This stage of my journey to discover the north of Argentina has been strongly influenced by the desire to stay at Estancia Las Carreras. I stumbled on their website by accident while looking for information regarding gauchos and the Calchaquí valleys. Once seen their photos, I couldn’t help but change my itinerary to spend a few nights in this beautiful farmhouse and live an authentic experience.
Arrived in Tucumán – after about twenty hours bus ride from Buenos Aires – I rented a car to start my trip to Tafí del Valle, through the Quebrada de los Sosa. The landscape left me speechless: canyons of infinite shades of green, swarms of butterflies, herds at every street corner, men on horseback followed by their dog, roads advancing as far as the eye can see. A true natural show!
Tafí is emerald green, peaceful, picturesque, and reminded me of the holiday in the sixtieth, just like those seen in American movies. That feeling made me want to stop there and take time to enjoy life … a village that absolutely deserves a stay!
Las Carreras is located about ten kilometers from the city center, along dirt roads populated by gauchos, green hills, and blue sky (a marker shiny blue!). The Jesuits built the estancia in 1718, and you can still feel the atmosphere. It improved significantly by carefully chosen furnishings, flowers in the right places, discreet smiles, silence, and excellent traditional cuisine. It was love at first sight!
Aside from my own love at first sight feeling, surely common to many other travelers, you could decide to stay at the Estancia Las Carreras for a family holiday dedicated to relaxation, nature, and tradition. The farming to supply the historic cheese factory punctuates hours and days in and around the farm. Even people on vacation can follow the daily life of the animals and the production of the very fine Machenga brought centuries ago from La Mancha.
I also heartily recommend a horse ride with Moreno – a gaucho who turned out to be the perfect guide (!) – to complete the poem. Oh, speaking of gauchos: the estancia ones, besides their other various tasks, use to compete to see who prepares the better dulce de leche casero and to me, this is the most delicious contest one can think about 😉
In short, I fell in love with this place!
For more information and prices, this is the Estancia Las Carreras official website.
Personal Note
Thanks to my previous job and often for pleasure, I spent almost more time in hotels than at home in the last seventeen years. Here are those I consider special places not to be missed. Those I truly hope to come back to again and again…
These posts have nothing to do with sponsorships.
These are just places where I stayed and that I loved and felt like have to be recommended to everybody.
