Argentina Guide
Córdoba and the Central Sierras
The Calamuchita Valley
Long established as one of Córdoba Province's major holiday destinations, and where many cityfolk have weekend or summer homes, the green Calamuchita Valley begins 30km south of Córdoba city at the Jesuit estancia town of Alta Gracia – a popular day-trip destination from Córdoba – and stretches due south for over 100km, between the undulating Sierra Chica to the east and the steep Sierra de Comechingones to the west. The fertile valley gets its name from the Camiare indigenous language, and the Río Ctalamochita, which flows down from the Comechingones peaks – ktala and muchi are locally abundant native shrubs known as tala and molle in Argentine Spanish. Colonizers later prosaically baptized the river Río Tercero ("Third River"). The varied vegetation that covers the valley's sides provides a perfect habitat for hundreds of species of birds and other fauna.
The valley's two main towns could not be more different: Villa General Belgrano is a chocolate-box resort with a predominantly Germanic population, whereas Santa Rosa de Calamuchita, the valley's rather brash capital, is youthful and dynamic but far less picturesque. Both, however, are good bases for exploring the beautiful Comechingones mountains, whose Camiare name means "mountains and many villages". Frequent buses and trafics run along the arterial RP-5 between Córdoba and Santa Rosa de Calamuchita, some stopping at Alta Gracia en route.