The Tiny Town of Iryua

It’s not the easiest place to get to yet two bus loads of tourists, mostly Argentinian, were deposited in this village along with us.  We bought tickets for about 5 usd from Purmamarca to Humahuaca a day in advance for a very early 06:40 bus.  Around 08:00 we arrived in Humahuaca to get tickets for the 08:20 bus to Iruya.  The bus was already full, of tourists, but the ticket lady made a call and found a van taking the overflow.  The infrastructure for Iruya and probably this entire Quedabra Valley is not set up to handle the volume of tourism it is receiving.  The road the Iruya was dirt and rocks, bumpy as hell, and clung precariously to the mountainside.  We made five stream crossings, two of them were about a foot deep.  It was mostly single lane so when other vehicles wanted to pass in the opposite direction someone has to pull over just enough so they don’t go tumbling off the cliff.  Our driver appeared to be 16 years old and continuously ate cocoa leaves from a huge bag at his side.

We had our accommodation already sorted but if you didn’t it’s easy to find.  Ladies will approach you at the bus station to ask if you need a room, they are very low key and gentle as far as touts in a bus station go. Iruya is a very hilly place with cobblestone roads and old buildings.  

The hike to do here is sooooo hard, to the Mirador de Condors. You gain 1000 feet of elevation in the first mile which is very very steep.  It took us about 90 minutes to go up and 45 to go down.  We pressed on catching our breaths every 50 steps or so.  Like all hikes the view at the top makes the suffering worth it.

We opened the door to our room on the street and this guy wandered in and made himself at home.  Street dogs are usually gross and aggressive but the ones here seem to be well cared for pets.

When we left he was sad and waited for us by the door.

We had a last meal and got on the bus for the three hour ride back to Humahuaca where we plan to stay for two nights.  The bus ride is intense but the driver handles every curve smoothly, waving to every car that he passes.