Córdoba and the Central Sierras

The Central Sierras are the highest mountain ranges in Argentina away from the Andean cordillera. Their pinkish-grey ridges and jagged outcrops alternate with fertile valleys, wooded with native carob trees, and barren moorlands, fringed with pampas grass – a patchwork that is one of Argentina’s most varied landscapes. Formed more than four hundred million years before the Andes and gently sculpted by the wind and rain, the sierras stretch across some 100,000 square kilometres, peaking at Cerro Champaquí.

Colonized at the end of the sixteenth century by settlers heading south and east from Tucumán and Mendoza, Córdoba was the region’s first city. The Society of Jesus and its missionaries played a pivotal part in its foundation, establishing it at a strategic point along the Camino Real (“Royal Way”), the Spanish route from Alto Peru to the Crown’s emerging Atlantic trading posts on the Río de la Plata. From that point on, the Jesuits dominated every aspect of life in the city and its hinterland, until King Carlos III of Spain had them kicked out of the colonies in 1767. You can still see their handsome temple in the city centre, among other examples of colonial architecture. Further vestiges of the Jesuits’ heyday, Santa Catalina and Jesús María, are two of Argentina’s best-preserved Jesuit estancias, located between Córdoba city and the province’s northern border, just off the Camino Real, promoted locally as the Camino de la Historia. Slightly north of Santa Catalina is one of the country’s most beguiling archeological sites, Cerro Colorado, where hundreds of pre-Columbian petroglyphs decorate open-air galleries of red sandstone at the foot of cave-riddled mountains.

Northwest from Córdoba city is the picturesque Punilla Valley, along which are threaded some of the oldest, most traditional holiday resorts in the country, such as La Falda and Capilla del Monte, sedate towns with genteel hotels. At the southern end of the valley, close to Córdoba city, are two nationally famous resorts: noisy, crowded Villa Carlos Paz and slightly quieter Cosquín, the latter known for its annual folk festival. By way of contrast, the far north of the province, particularly a stunningly unspoilt area roughly between Capilla del Monte and Santa Catalina, remains little visited: the dramatic rock formations at Ongamira and the lovingly restored hamlet of Ischilín are just two of the secret marvels hereabouts. Directly south of Córdoba, the Calamuchita Valley is famed for its two popular holiday spots, sedately Germanic Villa General Belgrano and much rowdier Santa Rosa de Calamuchita, from where alpine trails climb into the nearby Comechingones range. Alta Gracia, at the entrance to this increasingly urbanized valley, is home to an outstanding historical museum housed in an immaculately restored estancia; Che Guevara spent much of his adolescence in the town. A high mountain pass cuts through the natural barrier of the sierras to the southwest of Córdoba. It leads to the generally more placid resorts of the Traslasierra, a handsome valley in western Córdoba Province, and some stunning scenery in the lee of Cerro Champaquí, which is easily climbed from the pretty village of San Javier. Along this route lies Córdoba Province’s only national park, the Quebrada del Condorito, whose dramatic, often misty ravines provide an outstanding breeding site for the magnificent condor and a habitat for a number of endemic species.

Córdoba Province is well served by public transport, especially along the Punilla and Calamuchita valleys, but you can explore at your own pace by renting a car or even a mountain bike. Nearly everywhere is within striking distance of the city of Córdoba, which you could use as a base for day excursions, but it would be a shame to miss out staying at some of the estancias in the Central Sierras. The whole region gets overcrowded in the summer, especially in January, so you should try and go in the cooler, drier and quieter months; although night temperatures are low in winter (June–August), the days can be mild, sunny and extremely pleasant.

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