Cafayate
Cafayate is the heart — a relaxed adobe town built around a leafy plaza and ringed by wineries you can reach on foot or by bike. It holds the majority of Salta's vines and most of its visitor-ready bodegas, from large historic houses to tiny organic family projects.
The drive itself is half the reason to come. The Quebrada de las Conchas, on the route between Salta city and Cafayate, is a parade of red sandstone amphitheatres and gorges; its most famous formation, the Garganta del Diablo (Devil's Throat), is a stop in its own right.
Deeper into the valley, along the legendary Ruta 40, the road climbs through Molinos and Cachi toward the most extreme vineyards of all. This is the home of Bodega Colomé, founded in 1831 — the oldest continuously working winery in Argentina. Its “Altura Máxima” vineyard, planted at 3,111 metres, is one of the highest in the world; the estate even keeps a museum devoted to the light artist James Turrell. Getting there is a long mountain journey — and that remoteness is exactly the point.
