On the way to the small village of Amaicha del Valle, just over 160 km from San Miguel de Tucuman, you’ll pass the Abra del Infiernillo at some 3,042 metres and be privy to some spectacular scenery including the Valle de Santa María de Yocavil carpeted in cacti and the colourful peaks of the Cumbres Calchaquíes to the east. Amaicha itself is a quiet place except during the week-long Fiesta de la Pachamama in February when the villagers go all out to celebrate Mother Earth, Pachamama.

Amaicha is also home to the superb Complejo de Museos Pachamama, a collection of small museums created by Argentine artist and sculptor Hector Cruz among fabulous cacti. Here there are some rather grand stone mosaics and some fine archaeological displays as well as paintings, pottery and tapestries designed by Cruz himself.

The village has a lovely dry fresh climate and interminable sunshine and is known for its wonderful fruit and vino patero (foot-pressed wine). Amaicha is also one of the only indigenous communities in northern Argentina to maintain its cultural traditions.