Planning a trip to the wine region of Cafayate? Enjoy our ultimate Cafayate travel guide to help you plan your visit in Salta and the Calchaquí Valleys!
Cafayate is one of the most charming wine destinations in Latin America. With its jaw-droppingly gorgeous landscapes, a quaint and peaceful town, and balmy temperatures all year round… it’s hard not to love Cafayate. The gateway to Cafayate is Salta city, and it’s certainly worth spending a couple of days in Salta for its excellent museums (including visiting the lightning-struck Incan mummies at the Museo de Arqueología de Alta Montaña), beautiful churches and lively nightlife. But Cafayate feels a world away from the buzz of the city.
Cafayate is nestled into the Calchaquí Valleys and there are mountains and hills surrounding you in every direction you look. Throughout the day a kaleidoscope of colours is cast onto the mineral-rich hillsides, ranging from cool violets and blues at sunrise to burning ochre at sunset. With the colourful and aromatic vegetation underfoot and seemingly always clear blue skies, it’s easy to feel like you’ve stepped into a painting.
The colonial architecture also has a feeling of yesteryear, a sensation enhanced by the locals using horses and bicycles to get around. You aren’t likely to need a car within Cafayate (everything is within walking distance), although if you do want to visit some of the further-flung and higher-altitude vineyards it’s certainly worth hiring one.
Evenings are best spent drinking wine in the scenic small plaza, where bars and restaurants line each corner as do small artisan markets and boutique galleries. Make sure you also pop along to La Última Pulpería while you are in town, to see a traditional pulpería — a store that sells everything from wine and cheese to witches’ potions and batteries. Wandering around the centre, you’ll almost always catch the sounds of a guitar being strummed or folkloric song being sung, and while the live music scene isn’t as lively as that in Salta (where I fully recommend staying for a peña at La Casona del Molino), there’s plenty to help you to begin to explore Cafayate’s distinctive altiplano culture.
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How to get around in Cafayate
Salta’s Martín Miguel de Güemes International Airport has national and some international flights. It’s a three-hour drive to Cafayate from Salta, during which you’ll head deep into the Calchaquí mountain range. There are public buses, but if you want to stop and take in the views on the way, either book in for a tour or rent a car from Salta. You can also include Cafayate in a 2-week adventure wine tour by road from Mendoza, check out Mendoza-Andes.com
Cafayate town is small and quaint, easily explorable on foot or by bicycle (available to rent in hotels), and an oasis of handicrafts, traditional restaurants and boutique wineries.
Where to eat & drink in Cafayate
Most restaurants are around the main plaza, including long-time favourite Terruño and upmarket Pacha. Wineries Piattelli and El Esteco’s Patios de Cafayate also have excellent restaurants. For wine bars, try Bad Brothers and Chato’s.
Click here to read our full guide to the Calchaquí Valleys wine region!
Where to stay
Grace Cafayate is an upmarket spa and golf course with a boutique hotel just outside of the centre; Patios de Cafayate is the chic wine hotel of El Esteco; and Viñas de Cafayate is a pleasant B&B among the vines. Or stay a bit further out, at Estancia Colomé — it’s a bumpy, 3-hour 4×4 journey by dirt road, but the sublime views are worth it. All of them have nice swimming pools to while away the siesta hour.
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Map of Cafayate wine region
