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Margaret - I moved from Kansas City to Cafayate about 3 1/2 years ago. We live in La Estancia de Cafayate (LEC) which is a vineyard residential development just south of town. There is a lot to do in this area, it just takes a small amount of planning. Patios is a nice hotel and has a great ambiance. There are also other good options. LEC has the Grace Hotel and Villas and it has a pool as well. You also get access to other LEC facilities such as golf, the heath club restaurant, horseback riding and the Athletic Club and Spa which is as nice of a facility as you will find in the US or elsewhere. Other good options are Killa and Vinas Wine Resort. If you are thinking of something else, let me know and I'll let you know. There are some good restaurants in town - Bad Brothers Wine Experience, Patios, Piatelli, Vinas Wine Resort, El Teruno, Nanni and Bacos (more rustic but the food is good as well as the piped in US music). You can go to several wineries and do tastings: Finca Las Nubes, Piatelli, Bad Brothers, Nanni, Domingo Hermanos, Domingo Molinas, El Esteco...the list goes on. If you like to hike, there is a guided tour of the Rio Colorado/Divisidero. Take a taxi as it is about 5 to 6 km from town.Great scenary and not too difficult even for a 7 year old boy. There are a lot of other trails in the area for novice to expert hikers. We do day hikes and achieve 2,000 to 3,500 foot elevation gains in 3 to 4 hours. Quilmes(archeological site) is about 50 km (30 miles) south of Cafayate on Ruta 40. Worth a visit especially if you want an easy to moderate hike (the higher you go, the harder it gets) and the buildings (including a hotel on site that is closed for political reasons) are quite interesting. In fact, if you continue down Ruta 40 another 2 or 3 km, there is a road that goes left and takes you to Amachi de Valle and if you keep going, to Tafi de Valle. In Amachi de Valle, there is the Pacha Mama ((Mother Earth) Museum. Very interesting architecture and grounds. It has a number of interesting displays and a huge model of the terrain of NW Argentina. Going north of Ruta 40, you go through the Quebrada las Flechas. You will think you are on the set of a Star Trek episode. Keep going to Molinas and you can stay in a hotel that was the residence of the first Spanish governor of the Salta Province. The rooms are comfortable, It has a wonderful courtyard and the food is very good. About 40 minutes west of Molinas is Colome owned by the Hess Family and it has the highest vineyards in the world. The grounds are exceptional. Take a tour of the property and the bodega. Have lunch and sample the wines. They are excellent. You can also visit the James Turrell Museum that is on site. Very different from a typical museum. I could go on, but that is probably more than you can absorb in a few days visit. Let me know when you are coming and perhaps we can get together for a glass or two of excellent wine.
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