Tilcara — Decipher the Omaguaca Fortress Code

Your journey begins at the entrance to the Pucará de Tilcara, a pre-Inca fortress built by the Omaguacas between 1100 and 1440 AD. This strategic 4-hectare site, perched on La Loma hill, was occupied by the Incas around 1480. Here you'll decipher the first riddles among the approximately 250 rectangular dry stone structures, restored between 1958 and 1960 by the University of Buenos Aires to reach 3 to 4 meters in height. This National Historic Monument, declared in 1969 by Law 17.456, is the cornerstone of our exploration of the heritage of Argentina's northwest and the Omaguaca culture.

Continue to the Jardín Botánico de Altura, Argentina's first high-altitude botanical garden, established in 1995 by the Museo Arqueológico. Located at 2420 meters above sea level and spanning 2 hectares, it showcases 150 Andean species, including the cardón cactus (Trichocereus pasacana) which can reach 10 meters. This garden, open to the public since 2000, serves as a conservation area for the endemic flora of the Puna. Here you will discover how the nature of Jujuy influenced pre-Columbian civilizations and their adaptation to this unique environment of the Quebrada de Humahuaca.

Your route then leads to the Monumento a los Héroes de la Independencia, erected in 1927 near the Pucará. This monument commemorates the battles of the Quebrada during the War of Independence (1810-1821) and was inaugurated by President Marcelo T. de Alvear during the centenary of independence. The 5-meter bronze sculpture, depicting gaucho horsemen, helps you contextualize the resistance of local populations, a distant echo of Omaguaca resilience against the Incas, and then the Spanish in the Jujuy region.

Plaza 20 de Febrero, Tilcara's central square, is your next stop. Named in honor of the battle of February 20, 1817, against the Spanish royalists, this 5000 m² square is surrounded by 19th-century colonial buildings and adorned with an 1890 fountain. It is the heart of traditional festivals like Pachakuti. Nearby, the Iglesia Nuestra Señora de Rosario de Tilcara, built in 1889-1900 in neoclassical style on the Plaza Principal, with its 20-meter bell tower and 18th-century altar, restored in 2005 after recurring earthquakes, attests to the persistence of colonial heritage in the city of Jujuy.

Your exploration culminates at the Museo Arqueológico Dr. Eduardo Casanova, founded in 1959 in the former San Francisco church (1697). It houses 3745 Omaguaca and Inca artifacts, including pre-Columbian mummies and ceramics dating back to 1000 AD. The 400 m² building and its adjacent botanical garden immerse you in the heart of the archaeological research that unveiled the Pucará. Walking along Calle Belgrano and reaching the Mirador de Tilcara, you gaze upon the landscape of the Quebrada de Humahuaca and its heritage, a complete immersion in the history of Jujuy and the culture of Argentina's northwest.