Purmamarca

A dirt loop among the red rock peaks behind the village, roughly one hour's walk. It winds past wind-carved red pillars and cactus and returns to the village square. The altitude is high, so walk slowly and carry water.

Stalls ring the village square every day, selling llama wool weavings, ponchos and hats. The same goods repeat from stall to stall, so compare prices before buying. They set up in the late morning and pack away after sunset.

An adobe church built in 1648, with wood from the cardon cactus used for its ceiling and doors. An old algarrobo tree stands beside it, and villagers sit in its shade. Outside mass times the door is sometimes shut.

A mountain road zigzagging west from the village up to a 4170m pass, the route toward the salt flats. It climbs so fast that altitude sickness comes easily, and many chew coca leaves. Cars stop at the summit sign for photos.

Remains of a fortified hill town built by pre-Inca peoples beside Tilcara village to the north, some stone houses rebuilt. Columnar cactus covers the hillside, and a high-altitude botanical garden adjoins the entrance. The midday sun bites, so wear a hat.

The slopes behind Maimara village band into many colours and are called the painter's palette. On the hill below lies a cemetery crowded with colourful crosses and tombs, framed in the same photo. A pull-off on the highway is set aside for stopping.

The old town hall on Humahuaca's square, up the gorge. At noon daily a figure of Saint Francis Solano emerges from its clock tower to bless the crowd, which gathers for the moment. A long stairway climbs above the square to the Independence monument.

About an hour up a dirt mountain road from Humahuaca, a range appears with fourteen colours stacked in zigzag bands. The viewpoint stands above 4000m, so the wind is cold and breath short. The slopes face west, so the colours are sharpest in the afternoon sun.

The church of Uquia, a hamlet on the gorge highway, where Cuzco School paintings of angels holding arquebuses hang around the altar. Angels in Spanish military dress are rare even in the Andes. Opening hours are irregular, so ask someone in the village.

A narrow rock gorge reached on foot by a mountain path from Tilcara village, a small waterfall inside. The climb takes some ninety minutes, and the local community charges entry at the gate. After heavy summer rain the water rises, and nobody enters.

A colonial staging post on the highway between Maimara and Tilcara, where coaches between Lima and Buenos Aires changed horses. Its adobe rooms form a small museum of old tack and furniture. Armies also halted here during the independence wars.

A cliffside village reached from Humahuaca by about three hours of dirt road over a 4,000 m pass. Adobe houses and a yellow church cling to the steep slope. With just a handful of buses daily, most visitors stay a night.

A red-earth gorge behind the village of Uquia, its pillars carved by weather into human-like figures. Follow the dry streambed upstream for roughly an hour and red walls close in around you. Once rains swell the stream, the walk is off.

A white adobe church in a highway village a little south of the Purmamarca turn-off. Cusco School religious paintings survive inside, and an adobe wall rings the yard. Travellers pull over briefly on the gorge road, though on some days the door stays locked.