Here’s an exciting new bicycle touring opportunity to get a little further off the beaten path in Latin America. This tour presents irrefutable proof that there is a lot more to see and do in Argentina than visit Patagonia! We’ll bicycle through areas that were once home to a thriving pre-Incan population and the archeological heritage demonstrates the prosperity that came with being located in the spectacular Rio Grande valley. A large part of the area includes the famous Camino Inca or Inca Trail and a major trade and cultural route between Buenos Aires, Bolivia and Peru. We start with three days of glorious downhill bicycling as we come down from our 10,000 foot perch to Salta. We’ll pedal on paved roads through lush valleys, stopping to explore pre-Incan ruins, deserts, cloudforest, and wine country. We ride through the twisted and dazzling geological formations of Quebrada de las Conchas, see the famous ruins at Quilmes, and stop in San Miguel de Tucuman, the city where a delegation first declared Argentina’s independence in 1816.

This unique 8-day tour is jointly operated with Experience Plus, a world leader in cycling and hiking tours. We have been working with Experience Plus for years in Patagonia, and together we are creating new tours throughout our wonderful country. A destination that is quickly earning a top spot for international travelers, the Northwest can truly be called magical, and after our first tour here in March 2008, we are sure this will become another fantastic trip for our guests from around the world.

The highlights (why choose this tour):

• Experience the magical landscapes of the Quebrada de Humahuaca, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, at the feet of the great Andean Altiplano, where a millenary culture still thrives. We´ll visit the famed ruins at Tilcara, go above 12,000 feet at the inmense salt flats of Jujuy, and spend two wonderful nights at Purmamarca, a traditional Andean town under the multicolored Cerro de Siete Colores (Hill of Seven Colors).

• Cycle through the lush sub-tropical rainforest below the Altiplano, into the magnificent Salta, or Salta la linda (Salta the beautiful), as it is known in Argentina – part of the colonial Camino Real, this city is full of history and tradition.

• Interact with the locals, their land and traditions at the estancias (Argentina ranches) that we will visit, meeting gauchos, hearing the folk music of the Northwest, sampling goat cheese and regional cuisine, and much more.

• Ride the one-of-a-kind Quebrada de las Conchas, full of incredible geological formations, into the unique town of Cafayate, a colonial outpost now famous for its world-class high-altitude wines, where we´ll visit a winery and spend two great nights.

• The Ruins of Quilmes offer incredible evidence of the culture that once existed here under Incan rule, set in the inmense desert landscape near the Andes Range.