Why this ride
A one-way ride of 555 km, La Quiaca to Cachí - roughly 8 h 07 in the saddle. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 3,900 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Ruta 40 Argentina North to South: La Quiaca to Cachi
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 555 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 8 h 07
- Journey
- One way; return travel is separate
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. La Quiaca
La Quiaca is the last town in Argentina, and at about 3,400 metres above sea level it feels like it. The Puna plateau here is high, cold and windswept, with a sky of hard blue and a landscape of tawny grass and bare hills, and the border with Bolivia runs along a dry riverbed on the edge of town. A bridge crosses to Villazón, a bustling Bolivian town just two kilometres away. Argentine National Route 40, the long road that runs the length of the country along the Andes for more than five thousand kilometres, ends here, and a sign at the border marks the northern terminus.
Read the complete La Quiaca write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
La Quiaca is where the day begins. Next is Humahuaca.
2. Humahuaca
Humahuaca sits at almost three thousand metres in the Quebrada de Humahuaca, a long, dry, colourful valley in the far north of Argentina that UNESCO has listed as a World Heritage landscape. The valley runs for about a hundred and fifty kilometres, with the river Grande flowing between walls of red, ochre, green and violet rock, and cardón cacti standing like candelabra on the hillsides. The road through it, the Ruta 9, follows an ancient trade route used by the Incas, and before them by many peoples who carried llama caravans between the Andes and the lowlands.
Read the complete Humahuaca write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Humahuaca comes up about 157 km into the recorded legs. Next is Cachi.
3. Cachi
Cachí sits at around 2,300 metres in the Calchaquí valleys of Salta province, and everything about it seems to have been made quiet by altitude and dryness. White adobe houses line narrow streets, the plaza is shaded by trees, and the church has a roof and doors made from the wood of the cardón, a tall columnar cactus that grows on the slopes around. The backdrop is the Nevado de Cachi, a snow-capped peak in the range that stands above 6,000 metres.
Read the complete Cachi write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 555 km.
Leg by leg
La Quiaca to Humahuaca
La Quiaca → Humahuaca is 157 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Humahuaca to Cachi
Humahuaca → Cachi is 398 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.