The Quebrada de Humahuaca is a narrow mountain valley located in the province of Jujuy in north-west Argentina. It is about 155 kilometres long, oriented north-south, bordered by the Altiplano in the west and north, by the Sub-Andean hills in the east, and by the warm valleys (Valles Templados) in the south.

Quebrada de Humahuaca follows the line of a major cultural route, the Camino Inca, along the spectacular valley of the Rio Grande, from its source in the cold high desert plateau of the High Andean lands to its confluence with the Rio Leone some 150 km to the south.

Humahuaca is a small city in Provincia San Salvador de Jujuy, Argentina adjacent to the spectacular Quebrada de Humahuaca on the main road from Argentina into Bolivia. With a population of nearly 8,000 Humahuaca is sited along the banks of the Rio Grande at 3,000 meters above sea level.

The Quebrada de Humahuaca was the first part of Argentina to be explored and settled by the Spaniards, for it provided a connecting route to the more temperate regions further south around Salta and Cordoba where supplies of food and draft animals could be found for the silver mines at Potosi, the gold mines at Oruro and other mining settlements in Upper Peru, now Bolivia.

The town was a stopping place along that route before beginning the difficult climb to the Altiplano. Later Humahuaca was a central place for the revolutionary activity that eventually led to the creation of modern Argentina. Humahuaca was also a station on the now defunct railway that connected Bolivia to Buenos Aires, and its wild west aspect will remind many North Americans of some of the towns of Arizona or New Mexico. A dusty ranching center surrounded by acres of cactus and spectacularly colorful mountains, Humahuaca looks like it should be a set for a wild west movie.

Most buses between Jujuy and the town of La Quiaca on the Bolivian border stop at Humahuaca, and through buses to and from Salta are also available at the small and fairly informal bus station a few blocks SW of the center of town.

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