Leave Cachi (km 0), crossing the bridge on the river Calchaquí. The route continues parallel to the river until going in the km 10 by Payogasta that was an important town until the XIX century, but today is a village of farmers that you/they cultivate the immediate lands. When crossing Payogasta, the pavement finishes and the route bends 90 grades toward the right abandoning the fertile sector of the valley and going into among mount under and I dry off. Two km later, the connection appears with the RP33 that leads to the valley of Lerma . The route begins to go up the hillside of the Bishop's summit.
In km 29 the Pampas of Clink begins that are 10 absolutely right km for a vast plain with quite strong and sprinkled slopes of cardones.
The Black hill is to the left and toward the right the hill Clink, last rake of the multicolored hills. Almost at the end of the direct notable the RP42 that takes Seclantás going to 3 km by the forest of Churqui that is part of the projected National Park The Cardones connects. will find churquis abundance there with their glasses in parasol form and, among them, jarillas heaths and other thorny bushes.
Concluded the straight line of Clink the slope becomes more marked, and the road becomes serpentine and quite narrow, winding among calcareous formations very erosionadas.
In km 43 the landscape opens up again and leave a closed basin and the lagoon The Hervidero, formed in summery time by the accumulation of rain waters. In km 50, in Cachipampa, the route goes into for a valley of soft hillsides and covered with pastizales taken advantage by the shepherds of bovine livestock that have its positions there. Exceptionally, will be able to see gua-nacos or vicuñas.
In km 56 the road arrives to the one opens Stone of the Mill, to 3.600 meters Here is the stone that gives name to the place: an enormous rock of milling of several tons, carved in granite, material that is not characteristic of the place, and whose origin is ignored, here the Bishop's Hill begins |
From above of this hill there is an extraordinary view of the gulch of Escoipe. When the clouds are low, the landscape looks like a lot of the one that appear the highest summits.
A km later on, right descends by hand for a road that, after 4 km of strong slope, it arrives to the Charmed valley, an extraordinary landscape that unites forms and natural colors of surprising contrast, a small lagoon and paintings rupestres inside caves and eaves. However, I eat the projected National Park it has not still been summed up, indications that allow to locate them don't still exist.
Continuing for the Bishop's Hill, the highway is wide in most of its tracts and its curves have quite wide radio.
Advancing 10 km begins to appear the first housings, surrounded by cultivated parcels with corn and fruit-bearing.
In km 76 finish the Bishop's Hill, but the road continues lowering with quite strong slope for the gulch of Escoipe beside the river of the same name. This gulch, in some tracts, is very narrow, limited by high stone walls; in other it is wider, like in km 88 where opens up, left wing, the gulch for which the river arrives Malcante. The gulch of Escoipe changes several times of address and the road crosses the river for sendos bridges in the km 97 and in the km 103. As descends, the vegetation of the hillsides goes being more and more thick, almost wild.
In km 110, already in the exit of the gulch, the asphalt begins; the landscape expands totally in the valley of Lerma , closed to the east, and in the distance, for the mountains of the Castillejo and of Sancha. When entering to the valley the cultivations of tobacco they begin to both sides of the road and, at once, the first stoves or drying galpones appear.
Advancing 5 more km, to the right is the entrance to Chicoana and if it follows right, 4 km later on, to The Rail: from there, the RN68 takes, toward the south, to Colonel Molds, The Vineyard and Cafayate. From The Rail for the same route, toward the north, in 38 more km you arrives to the city of Salta .
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