Tilcara, Jujuy, Argentina (far NW)

23:30S   65:20W   2460masl     10hrs N by local bus from Cachi

This is a stone´s throw away from the tropics, but I`m still cold! It`s a pretty little town nestled below an ancient natural fortress in multi-coloured mountains in the Humahuaca Gorge. The fortress is a steep knoll witout defensive walls that the Incas managed to acquire from the Fisgara indians, but which the spanish took 50 years to win from the Incas. Part of it has been reconstructed, and the Inca influence stands out. It was later used in the war of independence and caused the spanish royalists considerable further difficulty. It`s a little touristy, but I`m in the off season, so they let me speak spanish.