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"F.........
Awesome!!! The best part of MTB Tours is not the beautiful incrediblely
awesome
landscape, nor the taste of Argentine culture (outside of Bs As) as with
the Valles
Calchaquies tour or the lack of culture and civilization as with the Andes
Challenge, nor the
great hospitality that Mariano provides, but depending on the size of
the group, at the end
of the ride you just made fifteen real good friends"
John Ahearne, San Francisco, USA
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Location:
Salta and Tucumán provinces in the Argentinean northeast
region near the Andes Mountains and Bolivia, 1600 km from
Buenos Aires.
The Province of Salta is situated in the northwest of Argentina.
It is one of the biggest provinces in the country, with a
surface of 154.775 square kilometers and it is the sixth one
in size. It is surrounded by three countries: Chile, Bolivia
and Paraguay and six Argentinean provinces: Jujuy, Formosa,
Chaco, Santiago del Estero, Tucumán and Catamarca.
Duration:
13 days.
Activities:
Day 1:
Arrive in Salta City, visit to the city accompanied by
our staff and by a local guide. We´ll learn about the
history and the importance of Salta during the independence
process of Argentina from Spain. Walk up to "Cerro San
Bernardo" -instead of using the Cable car- from where
we´ll have a panoramic view of the whole city that will
enable us to have a geographical idea of the city. Down in
the city, we'll visit "General Güemes" monument,
"San Bernardo Convent", "San Francisco Church",
the main square, "Cabildo"(1582) and the Cathedral
(1870) that represents the Hispanic architecture. We will
also stop by the fruits and veggies market to finally try
the local and typical "Empanadas" for lunch.
Day 2:
We begin the journey with one of the trip's highlights!
We leave in the Minibus over Road 68, then cross the town
of El Carril and follow Road 33 to start climbing the "Quebrada
de Escoipe", following a river that flows down from the
mountains. It is a beautiful place surrounded by green vegetation
and tremendous mountains. Then we keep on climbing the famous
"Cuesta del Obispo" (bishop slope) an amazing and
untiring climb until finally we reach the "Piedra del
Molino" at 3348 meters above sea level after two hours
on the van. After taking in the amazing views, we set up the
bikes and prepare to descend one of the most beautiful and
lonely dirt roads you'll ever experience, "El Camino
de Los Colorados" (The Red's path). Its name comes from
the strange ways the red rock took shape after years of erosion.
Finally, we arrive at Cachi almost at night.
50km of dirt roads.
Day 3:
Early in the morning we awake in "Cachi", a pre-colonial
town that Chicoanas Indians once lived before the Spanish
arrived. It has a beautiful old 18th century church, many
old buildings and a beautiful little square in front of an
archeological museum. After we tour the town, we then ride
slowly uphill to see "El Nevado de Cachi", an incredible
snow capped mountain that reaches 6200 meters into the sky
only 759 meters less than Aconcagua, the tallest peak of the
Andes. At "Las Pailas" is where we will find the
best view of "El Nevado de Cachi" and the morteros
and pircas that the Indian civilization left behind. After
that we descend down hill once again until we are back at
"Cachi". Then we cycle 27 kilometers on Road 40
to "Seclantás" where we come to rest at some
nice cabins for the night.
58km of dirt roads.
Day 4:
After breakfast we head towards one of the most unexpected
places of the trip. We end up in the middle of red, dry mountains,
a lonely place covered by cardones called "Brealito Lagoon".
Here we arrive for lunch. This scenic and rocky path has many
challenges. This is where you can exercise your technical
cycling skills on some of the most difficult climbs and incredible
downhills of this tour. In the afternoon we'll ride another
lonely, only used by locals, narrow and beautiful dirt track
to arrive in "Molinos". During the last three kilometers
we will find lot of loose sand, so we will probably need to
walk and carry the mtb.
Elevation gain: 800mts uphill- 800mts downhill.
45km of dirt roads.
Day 5:
We pedal from "Molinos", an old 17th century town,
where we set our bikes up to ride the mythical Road 40 following
the Calchaquí River towards "Angastaco".
Rolling over the Calchaquí Valley we will have the
chance to see the colors of the local architecture and culture.
Here we get the opportunity to experience other ways of life,
lonely and silent totally unlike the city.
44km of dirt roads.
Day 6:
From "Angastaco" we will begin cycling on one of
the most strangely beautiful and amazing roads on earth, the
Arrows Road. It is an incredible place that is so much like
the moon that will take you another planet. At the end of
this ride, we load our bikes on the trailer in San Carlos
to arrive a little later in "Cafayate", a place
famous for its world-renowned wine cellars.
53 km of dirt roads
Day 7:
"Cafayate" rises along the bank of a river and inside
a belt of vineyards. In the morning we´ll visit one
of them, famous for its good quality exportation wines and
also for its "homemade" Mistela and Patero wines.
From "Cafayate" we'll take the Minibus to the Castles
for inside trip to another and discover a place that is very
similar to Utah and Colorado with gorgeous canyons and red
rocks with marvelous cuts carved out by weather - rain, wind,
thunderstorms and snow. The most beautiful site will be the
glowing sunset as it drifts across the red mountains. An incredible
ride on paved road! From "Quebrada de las Conchas"
(The Shells Ravine) we load the bikes and we head towards
Coronel Moldes to rest at our Inns.
50 km of pavement.
Day 8:
We´ll go rafting in the morning at the Juramento River,
were we´ll have a lot of fun by watching the landscapes
from a boat and relaxing from our bikes. We´ll lunch
by the river and after that we´ll go back to Salta Capital
where we´ll enjoy some free time for visiting.
Day 9:
We start early for what should be an unforgettable day: Early
in the morning we´ll be ready at the Train Station of
Salta to take the famous "Train to the Clouds" ,
one of the three highest railroads in the world, that only
runs on Saturdays. It´s a magnificent piece of engineering
in the middle of a spectacular landscape that offer to the
visitors an incomparable experience. The train seems to be
hanging from the mountains while crossing bridges or going
through tunnels and it runs across the Andes. Arrive in San
Antonio de los Cobres, at 3775 meters above sea level where
our van will be expecting us. During the afternoon we ´ll
enjoy some free time for relaxing and rest. (If for any reason
the train service is not available, we'll drive by the railway).
Day 10:
After breakfast we catch the minivan and head towards
one of the most unexpected places of the trip. We end up in
the middle of white, dry and huge "Salinas grandes"
(Salt mines), in Jujuy Province (two hours drive).
After going over 100km in the lonely "Puna" where
it's possible to watch "vicuñas and llamas"
the South American typical mammals, we'll arrive in the salt
mines and receive an explanation about the process of the
extraction of the salt.
Then a short drive to catch the "Cuesta de Lipán"
an amazing uphill to 4.200 m.o.s.l. and there in the top f
the hill we'll enjoy a great paved downhill up to "Purmamarca"
a small and typical pre-Columbian representative of the South
American Indian culture town.
We do recommend the church visiting, the square full of colorful
handy-crafts and an early picture of the "Seven colors
hill".
Elevation gain: 2000mts downhill.
35km of paved roads
Day 11:
From "Purmamarca" we drive to "Yala",
following the river and "Quebrada de Humahuaca"
going down from the puna to the "Yungas" (subtropical
forest).
In "Yala" we head west, and once we arrive to "Los
Nogales", a local tourism villa, we set the bikes up
to start a challenging uphill inside the park "Laguna
de Yala", following a dirt muddy and green track, that
contrasts to what we've seen before.
Alter the hard ride from 1600 to 2100 m.o.s.l. we'll enjoy
a fast downhill and again a new uphill to arrive to a great
landscape viewpoint. Some few more kilometers and we'll arrive
to our lodging where we'll find hot spring water to relax.
40km of dirt roads
Day 12:
From "Termas de Reyes" we´ll drive our
van to San Salvador de Jujuy, the main Capital of Jujuy Province,
following the Road 9 surrounded by the beautiful Puna landscape.
After crossing the city at "Dique La Ciénaga"
(La Ciénaga dock) we´ll set up the bikes for
our last ride of the tour: We´ll leave the Puna geography
to head south over the "cliff road" to Salta. Bikers
will be amazed by this contrasting, scenic, curved, humid
and very green road, due to the "green sights" of
the surrounding landscape. At "Dique Campo Alegre"
(Campo Alegre dock) we´ll load the bikes to arrive in
Salta City at "Hotel Salta". We´ll pack the
mountain bikes for the returning flight to Buenos Aires. Lodging
in Salta.
50 km of pavement.
Day 13:
Flight to Buenos Aires. Meals and lodging not included.
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Not Included:
Both Domestic flights Buenos Aires-Salta and Salta-Buenos
Aires
Dinners from days number 1, 4, 6 and 8 will be free and
not included
Day
13 Lodging and meals
The
price does not include personal expenditures (such as
snacks, drinks, mini-bar, telephone calls, laundries,
etc.) everything that is not indicated in the program.
Time of the year:
Our
trip will be run during the fall, and since we´ll
be close to the Ecuador line, temperature should be nice
at day time and cool at night time, specially in the valleys
above 2000 meters above sea level.
Clients should bring nice, comfortable clothes for the
day and some warm jackets or polar - sweater for the night.
A check list will be sent upon confirmation.
Difficulty Level:
Intermediate to Expert
Price:
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