Lauren –
Argentina has completely blown us away. I know we’ve said that before, but this was different. We toyed for a long time in Ecuador about where we would go for a road trip in South America. We had been set on Northern Patagonia in Chile for a while, but other travelers had warned about how expensive it could be at this time of year. Argentina was well known as a cheaper alternative, so we looked at Patagonia on the Argentinian side. But then I happened to stumble on a photo of far Northern Argentina, it’s rugged landscape dotted with cacti captivated me. Not many people visited this area and we were hooked. It felt like it would be a real adventure.
We set off early to our next destination – the high altitude wine region of Argentina. Our drive was going to be around 4 hours and it was meant to be breathtakingly beautiful. Meandering through magnificent rock formations, fields of native llamas and cacti breaking through to fragrant vineyards.
We stopped every 10 minutes on our drive because the views kept becoming more and more beautiful. I loved spotting the native llama and chasing them through the rugged fields to see their cute faces.
The last part of our drive was the famous ‘Tin Tin’ road, which is an ancient Inca route. It is completely flat and straight for miles. We couldn’t help stopping and taking in the eerie silence and dramatic distances.
Finally we arrived in Cachi, and oh my goodness was it amazing. We knew we had entered the high altitude wine region of Argentina because of the expansive vineyards dotted across the landscape. Cachi itself was a tiny town with a magical feel. We absolutely fell in love and spent our days there eating and drinking wine, wandering the photogenic streets and just being.
See it’s so photogenic! We stayed in the cutest little hostel and just loved every moment. We couldn’t believe how cheap and delicious the wine was, it was never more than $10 a bottle at a restaurant! On our last afternoon in Cachi we visited the famous Puna winery for a wine paired lunch. Neither of us were expecting too much, but i’ll just leave the photos below…
After two relaxing days we got back into the car to brave the stony Route 40 again to travel the 4 hours to Cafayate – the jewel of the Northern Argentinian Wine region. The drive was once again breathtaking, but this time we made less stops, because, well you know – wine time called.
Our plan for Cafayate was simple – stay in and taste from as many amazing vineyards as possible. There were something like twenty wineries within a small radius of Cafayate and we were up to the challenge.
Over the course of three days, David and I sampled over 50 wines (sometimes consuming the entire bottle!) at 8 different vineyards. We became very good at that fancy wine glass swivel that makes you look quite snobby.
Each morning we would wake up in time for our first vineyard tour (at around 10am! Don’t judge!) where we would sample the local grape variety of Torrontes and Malbec. We liked the included winery tour around the vineyard and harvesting processes – it really gave an insight into this little working town that supplied a lot of the world with specialty high altitude wine.
One of our favourite vineyards was the Piattelli Estate where we bought a few bottles (not really considering how we would fit them into our already bulging cases). As it was drawing to the end of our trip we had decided that these few days in Cafayate would be a bit of a splurge and a treat. And what a treat it was!
We were fortunate enough to stay in the most beautiful winery estates while we were in Cafayate (and for a fraction of the price you would pay elsewhere!). It was truly a magical few days.
But we definitely saved the best until last – the famous Patios de Cafayate. It was a historic hotel attached to the renowned El Esteco winery. Staying there made you feel like you were in a classic movie. Again, i’ll just leave the photos as I don’t need to say anymore!
Our last drive back to Salta was bittersweet. We were looking forward to visiting Buenos Aires, but sad to be leaving what has been one of the best experiences of our trip so far. For those who have never been to Argentina and want to know where to go, North North North! You won’t regret it.
Far Away From Home 