What this stretch is
From Cachi, Ruta 40 runs south down the Calchaquí valley for 159 km to Cafayate, and for most of that distance it is still the gravel road it has always been: 128 km of it by OpenStreetMap’s count, against 27 km of pavement in and around the villages and the approach to Cafayate. The valley is dry, bright and high, between 1,600 and 2,340 m, with poplar-lined villages every 40 km: Seclantás, Molinos, Angastaco, San Carlos. Between Angastaco and San Carlos the road enters the Quebrada de las Flechas, where sandstone strata tilted almost vertical form blades and arrows on both sides of the track for 20 km.
The gravel is good by Ruta 40 standards, graded and wide, with the usual washboard on the straights and soft sand where the side rivers cross. The paving of this section has been promised for years and advances a few kilometres at a time; expect short new stretches of asphalt between the villages and construction detours where the next ones are being built.
Fuel: a village pump every 40 to 50 km
Seven stations on the segment, and this is the best-served gravel day of the loop: the ACA in Cachi, small “bandera blanca” pumps in Seclantás at kilometre 29, Molinos at 46, Angastaco at 88 and San Carlos at 135, and the Refinor and ACA in Cafayate. The longest gap is 47 km, Angastaco to San Carlos. The village pumps are single pumps that take cash and keep village hours, so they are a backup rather than a plan: leave Cachi full and the fuel range calculator marks every gap as comfortable.
The weather
The Calchaquí valley is warm and dry: highs of 26 °C in summer and 21 °C in July at the midpoint, with almost no winter rain. Summer brings 18 rainy days in January in afternoon storms that send the side rivers across the road; the crossings between Molinos and Angastaco are the ones that stop traffic. Spring is the windy season, with 19 gusty days in October and 10 in December, when the wind funnels down the valley in the afternoon and lifts the dust off the gravel.
The riding window on the temperature numbers runs all year. The dry season from April to November is the time, and within it the autumn, when the vineyards turn and the storms are over.
Stops and detours worth the time
Seclantás. The weavers’ village, with the Camino de los Artesanos loop on the far bank of the river where the ponchos of Salta are still made on hand looms.
Molinos. The Hacienda de Molinos, an 18th-century estancia turned hotel on the square, and 20 km of gravel up a side valley to the Colomé winery, the highest commercial vineyard in the world at 2,300 m.
Angastaco. Lunch, and the entrance to the Quebrada de las Flechas, where the road squeezes between the blades at the El Ventisquero pass.
San Carlos. The first village on pavement, with the old church and the first wineries of the Cafayate district.
Cafayate. The wine town of the Northwest, at 1,680 m, with torrontés on every corner and the Quebrada de las Conchas waiting for tomorrow.
Where to sleep
Cachi at the start, Cafayate at the end; both have excellent hotels and both book up at Easter and in July. Molinos is the stop if you split the day. Our itinerary rides it in one day with a long lunch in Angastaco.
Riding it with us
This is the gravel valley day of our Andean Highlands loop, after the Acay and before the Quebrada de las Conchas. Read the Ruta 40 rider’s guide for the rest of the road, and the top 3 off-road adventure bikes for what to ride it on.
