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Quebrada de Humahuaca
The Quebrada de Humahuaca is a narrow mountain valley located in the province of Jujuy in northwest Argentina, about 1,500 km from Buenos Aires . It is about 155 kilometres long, oriented north-south, bordered by the Altiplano in the west and north, by the Sub-Andean hills in the east, and by the warm valleys (Valles Templados) in the south.
The name quebrada (literally "broken") translates as a deep valley or ravine. It receives its name from Humahuaca, a small city of 11,000 inhabitants. The Grande River (Rio Grande), which is dry in winter, flows copiously through the Quebrada in the summer.
The region has always been a crossroads for economic, social and cultural communication. It has been populated for 10,000 years, since the settlement of the first hunter-gatherers, which is evidenced by substantial prehistoric remains. It was a caravan road for the Inca Empire in the 15th century, then an important link between the Viceroyalty of the Rio de la Plata and the Viceroyalty of Peru, as well as a stage for many battles of the Argentine War of Independence.
The Quebrada de Humahuaca is a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2 July 2003.
Sources
UNESCO World Heritage Centre - Description of the site.
Jujuy Province - Official website (in Spanish).
Travelsur - Argentina Travel Advice forum (some comments translated from the official website).
GotoLatin.com - Argentina - Destinos (in Spanish).
North of Argentina Tourist info
Quebrada de Humahuaca pictures
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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Quebrada de Humahuaca
