas Sierras) (English: Pampas Mountains) is a geographical region of Argentina. The Sierras Pampeanas are a chain of mountains that rise sharply from the surrounding pampa region of ...

, a series of mountain ranges which extend north and south through Northwestern Argentina, east of the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

. There are a number of valleys and rivers within the Calchaquí Valley that have their own name, such as the ''Quebrada del Toro'' (Gorge of the Bull), ''Valle de Lerma'' (Lerma Valley) near

city, the Quebrada de Escoipe formed by the Escoipe River, the ''Valle Encantado'' at the feet of the Cuesta del Obispo, the ''Quebrada de las Conchas'' of the

Conchas River Conchas is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 milli ...

near

Cafayate Cafayate () is a town located at the central zone of the Valles Calchaquíes in the province of Salta, Argentina. It sits above mean sea level, at a distance of from Salta City and from Buenos Aires. It has about 12,000 inhabitants (). The t ...

, the valley of the , and the Calchaquí River itself. The headwaters of the Santa María River are in the Sierra de Quilmes, where it is named Colorado River. It joins the Calchaquí River to form the Conchas, which is a tributary of the Salado.

Ecology

Most of the Calchaquí Valley is part of the

High Monte The High Monte is a montane grasslands and shrublands ecoregion in Argentina. Geography The High Monte is located on the eastern slopes of the Andes, extending from the vicinity of Salta (24º S) south to Mendoza (32º S). It is a landscape of m ...

ecoregion, a semi-arid

montane shrubland Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

which lies between the eastern Sierras Pampeanas and the Andes. The eastward-facing slopes of the surrounding mountains intercept moisture-bearing winds from the east, which support the

Southern Andean Yungas The Southern Andean Yungas is a tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion in the Yungas of southwestern Bolivia and northwestern Argentina. Geography The ecoregion occurs along the eastern slope of the Andes from southern Bolivia ...

humid forests. The

Central Andean puna The Central Andean puna is a montane grasslands and shrublands ecoregion in the Andes of southern Peru, Bolivia, and northern Argentina. Setting The landscape in this ecoregion consists of high mountains with permanent snow and ice, meadows, lak ...

subalpine and alpine grasslands cover the highest portions of the surrounding ranges.

History

Humans have inhabited the valleys for at least 8000 years. The Santamariano culture thrived in the valleys from approximately 1000 and 1480 AD. The period saw a growth in population and irrigated agriculture, with towns and villages on the main valley floor and along the western tributary streams. The

Ruins of Quilmes The Ruins of Quilmes is an archaeological site in the Calchaquí Valleys, Tucumán Province, Argentina. The site was the largest pre-Columbian settlement in the country, occupying about 30 hectares. The area dates back to ca 850 AD and was inhabi ...

in Tucumán Province may have housed about 5000 people at the settlement's peak. The valleys were conquered by the

Inca Empire The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, ( Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The adm ...

between 1470 and 1480. The valleys were part of the empire's southeastern

Qullasuyu Qullasuyu (Quechua and Aymara spelling, ; Hispanicized spellings: ''Collasuyu, Kholla Suyu'') was the southeastern provincial region of the Inca Empire. Qullasuyu is the region of the Qulla and related specifically to the native Qulla Quechuas w ...

province. The Inca extended their road network through the region, and built fortresses and mountaintop shrines. Food crops grown in the valleys included maize, ''

Chenopodium ''Chenopodium'' is a genus of numerous species of perennial or annual herbaceous flowering plants known as the goosefoots, which occur almost anywhere in the world. It is placed in the family Amaranthaceae in the APG II system; older classific ...

'', tubers, beans, and

Chili pepper Chili peppers (also chile, chile pepper, chilli pepper, or chilli), from Nahuatl '' chīlli'' (), are varieties of the berry-fruit of plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for ...

s (''Capsicum''). Manufacturing activities in the valley included copper and gold metallurgy, marine shell, mica, obsidian, stone beads, and ceramics. The Spanish conquered the Inca Empire in the 1530s, and by 1543 Inca control of the valleys had collapsed. The people of the region resisted

Spanish conquest The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its predece ...

until 1650. Tribes of the area included the

Calchaquí The Calchaquí or Kalchakí were a tribe of South American Indians of the Diaguita group, now extinct, who formerly occupied northern Argentina. Stone and other remains prove them to have reached a high degree of civilization. Under the leadership ...

es, Tafí, and the Yokavil (Santa María).

Attractions

Among the most visited tourist attractions of the valley are Tafí del Valle,

, Molinos, San Carlos, Santa María and Cachi at the western end of the valley, as well as the Los Cardones National Park, and the Los Sosa Provincial Park in Tucumán. In several parts of the valley there are numerous vineyards, specially in the Cafayate area.

Quebrada de Cafayate Managed Nature Reserve

Quebrada de Cafayate, also known as Quebrada de las Conchas, is a steep-sided canyon where the

exits northwestwards through the mountains that form the eastern side of the valley. It is located near the town of Cafayate in Salta Province, and includes of the departments of La Viña, Guachipas and Cafayate. In 1995 the canyon was declared a managed nature reserve by decree No. 6806, with an area of 25,784 ha.UNEP-WCMC (2022). Protected Area Profile for Quebrada de Cafayate from the World Database of Protected Areas. Accessed 25 April 2022

/ref> Located 90 km southwest of the city of Salta. This ravine is an area of great scenic beauty with very striking rock formations for their reddish colorations. The reserve protects the curious geological formations and high walls of unique landscape value, as well as an important paleontological site belonging to the period Cretaceous. The ravine is geologically relatively recent, produced by tectonic movements that took place in the last two million years. National Route 68, which connects the town of Cafayate with the city of Salta, runs through the reserve along the Conchas River. Along its route one can see landscapes of very varied colors and geoforms of great variety among which are the Garganta del Diablo and the amphitheater of reddish sedimentary rocks. In the past (when the past was humid) these formations were cascades of fresh water and that by the flow of concentrated water they were eroding the stone, which today astonish by its special configuration. Other geoforms that can be observed at the edge of the route are. The Amphitheater, The Friar, The Toad, Windows, Castles, etc. and about 7 km from Cafayate Los Médanos, deposit of fine calcareous aeolian sands. Due to its rich archeological and historical past, the reserve has numerous fossil remains. In the area near the Morales bridge, fossil frogs of the group of pípidos are found. There are layers of marine and continental limestones very rich in fossils and even in dinosaur footprints. Also, the so-called stromatolites are presented. In the Yesera, there is an important fossil fish deposit, evidence of a process that would have occurred some 15 million years ago: the last entry of the sea to the continent. In recent archaeological investigations it was discovered that a few meters away from the current route 68 the Inca road ran, adding archaeological relevance to the site. The creek and its surroundings one of the important areas for the conservation of birds in Argentina.

Gallery

File:Quebrada de las Flechas - Argentina.jpg, Quebrada de las Flechas File:Tour to the Quebrada de las Conchas.jpg, Quebrada de las conchas File:Vineyards near mountains.jpg, Vineyards in

File:Garganta del Diablo.jpg, Garganta del Diablo File:Cachi overview.jpg, Cachi overview