WHAT: The magical and colourful 'Cerro de los 14 Colores'(Mountain of 14 colours) of Humahuaca WHERE: 30 km east of Humahuaca, about an hour of driving from Humahuaca HOW MUCH: 50 arg pesos per car. So about $2USD HOW LONG: You can see all of the mountain range within 5 minutes, but you can admire it for a really long time if you like and have the time. For sunset we took an hour more of less
Rainbow rocks are omni present in the foothills of the Andes. Peru for example stars a very famous and well-visited ‘mountain’. Near the Chilean salt flats you’ll find another range and even while driving from San Pedro de Atacama in Chile to Salta in Argentina – just when you think you’ve seen it all – the vivid colours of the rocks just kept on slamming us with pride in the face.
Our goal of today is however to cross the entire valley of Jujuy up in the north of Argentina by car all the way to the large colourful mountain range of Humahuaca: Cerro de los 14 Colores. It’s quite a drive, albeit breathtaking, and once we’re there at the quaint little town of Humahuaca we unfortunately still need to cruise that bumpy last piece of road all the way up to the top to reach the cerro. A brain shaker for sure in the back of the car.
Luckily we arrive right in time for golden hour, hurray! On top of that, with only two other cars present, we nearly have the area to ourselves. Just a quick look at the mountain range and you feel like you’ve ‘discovered’ something rather spectacular. Giant shark teeth shaped rocks align one after another. On top of that, each piece is toned in different colours. For every minute that passes another type of light is shining on the multi-coloured rocks.
After half an hour we’ve run like maniacs almost everywhere in the area to get the best views across the valley. Unfortunately we weren’t really prepared for the 4300 meter altitude and back in the car it takes a little while to defrost the fingers. Brrr so cold! But hey; something’s gotta give.
If you’re up for a real challenge, it’s also possible to reach to viewing point of the Cerro de los 14 Colores by bike. But for now, just watch how the colours of the mountain ranges changes in this visual sunset diary!
