Cafayate Wine Tour
Senior Travel Advice: Cafayate Wine Tour
Three and a half hours from Salta is one of the best-known wine regions in Argentina after Mendoza (home of the world-famous Malbec). This trip we couldn’t get by Mendoza, so we took advantage of a great trip to the Cafayate vineyards area instead.
Keep in mind that Argentina is a very big country (about a third the size of the US) and flights are required to get just about anywhere. If you go for a trip to Brazil and Argentina like we did, you will be in the air a lot and sometimes the connections aren’t so great which result in you spending a night in transit. Our 18-day trip could’ve easily turned into a month or more with all the sights we wanted to see, but we didn’t have the luxury of time and expense on this trip. We decided early on that we would indeed have to go back!
Besides hitting the highlights of where we travel, we have a special affinity for wine tours! It’s nice to have a secondary interest so that you can better round out your visit. A little museum, a little botanic garden, a little nice restaurant, a little massage, a little wine tour…you get the idea!
Cafayate is the highest wine route in the world. Best of all, the scenery is spectacular featuring multi-colored mountains, deserts, the Colchaqui Valley and many small villages to visit on the way to the next winery. Most of the vineyards are about 1700m above sea level, about the highest you can get still suitable for grape growing.
On the way out to Cafayate, we stopped at a curious mountain formation called The Garganta del Diablo (Devil’s Throat). It is a quick stop at the side of the road and a walk between huge vertical mountainsides to a deep gorge that is said to resemble the devil’s throat. The rock formation was caused by erosion of waterfall at the end of an ice age.
Also, caused by the same erosion is the Anfiteatro or Amphitheater, a semicircular canyon about 230 feet deep. Again, a short walk from the main road will take you to the bottom of the small, but very deep canyon. If you speak quietly, you can hear your own voice in the echo chamber.
The final sight on the way to Cafayate was the Tres Cruces or Three Crosses viewpoint. Well worth a stop, this hill has an exceptional view over the valley of the Río de las Conchas and the Quebrada ravine. A lazy river runs through the bright red mountains with green grass and bushes growing near the river. The view is breath-taking.
We finally arrived in the wine region of Cafayate! We had time for two wine tours and a very leisurely lunch at the Vinas en Flor Bodega.
A word about winery lunches….if you get the opportunity to go on a wine tour or even to visit just one winery, you should definitely make reservations for lunch at a winery. Most of the wineries featuring a restaurant will have stellar views and an excellent chef.
Vinas en Flor Bodega is a family run winery, established in 2006. The buildings and grounds were beautiful as was the exceptional view. Following our tasting, we were able to sit outside at the restaurant and dined on: Empanadas, Quinoa, beet and crispy corn salad, Steak with Malbec and grilled potato/veggies, and finally Dulce de Leche pancakes with candied orange. The dishes were all designed to be served with wines made by the Bodega. Yes, we were stuffed!
Two wine tastings are usually quite enough for an afternoon. A lot of times if we are tasting before eating something, we only select the wines that we are interested in, instead of tasting all that are provided. Or you can ask that the wines be tailored to your particular taste upfront.
We had just enough time to stop in the small town of Cafayate, where, fortunately for us, there was a nice open-air market set up with artisans selling their wares. We love markets almost as much as wine tastings! We picked up a few souvenirs for friends and a few trip treats for ourselves. One of the best things we found was a caramelo…a home-made caramel, chocolate dipped candy. It is gooey and delicious. They were gone before we went on to the next city!
It was so nice to get out of the city and see some country side and some of the peculiar formations in the mountains by Salta. Even though the ride was long, it was very worthwhile. If you want to make your time more enjoyable, a stay in Cafayate may be an option. We would’ve loved to have stayed an extra night….and eaten some more of those caramelos!
Where we stayed: Legado Mitico Salta. Very nice hotel, breakfast included. Centrally located.
How we got there: Day trip out of Salta. This was part of an 18-day private tour through Brazil and Argentina.
General Accessibility Information: Most of these sights were partially accessible. The floors were level in the wineries, but some had ramps and some did not. The mountain lookout and stops were mostly pebbled walkways which were fairly flat until you got into the cave part. Call in advance to verify and make specialty arrangements. See our sections on specialty apps and accessible travel for more on accessibility assistance.
