Between the provinces of San Juan and Mendoza, the Andes of western Argentina stand up as a dry, enormous wall, and this stretch lies in their rain shadow, where the land is a mix of high steppe, stony ridges and green strips of irrigated valley. The air is clear and thin, the sky is a deep, flat blue, and the sun is fierce even in winter. To the south-west, over the border ridge, stands Aconcagua, the highest mountain in the Americas at almost seven thousand metres, though you will not always see it for the haze.
The label here refers to part of the Qhapaq Ñan, the Inca road system that UNESCO listed in 2014, and the segment runs from a place called Ciénaga de Yalguaraz toward San Albert. A ciénaga is a marsh, a patch of wet ground that in a dry landscape is worth more than gold, and it is no surprise that travellers have always used such places as stops. The Incas pushed their road south into what is now Argentina and Chile, and archaeologists have traced stone-lined paths, storage buildings and way stations in these valleys. Before and after the Incas, the same routes carried herders, muleteers and the armies of San Martín, who in 1817 crossed the Andes to free Chile from Spanish rule in one of the great mountain marches of history.
The riding here is the long, open kind. Roads climb gently up broad valleys, with big views, then wind through narrow canyons where the rock walls are stained red and green by minerals. Surfaces vary, from smooth tarmac on main routes to rough gravel on side tracks, and after summer storms flash floods wash across the road in washes and dry gullies. Wind builds in the afternoon, and the cold at night can be startling after a hot day. A warm layer, spare water and a reliable map are the basics.
The sensible plan is to take fuel and food at one of the bigger centres, such as Calingasta, Uspallata or Mendoza itself, and to carry more than you think you need. Spring and autumn are the best seasons, with clear light and moderate temperatures, and high passes can close with snow between May and October, so check before you go.