June 3rd, 2013
For our first full day in Tilcara, a little village which is about four hours away from Salta, we hiked to La Garganta del Diablo. The hike was really cool at the beginning as the sun had not been able to reach over the mountains surrounding us at around 9 in the morning. The trip to our final destination in the mountains was splattered with an array of colorful hills, rocks and people as well. The Garganta del Diablo was a small waterfall hidden within the confines of the mountain which was absolutely beautiful, especially since most of the running water sources in Tilcara were dried up. On our trip back to the village, the temperature and dryness of the air had intensified greatly illustrating the drastic range in climate during a 24-hour period here in Tilcara. After a long day of excursions we all had a chance to explore the little village in which we were staying in. There was a market in the central plaza with natives selling their home-made goods such as carpets, sweaters, bags, and other items designed with typical patterns found in northern Argentina. Something that has been constantly occurring throughout the trip are the packs of dogs wandering the streets that end up following us because we are such a large group. Whether its because we provide them with a little attention or because they believe that we’ll give them of some sort of food, our little dog army never wavered.
The Yellow Mountains as seen on our trek to the Garganta del Diablo