Copina is a small hill village on the eastern flank of the Sierras de Córdoba, on the road that climbs from the lowlands toward the high plateau, and it is a place where the temperature starts to drop and the road starts to bend. The village lies in granite country, with huge rounded boulders scattered across the hillside and the soil thin and stony. It is a quiet place of a few houses, a chapel and a handful of small guesthouses, and the main attraction is the air, which is clear and cool compared with the plains.
The road, part of the Camino de las Altas Cumbres, is among the best-known mountain roads in Argentina. It climbs from the Punilla valley and Villa Carlos Paz through a series of turns, with long views back over the lowlands, then crosses into the high pampas of the Sierras Grandes. The surface is generally good, with decent tarmac and clear markings, but the road is narrow in places, with steep drops, and the traffic can be heavy at weekends with buses, trucks and holiday cars. Take it carefully, and be ready for sudden fog.
The Sierras de Córdoba are old mountains, much older than the Andes, made of granite and metamorphic rock that has been worn down over hundreds of millions of years. The hills are covered in low shrubs, tussock grass and, in sheltered places, small trees such as the espinillo and the molle. In the early morning, the air smells of wild herbs, and in spring the slopes are dotted with flowers. Birds are plentiful, and the high ground is a place to see the Andean condor soaring on the thermals.
The area has long been a retreat for people escaping the heat of Córdoba and Buenos Aires. Villa Carlos Paz, about twenty-six kilometres away, is a large lake resort with hotels, restaurants and casinos, and a good place to fill up and eat. Alta Gracia, a little farther, was the boyhood home of Ernesto Che Guevara, and the house where he lived is now a museum. The Jesuits built a colonial estancia here in the seventeenth century, and the buildings are a World Heritage Site.
Services in Copina itself are basic. There may be a small shop and a place for a drink, but fuel is not sold, so fill up in Villa Carlos Paz or Cuesta Blanca before climbing. Pack warm clothes, as the temperature drops as you go higher. A mate, the local herbal tea, passed around in a roadside stop, is a traditional way to warm up.