The Pampa de Achala is a high plateau at about 2,200 metres, a windswept expanse of grass and granite that sits at the top of the Sierras de Córdoba. After the climb from the lowlands, the landscape changes completely. The trees disappear, the sky grows enormous, and the land rolls away in smooth, bare hills dotted with great grey boulders. It feels more like Patagonia or the Scottish moors than central Argentina, and the air is thin, cold and very clear.
This is the heart of the Quebrada del Condorito National Park, created in 1995 to protect the high grasslands and the canyon where Andean condors nest. The big birds, with wingspans of up to three metres, glide along the cliffs and can often be seen from the viewpoint at the end of a short walk from the road. The park holds several species found nowhere else, including a small fox and a rare tarantula, and its streams supply drinking water to much of Córdoba province. The granite beneath it is part of the Achala batholith, a huge mass of rock that cooled slowly deep underground.
The road across the plateau is one of the great high roads of Argentina. It climbs from Villa Carlos Paz in tight curves, reaches the plain at the top, then runs across open pampa before dropping down the western side toward Mina Clavero and the Traslasierra valley. The surface is good, but fog is common and can come in suddenly, reducing visibility to a few metres, while strong winds can blow a bike off line. In winter, snow and ice may close the road, and frost can occur even in summer mornings. Cattle and horses roam freely and sometimes stand on the tarmac.
Dress warmly, since it is much colder than the valleys, and bring a waterproof. Mornings are often clear and calm, with cloud building in the afternoon. The best seasons are spring and autumn, when the days are clear and the grass is gold.
There are no services on the plateau itself, only a few small shops and stalls at the park entrance. Mina Clavero, about seventeen kilometres to the west, and Villa Cura Brochero have fuel and restaurants, and the larger town on the eastern side is Villa Carlos Paz. Fill up before you climb, and if you want to hike, take plenty of water. Local honey, goat cheese and salami are good things to buy for a picnic.