Cafayate is a locality of the Calchaquíes Valleys located in the southwest of the province of Salta, Argentina. It is the head of the Cafayate department and a very important tourist city, very well-known by the excellent quality of the wines that take place there. History The locality was founded on 1640 by Manuel Fernando de Aramburu, Colonel of the Royal army, that executed the will of its mother to offer a sanctuary in the place to the Virgin of the Rosary. Soon it would increase his importance and the department in 1863 would separate definitively of San Carlos when being created. Tourism The zone is famous by its vineyards and excellent wines (grape of type torrontés is cultivated) and warehouses, and is - together to Tafí of the Valley the most important city within the tourist circuit of the Calchaquíes Valleys. The typical excurciones of Cafayate are the way to the colored river, a passage by entr the mountains and the vegetation in which it is possible to be appreciated the flora and the fauna in detail soon to find 9 great cascades at the end of the route, also can be gone to San Isidro a small town to the west of the city, and be visited the Gorge of the Shells, that has one of the best landscapes of the province. Population It had 11,785 habitants (INDEC, 2001), which turns it the city more populated with the Calchaquíes Valleys. This number represents in addition an increase to 27.2% in front of the 9,264 habitants (INDEC, 1991) of the previous census.
Climate The annual average temperature is of 14.8ºC with maximum of 28.5ºC and a minim of 9.4ºC in July, that is to say, dry climate, tempering, of great own luminosity and for the treatment of respiratory diseases. Still in the summer the temperature is primaveral and the days of greater heat are perfectly bearable. The atmospheric dryness originates a fort resistance of temperature between the day and the night. The winter is benign with little frosts but they do not lack days of rigorous cold.
