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Antofagasta de la Sierra: Argentina
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Antofagasta de la Sierra
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Only 600 kilometers away from Catamarca, you can find Antofagasta de la Sierra, the largest but least populated place in the province of Catamarca, in northern Argentina. There are barely 500 people living there, who have placed their houses in between unexplorated roads and beautiful sceneries.
Antofagasta is surrounded by natural walls or stone, almost like a fortress in the middle of the valley, a natural fortification that grew to protect its inhabitants from any kind of attack. The walls, some over the hundred meters of altitude, protect the city from harsh climate and the wind.
The mountain area also has a varied presence of geographic accidents, amongst which you can visit the Sierra de Calalastre and Atofalla, Los Colorados, Aguas Calientes and Sierra de Buenaventura, where you can see desertic soil, volcanoes and salt mines.
- Attractions
Geographic formations are the best destinations to visit in Antofagasta de la Sierra, which turn this area into one of the most singular place in all of Argentina. Eight kilometers away from the main city, you can find volcanoes (Antofagasta and Alumbrera), some of which are over 300 thousand years old. You can get to their top in about thirty minutes, from where you can see a marvelous panoramic of the valley and the mountains below. On the way, you can see the Antofagasta lagoon, natural habitat of a flamingo colony, a special kind in Argentina.
All over the area you can see rocky formtions, some of which have been transformed by the wind, such as the so-called Torreon. You can also see ancient paintings done on the surface of caves and petrogliphs on the roads, artistic interpretations of the area?s fauna and aborigenes, who were able to leave a sample of their fear and stories into the rocks.
Finally, you can visit the largest salt mine in the continent (157 Kms2). The Antofalla Salt mine, next to the volcanoe of the same name, and the Hombre Muerto (Dead Man) salt mine, next to an old gold mine, are th perfect way to end the journey down the area.
- Activities
- Walks, trekking, mountain climbing, observation of flora and fauna, photography, historic tourism, archeological tourism, 4x4, mountain bike, fly fishing.
- Location
- Northern Argentina, in the Catamarca province, 600 kilometers from the capital of the province.
- How to get there
By land, you take the RN9, then the RN60 and, finally, the RP33, which takes you to Catamarca.
Buses leave daily to Catamarca from Buenos Aires, and other main cities. From there you can travel by air to Catamarca, too.
- When to go
- All year.
- Climate
- Dry and arid. Maximum temperature is 33C in summer and 21C in winter. Snow in altitude and low pressure in all the area (puna).
- Services
- Primary services in Santa María.
- Surroundings
- Catamarca, Santa María, Valle Calchaquíes, Tinogasta, Salta, San Fernando del Valle, Antofagasta, Antofalla, Aguas Calientes, Los Colorados, Sierra Buenaventura, Sierra de Calalastre, Sierra de Antofalla.
