Tilcara

Traces of human life around Tilcara go back more than 10,000 years, making it one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in Argentina. Around the 12th century the Omaguaca people settled the area and built a fortified town, the Pucará, on a hill overlooking a long stretch of the Quebrada de Humahuaca. In the late 15th century the Incas under Túpac Inca Yupanqui conquered the peoples of the valley and used the Pucará as a military outpost and to secure metals mined nearby.

Inca rule lasted only about half a century. The Spanish arrived in 1536 and founded the present town of Tilcara in 1586, on the flat ground below the hill. The church of Nuestra Señora del Rosario dates from the late 17th century; by 1853 only its walls stood, and it was still in poor condition when Tilcara became the seat of the parish in 1860.

In 1908 the ethnographer Juan Bautista Ambrosetti of the University of Buenos Aires and his student Salvador Debenedetti rediscovered the Pucará and catalogued thousands of artefacts. Eduardo Casanova later led the work and opened the site as a museum in 1966, and the university still runs it. Artists drawn by the landscape gave the town its museums, and in January 1986 Argentina's national football team trained here at altitude before the World Cup. The Quebrada became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003, and Tilcara is now its main tourist centre.

Tilcara is often described as the archaeological centre of Argentina, and its identity rests on its long past: the Pucará, the university's archaeological museum, and the Indigenous traditions of the Quebrada. It is also an artists' town, with museums of painting such as those of José Antonio Terry and Irureta, and a foundation devoted to the Tilcara-born painter Medardo Pantoja.

The religious year is intense. In Holy Week pilgrims walk up to the sanctuary of the Virgin of Copacabana at Abra de Punta Corral and bring her image back down; sikuri panpipe bands from across the country, even from Tierra del Fuego, gather at the church for a blessing, and the streets are decorated with ermitas, large pictures of Gospel scenes made from flower petals and seeds. In August, Pachamama, Mother Earth, receives offerings of food and drink.

Carnival has regained its strength since the UNESCO listing, and Tilcara has become one of its main centres: the Pujllay, a devil-like spirit of fun, is unearthed at the start and buried at the end, after days of music, coplas and dancing. In January the Enero Tilcareño fills the town with exhibitions, cinema, theatre and night-time festivals.

Tilcara had about 6,200 people at the 2010 census and is the head town of the Tilcara Department. It sits at about 2,500 metres beside National Route 9, the main road through the Quebrada.

Tourism is the main source of income: guesthouses, cabins, restaurants, tour operators, crafts and the museums employ much of the town, alongside small-scale farming in the valley. The town has changed with its popularity. Many original inhabitants have sold land that once belonged to their families, and newcomers from other parts of Argentina have settled here, drawn by the landscape and the way of life.

The day starts early and follows the sun; shops close for a long siesta and reopen into the evening, when the plaza and the restaurants fill. In the dry winter the town is quiet, while January's festival, Carnival and Holy Week bring crowds that fill every room. The rainy summer can bring floods and landslides that cut the road through the Quebrada.

Tilcara's food is the cooking of the Andean highlands. Quinoa and papas andinas, the small potatoes of many colours grown in the mountains, are staples again, and llama meat is served in stews. Empanadas jujeñas are the province's own style of empanada. Sopa de maní (peanut soup), sweetened squash and a spicy tomato spread are typical dishes.

Humitas, fresh maize paste with onion and cheese cooked in maize husks, and tamales, maize dough filled with meat, are sold in simple restaurants and at the market. Locro, a thick stew of maize, beans, squash and meat, is eaten on cold days and at festivals, and quesillo, a soft fresh cheese, is served with honey or cayote, a squash preserve.

To drink there is api, a thick hot drink of purple maize, and chicha, a traditional fermented maize beer. Coca leaves are chewed or brewed as tea in the highlands. Some restaurants in the centre feature live performances of local music.