Cachi

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Cachi
Cachi town center (Salta) .jpg
Basic data
location 25 ° 48 ′  S , 64 ° 58 ′  W Coordinates: 25 ° 48 ′  S , 64 ° 58 ′  W
Height above d. M .: 2280  m
Population (2001): 5254
  (Argentina)
 
 
administration
Province : SaltaSalta Salta
Department : Cachi
Mayor: María Fanny Flores de Guitián, Frente Justicialista para la Victoria
Others
Postal code : 4417
Telephone code: 03868
Website by Cachi
map
Location of Cachi

Cachi is the capital of the eponymous department of Cachi in the province of Salta in northwest Argentina . The place has 2,189 inhabitants and is located in the Valles Calchaquíes at an altitude of 2,280 meters. The distance to the provincial capital Salta is 157 kilometers and 165 kilometers to the wine town of Cafayate .

climate

Cachi has a sunny, dry climate. The number of sunny days varies between 340 and 350 a year. Precipitation is extremely low at 80 to 150 millimeters and the relative humidity is 15 percent. Temperatures in summer fluctuate between 33 and 37 degrees Celsius during the day and 12 and 15 degrees Celsius at night. In winter it is a pleasant 24 to 25 degrees Celsius during the day and −6 to −10 degrees Celsius at night.

history

The name Cachi means "salt" in Quechua. This designation would suggest that the shiny peaks of the nearby mountain were mistaken for a salt store. Another interpretation ascribes the word to the language of the Diaguitas , the Kakana . Kak means "stone" or "rock" and chi or chin "silence" or "loneliness". The Nevado de Cachi is also called "Blanco Peñón de la Soledad".

The place Cachi existed before the Spanish conquest. The Diaguitas had settled at the foot of the Nevado de Cachi in order to use the existing mountain water of the Río Cachi and the Río Calchaquí for their agriculture by means of their irrigation technology in terrace cultures. Because of the dry climate, it was necessary to irrigate all crops. The Spaniards took over the irrigation technique of the Diaguitas and expanded and improved it for their purposes.

In 1673 Cachi was first mentioned in a document. The Jesuits had founded several mission stations along the Valles Calchaquíes. When they divided the land into encomiendas in 1673, Doña Margarita de Chavez was assigned those areas that belonged to Cachi. In 1719 Don Pascual de Elizondo was recorded as the landowner and later Don Felipe de Aramburu . Over time, the Finca Hacienda de Cachi developed , isolating its residents from the outside world and preventing urban and economic development.

In 1796 the Hacienda de Cachi was officially leased to the Convento de la Merced by Doña Micaela L. de Medina Pomar and her nephew Juan José Aramburu . As a result, the Mercedarians build the historic church of Cachi and assign land to the residents so that they can build their homes near the church.

The new districts were built in the 1950s. In 1946 the national government had expropriated parts of the Finca Hacienda Cachi and released them for building. For this purpose, ten hectares, which adjoined the old town center to the west, were divided into pieces of land measuring 20 × 50 meters. The hospital, school and police building also date from this period.

tourism

Tourist information in Cachi

Together with the provincial capital Salta and the idyllic wine town of Cafayate, Cachi is one of the three main attractions of the province. The place Cachi is built in colonial architecture and surrounded by mountains in the Valles Calchaquíes. The three-hour drive from Salta leads through the Quebrada de Escoipe and then climbs the Cuesta del Obispo until the highest point of the route, Piedra de Molino , is reached at 3,348 meters . The famous Recta del TinTin was already part of the 23,000-kilometer Camino del Inca and leads past the Los Cardones National Park .

Some of the attractions in Cachi include:

House in Cachi
  • Iglesia San José (Plaza Central). The church, built in the 17th century in neo-Gothic style, was declared a national monument in 1945. The adobe walls were built on stones cut round by the water. A three-part bell wall rises above the front. Particularly noteworthy are the parts of the church made of cardón (the wood of the candelabra cacti): ceiling, altar, confessional and picture frame .
  • Museo Arqueológico "Pío Pablo Díaz" . The museum guards around 5,000 finds spanning a period of 10,000 years. The focus of the collection is on the period from 800 BC. BC to AD 1,600
  • La Plaza . The central square of Cachi is surrounded by a traditional stone wall, into which three-arched gates lead. The stone wall is intended to commemorate the meeting places of the Indian ancestors who inhabited this region.
  • Finca Palermo . A little more than 20 kilometers from Cachi you will find this finca, which was built at the beginning of the last century. The mansion was built according to the plans of the owner, Dr. Benjamin Zorrilla , a former ambassador of Argentina to Russia, constructed in the 1920s.
  • Camino Ruinas Las Pailas . 16 kilometers outside of Cachi there is an archaeologically interesting site with ruins and old mines. The place can only be reached on foot or with all-terrain vehicles.
  • Nevado de Cachi . The mountain range consists of nine peaks. The highest is 6,380 meters high. Since 1950, in memory of the 100th anniversary of the death of General José de San Martín , she has been baptized El Libertador (The Liberator).

Festivals

  • Festival de la Tradición Calchaquí (third weekend of January). The Festival of Calchaquí Traditions aims to save the customs and values ​​of the region, its music, its dances and its cuisine.
  • Patron feast in honor of San José (March 19). Folk festival with the traditional burning of Cardón (candelabra cactus wood).

Web links

Commons : Cachi  - album with pictures, videos and audio files