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Getting Here
By air. Flights from Buenos Aires to San
Fernando del Valle de Catamarca.
By bus. From the City of Buenos Aires to
San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca, and from this city to Córdoba,
La Rioja, Salta, San Miguel de Tucumán and Santiago del Estero.
Distances from San Fernando del Valle de
Catamarca: Buenos Aires 1,150 Km, Córdoba 440 Km, Mendoza 832
Km.
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Lodging and Accommodation
Number and category of accommodations.Aconquija: 1 (3*). Andalgalá: 1 (3*). San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca: 2 (4*), 6 (3*), 1 (2*). Santa María: 2 (3*), 1 (Apart).
Other lodging facilities: Ancasti, Anquicila, Antofagasta de la Sierra, Balcosna, Bañado de Ovanda, Belén, Concepción, Corral Quemado, El Alto, El Bolsón, El Rodeo, Fiambalá, La Merced, La Puerta, La Viña, Pomán, Recreo, Saujil, Tinogasta, Valle Viejo and Villa Vil.
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Things to do
ADVENTURE TOURISM. Mountaineering in the
over 6,000 m high snow-covered peaks, such as volcano La Alumbrera.
Trekking and horseback riding on the cordillera and pre-cordillera.
Archaeological trips.
HUNTING AND FISHING. Puma and peccary hunting,
and small game. Fishing pejerrey and salmon in this region’s rivers
and reservoirs.
MISACHICOS. Misachicos are colourful religious
processions where Christian liturgy is mixed with ancestral rites in
the towns of the altiplano.
THERMAL WATERS in Tinogasta and Fiambalá.
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Places to visit
SAN FERNANDO DEL VALLE DE CATAMARCA, A COLONIAL
CAPITAL. The Casa de Gobierno (Government House) and the Basílica
Nuestra Señora del Valle are located in the main square. Both
the church and convent of San Francisco as well as the Calchaquí
archaeological museum are worth visiting. Other places of interest are
the Museo de Bellas Artes (Museum of Fine Arts) and the Museo Folklórico,
the latter exhibiting some of the province's traditions. El Rodeo town
is 38 Km away, and its streets are named after its many flowers, fruit
and walnut trees.
NATIVE CULTURES. In Andalgalá, you can pay a visit to
the Museo Arqueológico Provincial which has exhibits from the
region’s Indians. The Pucará del Aconquija are the ruins
of a native fort with enormous pircas or dry stone walls and the remains
of several shelters. In the Museo Arqueológico y Folklórico
in Santa María, 1,900 m above sea level, you can see exhibits
from the Santa María culture. In Belén, 1,240 m above
sea level, the Museo Regional has an important collection of archaeological
finds and colonial art.
MINING. The rodocrosita - manganese spar
- or the "Inca’s Rose", Argentina’s national gem,
is mined from an old site called Capillitas (Andalgalá). La Alumbrera
(Belén) is the country's most important gold, silver and copper
mine.
THE PUNA OF CATAMARCA. Antofagasta de
la Sierra, 3,500 m above sea level, is surrounded by volcanoes, salt
pans, lagoons with flamingos, archaeological sites, and mines. You can
visit the ruins of Incahuasi or "House of the Inca", an old
gold deposit.
Other places of interest: Tinogasta, surrounded
by vineyards, the altiplanos, high mountains and thermal spas like Las
Higueritas. Fiambalá adobe-walled church houses a collection
of paintings of the Cuzqueño school. Very close to Fiambalá
are the thermal baths bearing the same name. Londres’ tin mines,
and the ruins of El Shincal, vestiges of the Inca civilization, are
also worth visiting. El Tala and El Potrero have remains of the pre-Columbian
culture.
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Shopping
Ponchos and blankets made of sheep or alpaca wool. Tapestries inspired
by archaeological finds.
Semi-precious stones, like the rodocrosita.
Pepper, raisins, grape syrup, and regional wines in Santa María.
Sweets from Andalgalá.
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