Cafayate () is a town located at the central zone of the Valles Calchaquíes in the

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

Salta Salta () is the capital and largest city in the Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Salta Province, the same name. With a population of 618,375 according to the 2010 census, it is also the List of cities in Argentina, 7th most-populous ...

, Argentina. It sits

above mean sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...

, at a distance of from Salta City and from

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

. It has about 12,000 inhabitants (). The town is an important tourist centre for exploring the Calchaquíes valleys, and because of the quality and originality of the wines produced in the area. The town was founded in 1840 by Manuel Fernando de Aramburu, at the site of a mission. In 1863 the Cafayate Department was created, of which Cafayate is the capital.

Etymology

The Cafayates were a tribe of the

Diaguita The Diaguita people are a group of South American Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous people native to the Chilean Norte Chico, Chile, Norte Chico and the Argentine Northwest. Western or Chilean Diaguitas lived mainly in the Transvers ...

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

group, which, together with the related Tolombón, inhabited the Valles Calchaquíes prior to the arrival of the Spanish Conquistadores. Their language was known as Cacán. Like other Diaguita tribes, they had recently fallen under the influence of the

Incas The Inca Empire, officially known as the Realm of the Four Parts (, ), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political, and military center of the empire was in the city of Cusco. The Inca civilisation rose fr ...

, after a prolonged resistance. They later mounted a fierce resistance to the Spaniards. Even though most agree that the root of ''Cafayate'' is Quechua, the meaning of the term is disputed. Some claim it to mean "Box of Water", others to be a deformation of ''Capac-Yac'' ("Great Lake") or '' Capac-Yaco'' ("Great Chief" or "Wealthy People"). Another Cacán version understands it as "Grave of Sorrows".

Wines

The wine production is most important in the Valles Calchaquíes. The wines produced in the region benefit from the low-humidity mild weather of the valleys that receive an average of less than 250 mm of precipitation per year. The most characteristic type of wine cultivated in the area is

torrontés Torrontés is a white grape variety, mostly produced and known in Argentine wine, Argentina, producing fresh, aromatic (wine), aromatic wines with moderate acidity (wine), acidity, smooth texture and mouthfeel as well as distinctive peach and apr ...

. Most wine-cellars around the town host free guided tours. File:Vineyards near mountains.jpg, View of a vineyard bordering on a mountain File:Cafayatemountains.jpg, Just 3 blocks from town File:ViñedoCafayate.jpg, A winery set between vineyards and mountains File:Cafayate vineyard.jpg, A view across the valley with vineyard in the foreground File:Argentine vineyard and mountains..jpg, Vineyard and mountains File:Bodega Michel Torino - Outside Cafayate - Argentina 02.jpg, View over winery rooftops

Valles Calchaquíes

Many of the most impressive sights in the Valley of the Río las Conchas (Quebrada de Cafayate) are along the paved, 183-kilometres-long National Route 68 that goes from

to Cafayate. National Route 40 goes for 165 kilometres from Cafayate to Cachi, another of the most visited points in the area (please note that this stretch of RN40 is not paved and should be avoided during the raining season). Other points of interest from Cafayate include Molinos, Tolombón and San Isidro ranch. The town of Cafayate is an attraction by itself, with its laid-back rhythm, colonial style, and wine cellars open to the public. File:Cafayate Amphitheatre.JPG, The natural Amphitheatre File:Tour to the Quebrada de las Conchas.jpg, People on a Tour File:Desert River, Salta, Argentina.jpg, Desert river File:Las Juntas-Cafayate.jpg, Las Juntas - Cafayate File:Llama closeup.jpg, Llama

References

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Etymology

Wines

Valles Calchaquíes

References

External links