Why this ride
156 km from Salta to Cachí, about 2 h 59 of riding. The highest point is about 3,600 m. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Valles Calchaquies: Salta to Cachi
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 156 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 59
- 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.
Scenic road chapters
Salta → Cuesta del Obispo
88 km on Salta → Cuesta del Obispo.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 88 km
Cuesta del Obispo → Cachi
68 km on Cuesta del Obispo → Cachi.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 68 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Salta
Salta calls itself La Linda, the beautiful, and the old centre makes a decent case for it. The city lies in a green valley in the far north-west of Argentina, about twelve hundred metres above the sea, with the Andes to the west and the humid forest edge to the east. The Spanish founded it in 1582, and the colonial core still shows it, with the cathedral's pink facade, the arcaded cabildo on the main plaza and the cafés underneath the verandahs. In the evening the plaza fills with families, buskers and street food, and the empanadas salteñas, small and juicy with beef, are an essential meal.
Read the complete Salta write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Salta is where the day begins. Next is Cuesta del Obispo.
2. Cuesta del Obispo
The Cuesta del Obispo is one of the great roads of northern Argentina, a gravel and tarmac climb that crosses the Sierra del Obispo between Salta and the Calchaquí valleys. The summit, called Piedra del Molino, is at 3,348 metres, high enough to feel the thin air, and the views are enormous. The road is named after a bishop of Salta who is said to have crossed here, and the name has lasted longer than his story.
Read the complete Cuesta del Obispo write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cuesta del Obispo comes up about 88 km into the recorded legs. Nothing on this route is higher. Next is Cachi, mostly downhill.
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 156 km.
Leg by leg
Salta to Cuesta del Obispo
Salta → Cuesta del Obispo is 88 km. This is the part worth slowing down for - look through the bends and use the pull-offs.
Cuesta del Obispo to Cachi
Cuesta del Obispo → Cachi is 68 km. Brakes and eyes forward; the views are behind the corners, not in them.
More motorcycle rides nearby
- Cuesta del Obispo to Cachi · 156 km
- Valles Calchaquies · 314 km
- Segment Las Peras-Sauzalito and Segment Santa Rosa de Tastil · 123 km