Cactusland

Day 2: Tafi to Cafayate

When you start the day feeding lamas instead of rushing to the metro, it finally makes the click: holiday time! The newborn lama-feeder discovered his new circus talent and charmed lama chicks who fought for his attention - and tree leaves, obviously.

Tafi is gorgeous. Traditionally covered by fog and clouds in the afternoon, it clears up 100% in the morning. Estancia Los Cuartos is highly recommendable. A traditional feel, home cheese and lama joy.

Tafi lake with the El Mollar village behind. Good potential for fishing, kayaking and hiking. But time runs short, the route ahead is long: Amaicha, Quilmes, Cafayate.

Rumours have it that the weather in Amaicha is so nice that the hotel managers give you back your money if you stumble across a cloudy day. But hey, we prefer sun to money. 

A dwarf and her cactus.

Quilmes ruins, one of the best preserved pre-Incan indigenous sites, where some 5000 people lived and withstood the Inca invasion from AD 1480 onward. They long resisted the Spaniards, too - all till 1667 when they deported them to Buenos Aires. The best known Argentine beer bears their name: Quilmes!

The afternoon in spectacular Quebrada of Cafayate, a wild landscape of ocre coloured rock formations, from the devil's throat to a frog. The best time to appreciate it is in the afternoon when the sun is low and throws its rays directly onto the vivid colours. Beware the clouds though.

Two tips for Cafayate: Killa for a good bed and El Terruno for a good steak (thanks, Mag & Ben!).