Our latest Expedition has just wrapped up, what a way to start our 2025 adventures than with the “Touring Gauchos” taking on our 8 day El Gaucho Expedition in Northern Argentina. For many folks speaking of South America and even Argentina illicit ideas of Patagonia, the famous Southern part of the continent and very well known to the foreigner. However for most Argentine’s their holiday destination is Salta. One of the Northern most provinces of the country and home to the rich culture and heritage of their country. You won’t find too many foreigners on these roads but you will meet locals, having a good time and displaying their culture proudly. This was evident in the reactions of our Touring Gauchos, often bewildered by the slow way of life and stark contrast to life back home. On day 5 as we descended into Cachi with the view of the Nevado de Cachi (6000m snowcapped peak) in front of us there were tears streaming down the descent. Not of pain and suffering but just pure joy of witnessing the majestic beauty of these mountains!

Our adventure started with a test of patience, the acclimatisation to altitude takes time and it’s vitally important to let the body adapt over the course of a couple of days to the high altitudes before setting off on our first big day of climbing. Settled in the Quebrada of Jujuy, an enormous valley that stretches over 100km we tried local cuisine, prepared our bikes and even made a trip to the Hornocal for our shakedown ride. This view is another tear jerker that feels like a watercolour painting in front of your eyes. At 4300m above sea level the air feels thin but the view is worth it. 24km of gravel descending down to the nearest town for lunch is a nice introduction to life in the North of Argentina.

The night before our adventure was due to start for real, heavy rain fell the entire night. This caused all sorts of carnage cutting the road in parts with landslides and flash flooding. The 40km climb wouldn’t be passable. It also meant the Salinas Grandes, the salt flat was flooded and the following day’s ride would be peanut butter mud, potentially stranding us in the most isolated section of the route. Mother nature meant we had to pull out our contingency plan and a quick transfer back to Salta was on the cards. As we drove we could see more damage from all the rain and quickly realised riding would have been a bad idea. It wasn’t all bad news as the “day off” meant we could partake in a local Salta tradition, a famous restaurant that opens at 9pm in the evening for dinner! What makes it special is that as dinner gets underway people start pulling out guitars from under the tables and before the long the entire restaurant (100 people) are all singing along to the same folklore songs. It’s a crazy and beautiful experience, packed with people, dogs and cats roaming amongst the tables saying hello and hopefully grabbing a free snack.

The following day we transferred back to the Puna, at 3500m the air was thin again but we were keen to get back on the bike. We took the opportunity to ride a little known road in the direction of the mines that harvest many rare minerals high up in the mountains. This gave us some amazing views of the Andes and we came across a herd of llama grazing by a river seemingly in the middle of nowhere!

Here’s what Roberto had to say after his second expedition:

"The “El Gaucho Expedition” is my second trip with Curve. I am impressed, and inspired, with what this group of cyclists have put together. With “Gus” as their ambassador one is exposed to a whole new world of: beautiful landscapes, finely crafted titanium bicycles, training methodologies, insights into cycle racing, altitude acclimation, healthy and absolutely delicious food, exposure to different cultures, lifetime friendships and simply meeting outstanding human beings… We have short stay on this incredible rock and this is time well spent."

If you're interested in our upcoming expeditions, take a look at the adventures coming up or email Gus@curvecycling.com