Why this ride
A named mountain-road corridor with sustained elevation change and pass scenery. It links naturally to Los Cardones National Park and Qhapaq Nan.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Cuesta del Obispo to Cachi
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 156 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 59
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. 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.
Editorial context
Coordinates are curated start-via-end route seeds. They are not a surveyed centreline or navigation geometry. Run road snapping, topology checks, access checks and a live-status review before publication.
Access context
Do not auto-publish. Snap to a routable road network, verify current closures, legal motorcycle access, surface, permits, border controls and local safety information.
Seasonal context
Apr-Nov
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 sits at 0 km, early in the day. Next is Cuesta del Obispo.
2. Cuesta del Obispo
The Cuesta del Obispo is one of the great mountain roads of northwest Argentina, a winding climb from the green valleys near Salta to a high pass at about 3,350 metres, followed by a descent into the dry Calchaquí valley. The name means the Bishop's Slope, and it recalls a bishop of the colonial church. The scenery is magnificent, with steep green hillsides covered in cloud forest at the bottom, bare rock and golden grass at the top, and then the red, dry valley on the far side.
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 47 km in. 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
156 km in you reach Cachi.
Recorded source links
More motorcycle rides nearby
- Valles Calchaquies: Salta to Cachi · 156 km
- Valles Calchaquies · 314 km
- Abra del Acay Ruta 40 · 101 km