Jaap van 't Veen's photos with the keyword: Quebrada de Humahuaca

A pucará is a defensive hilltop site or fortress built by the prehispanic and historic inhabitants of the central Andean area. Around the year 1000 there was a line of twenty-two of these aboriginal fortresses that were deployed on the hills along the Quebrada de Humahuaca. The pucará of Tilcara (PiP4) is the best-known archaeological site of northwest Argentina, but often full of tourists. Less than 10 km’s away we found another pucará which we heard about in our accommodation. This pucará de Juella is located at 2.750 meters on a plateau outside the hamlet of Juella. This fortress was inhabited until the 12th century and is not altered or reconstructed. The ruins - often nothing more than fallen rocks or deposits of the pucará - are surrounded by a forest of cardones . It was quite difficult to find the pucará , as it was not signposted and we even had to cross a fast-flowing river (PiP3). On the other bank of that river we found a local, who - for a couple of pesos - pointed us in the right direction.

The Cementerio Nuestra Senora del Carmen is located just outside Maimará, along Ruta 9 to Tilcara. Without any doubt it is the most remarkable and unusual cemetery of the Humahuaca Valley. The cemetery is situated around a hill top and offers vaults with curious architecture, picturesque tombs, a lot of crosses, indefinite sculptures and colourful dried and artificial flowers. From the slope of the cemetery one has a wonderful view towards the Paleta del Pintor with its wonderful colours ( www.ipernity.com/doc/294067/49367588 ).

Maimará is a small village in the heart of the Quebrada de Humahuaca , a UNESCO world Heritage site. The main characteristic of its landscape are the multicolored hills of the so called Paleta del Pintor (Painter’s Palette), an impressive geological formation made up of multicoloured - brownish, reddish, orangish, yelowish, ocher and pastel colours - hills reminiscent of a painting palette. A series of folds that correspond to the tertiary and quaternary periods.

Purmamarca is a rather small village, located in the Quebrada de Humahuaca (a UNESCO world heritage site), yet it is one of the most popular travel destinations in Argentina. It sits next to the Cerro de los Siete Colores (PiP1), the most famous landmark in Northwest Argentina. This breathtaking Hill of the Seven Colours (more than 2.300 meters above sea level) is composed of seven different colours, all of which derive from different types of rocks. Each colour/rock is also said to have formed during different time periods. Its estimated age goes back for million years. The heart of picturesque Purmamarca - with its adobe houses and unpaved streets (PiP4) - is Plaza 9 de Julio . The square offers a daily market (PiP2 and 3) and is completely filled with artisan stalls, selling all kinds of handicrafts like tapestries, hand-knitted clothing, artwork, sculptures, pottery, etc. The square is surrounded by small local shops, cafes and restaurants. Purmamarca means 'desert village' in the local Aymara language.