The Cerro de los Siete Colores gives Purmamarca a distinctive landscape feature: its rock layers display different hues. Together with the Paseo de los Colorados, the Capilla de Santa Rosa de Lima, and two annual festivals, it brings a specific route, architectural and art history, and cultural and culinary highlights. Purmamarca is also a starting point for exploring the Quebrada de Humahuaca. When planning a trip, the landscape, local history, and annual calendar thus offer different areas of focus.

Landscape and Route

Purmamarca is known for the Cerro de los Siete Colores. Its rock layers display different hues. The Cerro is also described as a “stone rainbow”; the colors reflect the sedimentary origin of its rocks. This brings together the visible impression of color and a geological interpretation.

The Paseo de los Colorados is a 3 km route behind the Cerro de los Siete Colores. It follows a winding, easy-to-walk path through the Río de Tumbaya riverbed and begins in Purmamarca. The two landscape features are clearly distinct: the Cerro is known for its colorful rock layers, while the Paseo follows a specific route through the riverbed.

Capilla, Art, and Local History

Santa Rosa de Lima is the only monumental building in the settlement of Purmamarca. The present-day Capilla has characteristic features of Hispanic American churches in the Sevillian Mudéjar tradition. On its side walls is a depiction of the Virgen de Cocharcas, followed by ten Cuzco paintings about the life of Saint Rosa. The architecture and artworks offer different cultural perspectives: alongside the architectural classification is a specific, named religious iconographic program.

Another historical landmark is the Cabildo of Purmamarca, built around 1850. The approximate construction date adds a chronological reference to the architectural and art-historical details.

Annual Festivals

The Encuentro de Copleros de Purmamarca is held every year in the central square. The Concurso de Queso de Cabra de Purmamarca is also held annually, in February, at Plaza 9 de Julio. It is one of the region’s most significant cultural and culinary festivals. For trip planning, the Concurso provides a specific February highlight, while the Encuentro adds to the annual program of events.

Getting Your Bearings and the Regional Setting

National Route 52 passes through Purmamarca. The settlement lies west of National Route 9, about 3 km away. These road connections help locate the town. Purmamarca is also a starting point for exploring the Quebrada de Humahuaca.

In the wider travel destination of Departamento Tumbaya, the Quebrada de Humahuaca is a narrow, dry mountain valley approximately 155 kilometers long, through which the Río Grande flows. UNESCO declared the Quebrada a World Heritage cultural landscape in 2003. Its valleys in Departamento de Tumbaya preserve numerous archaeological sites, architectural heritage sites, and Indigenous traditions, the latter passed down through generations.

Discover more destinations: Yala, Humahuaca, Tilcara, Hornillos, La Quiaca, San Salvador De Jujuy, Calilegua, San Javier

For the full travel overview: Jujuy.