Jaap van 't Veen's photos with the keyword: Ruta 40

La Mitica Ruta 40 (the Mythical Route 40) is the nickname of “Ruta 40”. The highway, partly unpaved and loaded with hairpin bends, runs from the far north to the southernmost tip of Argentina. Endless desert plains, crystal clear lakes, glaciers, lush vineyards and the peaks of the Andes accompany the road. Route 40's highest point is almost 5.000 meters in Abra del Acay in Salta Province The 5.224 kilometers long “Ruta 40” connects the village La Quiaca in northern Argentina with the southern town of Rio Gallegos (at Punta Loyola) on the Strait of Magellan in Patagonia. The rugged roadtrip goes through eleven provinces and two provincial capitals, over twentyfour important rivers and along twenty natural parks !!! We only did the part of “Ruta 40” between Cachi and Cafayate. Although just 150 km it took us almost a whole day of driving on an almost completely unpaved road, which looked like a washboard in several places. "Ruta 40" - at least our part - is sometimes a wide straight road, many times very narrow and winding. Sometimes we drove along the edge of ravines, then again through a lovely green landscape. It was always hilly and went up and down all the time. Stones, dust and grit are everywhere. Despite all that, it was a great experience with a ride through a very impressive landscape - with the stretch through the Quebrada de las Flechas ( www.ipernity.com/doc/294067/48888910 ) as the absolute highlight - and along quaint small rural villages.

We were lucky to drive a part of the famous Ruta 40 - from Cachi to Cafayate - in March. That turned out to be the harvest season of the red peppers. On several places along the road they were lying on the fields. We heard from locals that the region features the necessary aridity and the ideal level of sunlight for the cultivation of this kind of peppers.

Quebrada de las Flechas (Canyon of the Arrows) is a amazing natural rock formation in the Valles Calchaquíes with eroded cliffs in all kind op tones that rise out of the terrain like gigantic arrowheads. Rock formations with astonishing shapes jut out to 50 meters from the valley floor. These rock formation dates back 15 to 20 million years when large blocks of rock began to rise. These strata were folded and fractured when they received the push of the Andes mountain range. Later erosion sharpened them and now they resemble blades or arrowheads side by side. The famous Ruta Nacional 40 ( www.ipernity.com/doc/294067/49276088 ) is running through this lunar-like landscape between the towns of Cachi and Cafayate, near the village of Angastaco.