Places like Iguazú Falls, Perito Moreno glacier, Bariloche and Mendoza are firmly on the tourist radar in Argentina. But here’s somewhere equally fabulous that’s not: the Quebrada de Humahuaca in the far north-west of the country, in the Province of Jujuy. So what is a ‘quebrada’ anyway? Good question. A quebrada is a ravine, and the Quebrada de Humahuaca is a ravine 150 km long and over two thousand meters above sea level, located not far from Argentina’s border with its northern neighbor, Bolivia. It is spectacular due to its rock formations and its incredible multicolored hills, which truly must be seen to be believed. The largest city and main jumping-off point for exploring this area is Salta. Salta boasts some good hostels, plenty of tourist and car rental agencies and a nice central plaza, but it’s not a place you should plan to stay for more than a couple of nights. The real gems are the small towns located near Salta (such as Tilcara, Cachi, Cafayate and Humahuaca) and the landscapes in and around them. They’re best explored by car, but if you don’t have a car and don’t want to hire one, stay in Cafayate and do a tour of the nearby viewpoints from there. The one absolutely unmissable sight in the area is the Cerro de los Siete Colores which provides a backdrop of amazing beauty for the little village of Purmamarca. The seven colors are: light orange (composed of red clay, mud and sand); white (lime rock); brown, purple and violet (lead and calcium); red (clay and iron); green (copper oxide); brown (rock and manganese), and yellow (sulfur).