5 Best Sights in Tilcara, The Northwest

You'll find this surprising photography gallery by following a stony road that runs alongside the River Huichaira up into the mountains. The brainchild of photographer Lucio Boschi, the "museum in the hills" has two spaces displaying permanent collections as well as a temporary exhibit room. For the ultimate in artsy tranquility, kick back in the library while browsing coffee table books with a coca leaf tea.

Set on a hill above the left bank of the Río Grande, this fortified, pre-Inca pucará (settlement) is the best-preserved of several in the Quebrada de Humahuaca and the only one that can be visited. Its different areas (some of which have been rebuilt) can be clearly discerned. Allow at least 90 minutes to walk around the site, where an estimated 2,000 Omaguaca once lived, worshipped, and kept their animals. On your way out, turn right at the entrance to the fort for the Jardín Botánico (Botanical Garden): inside you can admire a large array of cacti and other plants. Don't miss the chance to strike the Piedra Campana with a mallet disguised as a stick—true to its name (Bell Stone) it rings like a bell.

One of the more notable additions to Jujuy’s elevated winemaking landscape, Huichaira Vineyard offers two tasting experiences in the gorge of the same name. Located on the opposite of the mountain to the Museo en los Cerros, enjoy a picnic accompanied by the delicious Cielo Arriba Malbec/Syrah/Cabernet Franc blend (US$50) or work up an appetite on a bicycle expedition from Tilcara to the vineyard (US$70).

Seven km (4 miles) west of town is La Garganta del Diablo (The Devil's Throat), a red-rock gorge with waterfalls (the number depends on the season). The tourist office in Tilcara can point you in the right direction; ask about the path that knocks about half the distance off the journey. Ask, too, for directions to the wind-eroded caves that are a similar distance east of town.

Exhibits at the Museo Arqueológico, run by the University of Buenos Aires, can be a little confusing due to a lack of explanatory labels. The two mummies here are considerably less well cared for than those in Salta's MAAM (Museum of High Altitude Archaeology), but no less fascinating. The clothes, hair, and skin of the first, which was found in San Pedro de Atacama in Chile, are well preserved. Other rooms display Nazca, Inca, Moche, and other remains from the past 2,000 years.