History

Humahuaca Ravine has historically been a nexus between distant cultures from the Atlantic to the Pacific and from the Andes Mountains to the southern plains. It has been the Inca’s route before the Spanish arrived, a road for carriers and caravans and the commercial route between the Río de la Plata (River Plate) and Potosí along the Camino Real (Royal Road).
Since the first hunters settled there this valley has been the background to different cultures through 10.000 years. The Omaguaca culture is one of the most important cultures that developed here. An Omaguacan legend makes reference to a head that wept and exclaimed “Humahuacac! Humahuacac!”.  Some historians say that the name of the ravine is related to the burial place of the main heads of the group.
The Omaguaca group was the most developed of the groups that inhabited the province of Jujuy. They were sedentary people that
manufactured ceramics, weavings, baskets and metalwork. They stood out in agriculture and farming; they built cultivation platforms in the Inca manner because the stony soil required ingenious irrigation systems. Maiz was the base of their diet. They also ate guanaco, llama and ostrich meat.
They raised forts or pucarás at strategic points of the ravine. These fortresses defended them from the collector natives of the east and allowed them to resist the Inca Empire’s advance. But they became part of the Collasuyu (Inca Empire) by the end of the 15th century. This region was conquered between 1460 and 1493 by the sovereign Tupac Inca Yupanqui. This warrior dominated all of the Bolivian high plateau, Chile up to Bio Bio and an area that includes the Argentine Northwest down to the south of the province of Mendoza.
The region of Humahuaca was founded in 1594 by Juan Ochoa Zárate, native chief Limpita and some missioners. During the 16th century it became the access road to the territory of present Argentina used by the Spanish conquistadores (conquerors) that came down from Perú.
During colonial times it became an important center and this fact transformed the existing Omaguaca settlement. Nevertheless the irregular urban structure, of indigenous origin, remained for a long time. During the 19th century a regular layout of the streets was designed but the size of the blocks was not uniform. In 1974 the province of Jujuy passed a law that declared that Humahuaca was a Ciudad Histórica (Historical City). The Humahuaca Ravine that includes several villages had to wait some years to be duly acknowledged. During the session that took place at Paris the 2nd of July of 2003 the 21 members of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee unanimously agreed on saying that the Humahuaca landscape was a “patrimonial system of exceptional characteristics”.

Geography

Location

The Humahuaca Ravine is a large mountain valley 155 km. (96 miles) long that runs from north to south. It is located at the Argentine Northwest.
The village of Humahuaca is the historic capital of the ravine. It is the neuralgic center of the tour of villages at the Puna. It is 2939 meters (9642 feet) above sea level and lies by the River Grande.

How to get there

By plane

There are local flights that connect the Jorge Newbery airport in Buenos Aires with the Gobernador Horacio Guzmán International airport 34 km.(21 miles) from San Salvador de Jujuy, the capital of the province. There are daily bus services that take you to Humahuaca.

By car

The access route is National Route Nr. 9.

By bus

There are bus services from all over Argentina and from the north of Chile (Antofagasta and Iquique) that take you to the bus terminal of San Salvador de Jujuy. Daily bus services take you to Humahuaca from there.

Distances from Humahuaca to:

San Salvador de Jujuy (capital of the province): 126 km. (78 miles)
Buenos Aires city: 1500 km. (932 miles)

Economy

The descendents from Andean people (Omaguacas, Coyas and Aymarás) raise llamas, sheep and goats and grow crops and vegetables for their own consumption.
Humahuaca is an administrative center that gives services to the surrounding rural area. The village has primary schools, high schools, colleges, a hospital, a registry office, a post office and the regional police headquarter.
Humahuaca offers good lodging, gastronomic establishments and travel agencies that organize tours around the area. Cultural tourism is fashionable especially since UNESCO declared that the Quebrada de Humahuaca was World Heritage.

Population: 16.778 inhabitants in the department. Most of them are Coya people.

Topography

Humahuaca, at 2000 meters (6560 feet) above sea level, is a village flanked by high mountain ranges. Given the high altitude of the tourist spots it is highly recommended to walk slowly in order to avoid feeling sick due to the scarce oxygen.

Climate

Average temperatures

Average temperatures go between 19°C (66°F) and 23°C (73°F) all year round.

Precipitations

The whole area has desert climate. That is why there are few rainy days only in summer.

Hydrography

River Grande runs from north to south along the ravine (200 km. / 124 miles). This river carries much water in summer. This river runs from 4000 meters (13.100 feet) north altitude to 1200 meters (3900 feet) south altitude.