Purmamarca is the place, even though the label names nearby Tumbaya: a small adobe village at the foot of the Cerro de los Siete Colores, the Hill of Seven Colours, where layers of red, purple, green, yellow and white rock are folded into a mountain like a painted cake. It sits at the mouth of a side valley off the Quebrada de Humahuaca in the far north-west of Argentina, about 2,300 metres up, and it is where the road to the Paso de Jama and Chile begins its long climb into the Altiplano.
The Quebrada de Humahuaca is a long, dry valley that runs north towards Bolivia, and it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its landscape and its history. For thousands of years it was a trade route between the Andes and the lowlands, and the Inca road passed through it. Villages like Tilcara, with its reconstructed pre-Inca fortress, the Pucará, and Maimará, with its colourful hillside called the Painter's Palette and its cemetery on a hill, line the valley. The people here are largely of indigenous descent, and their markets, festivals and music are rich and lively, especially during Carnival.
From Purmamarca, Route 52 climbs the Cuesta de Lipán, a series of hairpins that rise to over four thousand metres, with spectacular views back down the valley. At the top, the road descends to the Salinas Grandes, a huge white salt flat where workers cut blocks of salt from the crust, and then continues across the high plateau towards Susques and the Chilean border at Jama. The road is paved and generally good, but the altitude is serious, with thin air that affects both rider and engine, and the weather can be harsh, with strong winds, cold and sudden storms.
Altitude sickness is a real risk. Take it slowly, drink plenty of water, and do as the locals do and chew coca leaves or drink coca tea, which helps with the effects. Spend a night in the Quebrada to acclimatise before you climb.
Fuel is available in the larger towns of the Quebrada, like Tilcara, and there are few stations on the long road to Chile, so fill up before you leave and carry a spare if you can. Purmamarca has small restaurants and markets selling weavings and crafts. Try a llama stew or a plate of humitas, and watch the colours of the hill change as the sun moves.