Rio Colorado Waterfalls — Attraction in Municipio de Cafayate

Beautiful but not the easiest short hike! There are guides from the local territory waiting in the front. I would recommend taking a guide unless you are very adventurous & very comfortable in nature. I am in my mid-twenties, not super adventurous when it comes to hiking and my health/sport level is normal - I would not have been able to go without a guide.

You can do the short circuit of 3 waterfalls. This takes about 1h30 and cost $1000 per person (2022). The full circuit takes you to the 7 waterfalls for $2000 per person. You can tell the guide you want to do the short circuit and then decide if you want to continue to the longer one later.

We did the short circuit which was very beautiful. You can also swim if you want.

Our guide Wilson was very friendly and nice. He even lent me his jacket when we were walking through the path.

You need to have good fitness and good shoes. You have to cross some small rivers and climb some rocks at times. The walk is beautiful, but not recommended for...

Note: never made it passed the car park! One star for the aggressive behaviour of the 'guides'. Decided to go elsewhere. Recommend Quilmes ruins.

We fancied a walk. Saw good reviews of this one and planned to go without a guide. We arrived and immediately we approached by a group of men by the entrance of the path. They pointed us to a car park and two men came and stood by the car. There were not official although one did decide to put a high vis jacket on. Neither did they speak English (not that o have an issue- but when your quoting £15 to go on a walk it would make a big difference.

They told us that we 'must' go with a guide and that we were not allowed to go alone. They quoted 350 peso per person (dollar -43). Then another chap told us that he would 'watch the car'- from who we couldn't work out.

We gave up and decided to drive to Quilmes ruins 50km south. 100 peso per person entry and one of the most spectacular places we have been too. It even had a walk up to...

A bit surprised to see all these hate comments against the local guides. We paid the equivalent of 9 USD each for the small hike (40-50 mins), but if you pay more you can see all the falls. I am not sure how people can get to the top without a guide but if you are an expert hiker I guess you can find your way up by the river. I would highly recommend using the guide, and some hiking shoes make it a bit more comfortable. Our guide was a very friendly lady (although you need to understand spanish). All the money goes to the local municipality and tips to the guide themselves, so perhaps rather than calling it a "mafia" like in some comments, it's good to understand how this is part of a programme to help local communities during a time of great economic trouble for the country. Anyway, the views are breathtaking, even with the short, 40-50 minute hike. Highly recommended. And please stop complaining...