The Ruins of Quilmes Antiguo

A few hours south of Cafayate, crossing into the province of Tucuman, are the fantastic ruins of the pukara of Quilmes Antiguo.   The city was founded in the ninth century AD, and the Quilmes Indians were some of the strongest resistors to Spanish colonization.

Much of the city has been excavated and restored, particularly the sections on the mountainsides.  

Making our way up to the higher levels was like trying to find our way through an ancient maze, with the final reward being an incredible view of the valley and unexcavated areas of the city below.  There are no massive monuments or temples, just chest-high walls tracing the footprint of a once urban area.  The only sounds to be heard were those of the wind buffeting the mountain, and of distant Italians egging each other on to free climb a massive boulder in the heart of the ruins.  

I've somehow managed to mess up the formatting of this post, but rather than patiently re-upload pictures, I'll just assume that pictures are worth more than a thousand words.  Since my posts are always less than a thousand words, my work here is done.  By the way, the last two pictures are from the grounds of the Pachamama natural history Museum in the nearby town of Amaicha.  The grounds are the work of a local artist (ie, not artifacts).