How Do You Pronounce Jujuy?

The Tilcara People

At the very center of the Quebrada of Humahuaca is a tiny town of five thousand inhabitants called Tilcara. The name refers to the name of the ethnic group of the inhabitants; the Tilcara people are related to the Omaguaca who inhabit most of the Jujuy Province in Argentina.

They predate the Inca Empire; when the last occupied the area, the Tilacara became part of the Kollasuyo, the southeastern quarter of the empire. However, being at the very edge of the empire, they were not re-located as many of the people conquered by the Inca. Instead, they remained a kind of stronghold in the commercial road to the River Plate Basin.

The Spaniards conquered the area in 1598; afterwards the denizens were forced into the "encomienda" system: the men worked as slaves in places chosen by the Spaniards between their 16 and 50 years of age.

San Francisco de Tilcara

The actual name of the town shows the usual syncretism between traditional values or names ("Tilcara" in this case) and Christian ones ("San Francisco").

Its railway station is not active anymore. The only way of reaching the town with mass transport is by bus from La Quiaca, Humahuaca or San Salvador de Jujuy, the provincial capital. The last is 84km south along the National Route 9.

The town is colonial in shape and ambience and despite its size enjoys many tourists due to its own merits, the nearby Quebrada de Huamahuaca rock formations and – more than anything else – by the Pucara de Tilcara.

Several travel agencies in town offer special services in the area, including tours to Salinas Grandes and other attractions in the area. Due to its touristic importance, the town features a surprising number of hotels and hostels, some of them putting emphasis on ecological or ethnic features. I never had trouble finding rooms, despite having arrived without reservations. However, I would recommend those if visiting during the carnival or the Holy Week, events that attract visitants from far away.

The town hosts several museums. Museo Regional de Pintura "José Antonio Terry" (459, Rivadavia Street) contains eight rooms of paintings, including a collection of José Antonio Terry works. Museo de Escultura "Ernesto Soto Avendaño" (Belgrano Street between Rivadavia and Bolívar) displays sculptures by Ernesto Soto Avendaño, who sculpted the Independence Monument in Hunahuaca. Museo Arqueológico "Dr. Eduardo Casanova" (445, Belgrano St) displays archeological findings of the area and of the Tiwanaku culture in Bolivia. Museo de Bellas Artes "Fundación Hugo Irureta" (Belgrano corner Bolivar) displays a collection of plastic works by Hugo Irureta and others. Museo de las Ermitas (Rivadavia between Ambrosetti and Jujuy) displays an awesome collection of works prepared with seed and flower petals used during the Holy Week. Museo Fundación "Medardo Pantoja" (560, Alberro) is dedicated to the works of that painter, one of the most famous in South America.

Pucara de Tilcara

In the Quechua language, "Pucara" means "Fort" or "Stronghold." This was a pre-Inca fortress located a few kilometers from the town of Tilcara, on a hill with an impressive view of the valley of the Río Grande.

The fort can be reached from the modern town; there it is possible to walk among the stone houses and neighborhoods until a small summit is reached. From there are some of the best views of the Quebrada de Humahuaca. Another point of interest is the Jardín Botánico de Altura, ("Altitude’s Botanic Garden"), which displays plant species of the area.

Nearby Attractions

Salinas Grandes is the name of a slat flat located seventy kilometers from Tilcara along road 52. Located at 4100m above the sea level, the place is similar to the Salar de Uyuni, near Potosi in Bolivia. A restaurant built of salt blocks welcomes the travelers that arrive mainly for seeing the sunsets and the full moon over the white slat sea.

Another popular tour is the one to the Quebrada of Humahuaca, that cn be visited from her or from the town of Huamhuaca. The most prominent feature appears on the Quebrada’s eastern slopes, where the slanted rocks expose semicircular layers of differently colored rocks; all around are archaeological sites dating back thousands of years, which include everything from hunters’ settlements to Inca Empire relics.

The Quebrada de Humahuaca has been recognized as a Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2003; it is one of those rare sites showing both archaeological and natural wonders.

The Valley

The narrow mountain valley is located between the city of San Salvador de Jujuy and La Quiaca on the Bolivian border and runs a hundred and fifty kilometres from north to south. The Andean High Plateau delimits it to the west and north, while lower hills enclose it from south and east; Jujuy is at its south.

Originating on the Altiplano, the Rio Grande flows amidst the shallow canyon. In the fashion typical of the Altiplano, the river is dry during the winter, and flows in a shallow but wide stream during the summer. The area undulates up and down the three-thousand meters above the sea level line; thus some people may experience difficulties breathing there if they are non-acclimatized.

Reaching Humahuaca

Humahuaca is one of those places displaying a significant tourists’ overcharging policy. Most people reach it from Jujuy or Salta; packages from Salta cost around 130ARP (around forty American dollars). However, reaching it independently from from San Salvador de Jujuy or La Quiaca costs around three dollars.

Humahuaca: the Village

Amidst the valley is the town of Humahuaca, some hundred and twenty kilometres distance from Jujuy, the province’s capital. The colonial town has slightly over ten thousand residents and features narrow streets, adobe houses typical of the colonial period and an intriguing mix between Indigenous and Spanish cultures.

The importance of the site through the ages was due to its being on the crossroads from Potosi on the Altiplano to the Rio de la Plata Basin. The main archaeological sites are called Coctaca, Uquia, Peñas Blancas and Chulin, they can be reached form the town of Humahuaca. During the Argentinean independence war, this was the site of fourteen important battles against a Spaniard army that arrived from Peru; a monument commemorates this fact.

During colonial times it belonged to the Tucuman Province (its boundaries were very different from the modern ones) and at times it was the biggest settlement in the province. This is hard to imagine looking at the tiny village occupying this formerly important site in the early twenty-first century.

Its name is one of the renderings of the better known as Omaguacas, a native ethnic group to which most of the local population is related. They were organized into several groups; most of these groups’ names – like the Jujuy and the Yavi– are reflected on the province settlements names.

The church tower’s watch, located by the main square, is one of the main attractions in town. Everyday at noon, a figure of Saint Francisco Solano exits through a small aperture and makes a cross over the watching crowds. The original church was constructed in 1593 or 1595. This was restored in 1680 and reconstructed in 1723. In 1880 the façade and towers were reconstructed and the church was restored again between 1926 and 1938. Thus little if anything is left from the original construction, yet, this little colonial church is charming. Some of the wood items in the interior date back to 1680. It had been declared as a national monument.

The Museo Folclorico Regional de Humahuaca (Regional Folkloric Museum) is an important place for learning about the regional culture. It features clothes, musical instruments and tools of the local cultures. The carnival of the town is one of the most famous in Argentina, it longs eight days.

Climate

The idyllic and sunny valley has a deceptive face; its being three kilometres above the sea level means it features extreme temperatures. Sweating during the day and freezing at night is the reality here; thus appropriate clothing should be brought during all seasons.

Photographing

The narrow valley and the immense size of the main geological formation prevent taking good panoramic pictures of the wonder; close-ups do not enable showing its magnificent fractal-like features.

The Quebrada

The most prominent feature appears on the Quebrada’s eastern slopes, where the slanted rocks expose semicircular layers of differently colored rocks; all around are archaeological sites dating back thousands of years, which include everything from hunters’ settlements to Inca Empire relics.

The broken rocks display sharp, contrasting colors in strongly defined patterns fit of designers’ watches. The slanted geological watches immutable faces look obviously unconvinced at the visitors rush approach to life.

In the Argentinean mythology, La Quiaca is a synonym for the world’s end; instead, I found it to be a crossroads and junction point between Bolivia and Argentina. Interface points between cultures are of special interest for travelers; in no other place the essence of traveling is so distilled, nowhere else the little local nuisances are so mighty and bold.

While crossing from Mexico to the USA or from Thailand to Cambodia, the changes are obvious. Cultures, languages and even the alphabets are not the same.

Other borders are subtler but not less real. Roughly half of the South American population – on the western and southern parts of the subcontinent – speak Spanish, and are divided into various countries. Spotting the differences there is trickier for the casual traveler and sometimes even dangerous. An Argentinean sign explaining how to open a door gets an obscene meaning meters away, across the Bolivian border.

La Quiaca, at the Argentinean side, and its counterpart Villazon at the Bolivian one, seat high on the Andean Plateau – roughly at 3450 meters above the sea level - amidst a barren landscape known in Argentina as the Puna Region. The towns are separated by the La Quiaca River, a semi-dry current which forms the international border.

Founded in 1907, the small town has around fifteen thousand inhabitants, including a sizable Syrian community that donated the Sarmiento’s statue adorning one of the main plazas. However, the native population is Coya – or Kolla in Bolivia – Aymara and Quechua people which were denizens of the Inca Empire’s southeastern corner. The typical awayo clothes used by the women to carry around food, merchandise and … babies, are a telltale of that ancestral link.

Climate

The barren valley in which La Quiaca seats features extreme temperatures; its altitude means sweating during the day and freezing at night, this is the highest city in the country. Some people may suffer of mild altitude sickness if they arrive without an acclimatization period.

Markets and Money

The most active markets are in the Bolivian side, hordes of Argentineans cross the border to buy the cheaper merchandise. The money exchange services are concentrated on the Bolivian side, just before reaching the pass; once in the Argentinean side it is difficult to change Bolivian money at a fair rate. In any case, vendors on each side accept only local money.

The central market in Villazon, called Mercado Central Gilberto Cortez Millares, is within a two-story, covered structure behind the central plaza; it offers decent Bolivian meals at low prices, a tasty lunch costs less than half a dollar.

Another market, the Mercado Municipal is in front of it and specializes in fruits, vegetables and flowers. On the street parallel to the central market towards Argentina there is a shoes and clothes market; the small Mercado San Martin at its end and sells general products.

Once a week, on Sundays, the town hosts a Feria, a huge open market at Calle Santa Cruz, between the bus terminal and the railway station, which attracts many households’ goods shoppers.

Traveling Around

La Quiaca features a local airport; the nearest international one is in Jujuy. The Gobernador Horacio Guzman Airport is thirty-three kilometers southeast of Jujuy; it offers regular flights to Buenos Aires, Salta and Tucuman in Argentina as well as occasional flights to Santa Cruz de la Sierra in Bolivia.

Several private bus companies operate from the La Quiaca Bus Terminal. The prices can vary wildly between the companies and along the week, especially after the Sunday’s Feria, when many sellers return to their homes and the prices rise wildly. The main destinations are San Salvador de Jujuy, Salta, Tucuman and Buenos Aires.

The last passengers train arrived here in 1993, while the last freight train in 1994. Despite that many Argentineans claim the national railway system functions regularly. It is true that a few lines have been renewed, but take their advice with a pound of salt and pepper.

Into Bolivia

A point to keep in mind is that Bolivia is one hour behind La Quiaca, and during the summer two hours behind Buenos Aires (Jujuy doesn’t use the daylight saving time of Eastern Argentina).

Villazon is built around the railway which arrives two times a week from Oruro in the north and ends here, because the Argentinean train services have been discontinued. The trains are slower and more dangerous than the buses.

Buses to and from La Paz would cost anything between forty and 120BOB, with cheaper rates on the days the Feria is not active. The trip takes around twenty hours if there are no problems; I recommend taking snacks, water and hot clothes as a protection from the cold nights. Buses to Tupiza cost 10BOB, and the trip takes a couple of hours.

If crossing just for a couple of hours, there is no need to stop at the immigrations. However, beyond La Quiaca, the Argentinean authorities perform several checks, thus the passport should be stamped before leaving the town. The checks include luggage inspection and may be performed even twice during a single trip to Jujuy and once in the way to Salta. On the Bolivian side the customs checks are rare, but identity checks are frequent and often are performed by heavily armed policeman.

Eating in la Quiaca

Either if coming from Bolivia or Argentina, the meals in La Quiaca are different. Most restaurants have adopted a hybrid Bolivian-Argentinean fashion, especially during lunch. Bolivian lunches are usually set meals very rich in carbohydrates, while Argetinean establishment serve mainly meat dishes. Here, along the Belgrano walking street are several restaurants serving set meals – Bolivian style – but featuring Argentinean meat dishes.

The most remarkable restaurant is the Confiteria Restaurant Terminal at the bus terminal, but all of the establishments in the area are worthy of a visit.

The most interesting food is the "Chicharron de Llama;" small chunks of llama meat fried in deep oil and served with corn. The last, indigenous to the area, appears in a rainbow of colors. Tamales with "Charque Khan" are tamales filled with dehydrated and fried pork or llama meat. Alpaca meat – known as "chi-chi" in Aymara – is worthy of looking for.

Nearby Attractions

It is recommended to stop in Humahuaca and Tilcara in the way between Jujuy and La Quiaca. All buses along this trajectory stop at both locations. Both are reviewed in this journal.

San Salvador de Jujuy is a quarter-million people city in northwestern Argentina, and the capital of the Jujuy Province; it seats on the Quebrada de Humahuaca southern end and not far from the Bolivian border.

Jujuy is on the junction of the Xibi Xibi and Río Grande rivers and below the Altiplano, barely above the 1200 meters above the sea level. The city is known in Argentina also as "La Tacita de Plata," the "Silver Little Cup."

Climate

The weather is humid during the summer and dry and cold during the winters; hot clothes are recommended during all seasons, especially if planning to visit the higher parts of the province.

Traveling Around

National Route 9 connects Jujuy with La Quiaca, 295km to the north, and Salta, 99km to the south. 84km to the north is Tilcara, while Calilegua National Park is 111 km and Humahuaca is 126km in the same direction. Buenos Aires is roughly fifteen hundred kilometers to the southeast. All this locations are easily reachable through comfortable buses.

The Gobernador Horacio Guzmán International Airport is 33km southeast of the city and has regular flights to Buenos Aires.

History

The Kolla southwestern quarter of the Inca Empire included what today is called Jujuy; the denizens of this quarter were mainly Quechua and Aymara people. Their typical adobe houses can still be seen within the modern city; the best preserved Inca site in the area is Pucara (fortress) de Tilcara. The area was on the trade route between the Inca and the River Plate Basin.

The Spaniards founded modern Jujuy in 1593, following two previous failures, on the main route connecting the Viceroyalty of Peru with the River Plate settlements. A century later, the Viceroyalty's customs were transferred to Jujuy and so, without knowing, the future limit between then inexistent Bolivia and Argentina was roughly defined. Several battles took place in the province during the Argentinean independence war, since the Spaniards were concentrated in Peru.

Main Sights

Jujuy is special among Argentinean cities due to its lack of a well-defined colonial grid of streets. The resulting mishmash seems to belong more to the Bolivian side of the Altiplano than to Argentina. Yet, the Cabildo and the Basilica Cathedral are typically colonial and remind of many others throughout Argentina. The syncretism of native cultures with Catholicism can be seen due to the typical worship of the "Virgen del Rosario de Río Blanco," a practice that exchanged their ancestors worshipping of local spirits. Downtown Jujuy is small and can be easily explored by foot.

Night Market

Surrounding the bus terminal is a huge night market, which is quite atypical of Argentina. A myriad of stalls appear during the evenings, selling everything, from pirate videos, through plastic knickknacks, to polyester T-shirts imprinted with the latest cultural icons.

Visiting the restaurants in the area is very recommended. Some of them feature Andean potatoes, spicy llajua sauce, colored corn, llamas, alpacas and other Andean High Plateau delicacies that are hard to find elsewhere in Argentina.

Catedral de San Salvador de Jujuy

Jujuy’s cathedral was built during in 1593, on the same year of the definitive foundation of the city, next to the central plaza. In 1935 it was elevated to the rank of cathedral and is widely considered to be one f the most beautiful in northwestern Argentina. Its pulpit is the oldest in the country and is considered to have special importance due to its style and motifs; it was carved out of cedar and ñandubay woods.

Iglesia San Francisco S.S. de Jujuy

On the corner of Belgrano and Lavalle streets is this church, which was constructed by the Franciscans between 1611 and 1618. The original adobe construction was restored several times, the last being in 1927. Its style is eclectic, featuring Italian, baroque and other influences. It features a four levels tower, featuring an image of Saint Francis on its top. Nowadays it hosts also a museum of religious art of items belonging to the Franciscan Order in Jujuy.

Capilla de Santa Barbara

This chapel was constructed in 1777 and is one of the oldest structures in the city. It features one nave of seven meters width and twenty meters length built of adobe with a wood roof covered with tiles. At it facade is a beautiful tower typical of the area. Inside is a collection of paintings from the eighteenth century.

San Pedro de Jujuy

Sixty-three kilometers down from Jujuy along Route 34 is San Pedro de Jujuy, at an altitude of 575m above the sea level. This is the second largest city in the province with a population of slightly above fifty thousand people. It was founded along the now disused railway connecting Salta with Bolivia. Founded by the end of the nineteenth century, the town is of little interest to the traveler except during February, when the largest carnival in northwestern Argentina takes place here.

Nearby Sights

Near the city are also the Termas de Reyes thermal waters, the Yala Lake and Rio Blanco, where the local virgin is worshipped. The Quebrada de Huamhuaca is not far.

The northernmost Argentinean province sits partly on the Andes Mountains and partly on the Andean High Plateau, as well as on the valleys leading to them; bordering with Chile and Bolivia it offers awesome landscapes and opportunities for the avid traveler.

A Very Condensed History of Jujuy since Colonial Times

During early colonial times, the actual territory of Jujuy was part of the Viceroyalty of Peru, as part of the Charcas area, which included parts of modern Bolivia and all the way south to Tucuman, since 1564 the territory was separated into a new province governed from Santiago del Estero, which included also modern Tucuman. In this period, the cities in the area were repeatedly destroyed by the indigenous population and re-founded by colonial forces.

In 1776, the Viceroyalty of the River Plate was formed and the area became part of it. In 1783 after further subdivisions the province of Salta de Tucuman was created (modern Salta), and Jujuy was included in it. Between 1810 and 1821 the area was one of the main fronts in the war between the Argentinean army and the Spaniards and royalists, the city of Jujuy was invaded eleven times by the royalists, and once was even evacuated to Tucuman in 1812. The last event is known as the "Exodo Jujeño" (the "Jujuyan Exodus").

Following the independence, Jujuy was separated into a province in 1834. Two years later the province was partially invaded by the Peruvian-Bolivian confederation; after their defeat, the province was recognized again as a province.

The borders between Argentina and Bolivia were set only in a treaty from 1889 (enacted only in 1900). Then, Argentina renounced its claim over Tarija (a department of modern Bolivia) and Bolivia gave to Argentina an area known as Puna de Atacama. The tricky point was that after the earlier Pacific War (1879) the area was controlled by Chile and not Bolivia, which had attempted to force a war between Argentina and Chile and thus regain its exit to the Pacific Ocean. A subsequent international arbitrage gave 75% of the area to Argentina and the rest to Chile. After this incident, the modern international boundaries of Jujuy were set. Its border with the province of Salta was finally set only in 1953.

Population and its Activities

The province features one of the most varied indigenous populations in the country. Its remoteness and relative inaccessibility have helped to preserve these timeless cultures. Most of them belong to a group known as Omaguacas, which is related to the Arawak people as well as to the Atacama ones. They are divided into the Ocloya, Purmamarca, Yavi, Yala, Churumata and the Jujuy; the last gave the name to the province. Ava Guarani people live in the lowlands.

Most of the population’s economy is based on agriculture, mainly on sugar, tobacco and citrus which were introduced in the twentieth century. The energy industry includes natural gas and petroleum. A mining industry dates back to ancestral times and includes lead, silver (Jujuy borders with silver-rich Potosi), copper, gold, iron and others. However, the wide landscape and climatic diversity makes tourism one of the main activities of the province.

A Travelers Paradise

Paso de Jama

The Jama Pass connects Jujuy with Northern Chile through a fully asphalted route crossing the Andes Mountains. As such, this is the only pass north of "Paso de Cristo Redentor" ("Christ the Redeemer Pass") in Mendoza. This is a vital pass for the Mercosur (the economic union between Brzail, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay) and is known also as the "Two Oceans Pass."

As such, it is open every day of the year, including holidays. Buses from Jujuy lead to Chile for the joy of the travelers in the area. San Pedro de Atacama, in Chile, is 266km after the border town of Jama, but the nearest attraction in Chile is the town of Calama, further west. Next to it is Chuquicamata, the largest open copper mine in the world. The towns of Antofagasta, Mejillones, Tocopilla and Iquiwe – all of them along the Pacific Ocean shore – are all nearby. Iquique is a major stop in the way to Bolivia and Peru, mainly due to its tax free shopping center next to its port.

Quebrada de Humahuaca

The Quebrada de Humahuaca has been recognized as a Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2003; it is one of those rare sites showing both archaeological and natural wonders. The large area includes also Pucara de Tilcara, a partially reconstructed pre-Inca "pucará" (fortress in Quechua)

Puna

On the Border with Bolivia, La Quiaca is – for Argentineans – a synonym to the "End of the World." High on the Andean Plateau (called here "Puna"); it features a fascinating mixture between these two societies.

The Puna features three altitude lakes: Runtuyoc between Abre Pampa and El Puesto del Marques, the Reserva Natural Nacional Laguna de Pozuelos, y la Reserva Provincial de la Laguna Guayatayoc.

Yungas

The most diverse Argentinean province includes lowlands enjoying a rainforest climate. Known as "Yungas" (unrelated to the Bolivian Yungas), they can be visited. The area is mainly populated by indigenous populations sticking to their ancestral values and traditions. The Parque Nacional Calilegua ("National Park Calilegua") can be visited here as well; the park was defined as a biosphere reserve.

San Salvador de Jujuy

This city is the provincial capital and a fascinating place to visit. It is far less colonial in its design than most of Argentinean cities, keeping an inherently indigenous ambience and culture. It is probably the only main city in the country where Andean potatoes, spicy llajua sauce, colored corn, llamas, alpacas and other Andean High Plateau delicacies can be easily found and enjoyed. Awayo clothes of the different original people of the area can be found in the market, making awesome souvenirs and gifts.

The province can be reached through an international airport or through any of the main Argentinean cities bus terminals.