The Jama Pass Highway
Saturday–Monday November 10–12, 2007
The highway to the Jama Pass (14,400 feet) is paved all the way to Chile, 150 miles to the east of the junction with the Quebrada de Humahuaca highway. Three miles up the road is the little town of Purmamarca.
This is a typical street in Purmamarca. The town’s population is under 1,000. Tilcara has the area’s gasoline station and Purmamarca has the bank—an ATM.
The road begins to climb not far west of Purmamarca. Here you can see some of the many switchbacks on the way to one of the mountain passes (Cuesta del Lipán, 13,600 feet). The green area is pasture for goats and llamas—goat cheese is a common food, and llama meat was on the menus of the restaurants we patronized.
More scenery—
Zoom in on the map to see the highway to the turquoise pin.
One of the area’s giant salt flats (Salinas Grandes, 3,200 square miles) can be seen not long after reaching the first summit. The highway runs across it.
These are vicuñas, one of four species of camelids in South America. The others are llamas, guanacos and alpacas.
These photos were taken on the Salinas Grandes.
Salts are harvested from the dry salt flats, the Salinas Grandes, and hauled in large trucks over the mountains. The elevation here is about 11,000 feet.
About 50 miles past Salinas Grandes is another giant salt bed, Salar de Olaroz.
Here is a better view of the giant Salar de Olaroz.
Some of the many llamas that graze near the highway.
This is the tropical town of Susques, elevation 12,000 feet. It has the only gasoline between Tilcara and San Pedro de Atacama in Chile, over 150 miles away.
Before leaving Purmamarca, we visited the Hills of Seven Colors (Cerro de los Suite Colores), a dirt road that winded through beaurtiful mountains.
This shows a car and some hikers on the road.
We stayed overnight in Purmamarca, a few miles up the Jama Pass Highway from the Quebrada de Humahuaca Highway. The next morning we drove into the high mountains towards Chile, and, a day later, returned to the City of Salta.
Next—Santa Rosa de Tastil.
