quilmes ruins (ruinas de quilmes)

rictraveler2014

We visited these ruins from Cafayate in December. The earliest ruins date from the 8thC (prior to Inca conquest), but purportedly also have remnants of Inca building. While there are only walls at the site, they are evocative and you can easily understand why this city was never conquered by the Spanish by war. I believe that the remaining inhabitants after conquest were resettled in Buenos Aires (hence the name of that section of the city)/Unfortunately the museum was not open at our visit but we saw some fascinating relics and sculptures by peeking through the windows. For the archeology or history buff this is an must see.FYI, it does require several km of driving on dirt/gravel road to reach the ruins.

Pz1965

Leaving amaicha (an other world compared to tafi del valle) you'll find quilmes ruins. A vast city built with stones by the prehispanic people. A little bit too turistic and an obligatory guided tour, but Worth the money.fter that go to cafayate to drink a good torontes

Lpinto

An easy trip from Calafate, a wonderful piece of history. Yes, it is reconstructed, but you can always see, feel and imagine. Highly recommended

LJClark34

This sleepy river side restaurant bar was a great place to spend a spring afternoon. The salads are delicious and the beef very good. I had a spinach crape which was surprisingly good. A wide open spacious location. The bar can prepare just about any type of drink and the ice cream is hand made! If you do not speak Spanish be sure to bring your e-translator.

ChrisRudd

The ruins are interesting to look at but come to life once you hear the story behind them, given by the (partly) indigenous guide. He speaks in Spanish but slowly enough, and with good hand gestures, for you to pick a lot of it up. We were lucky enough to have our own guide act as translator as well, which of course helped enormously.If you climb a little up the mountainside you get a better perspective of the whole site and a feeling of how it might have appeared when complete.The landscape is amazing with hundreds of large cacti covering the ruins.A very worthwhile trip out.

zip22313

I found this place to be the best part of my trip to Tucuman. It made for a long day because we made a couple other stops, but had more than enough time at the ruins.On the down side, there is no place to eat here, but it was not exactly crowded here either.A guide gave a good explanation, but I wish it could have had more detail. However, it was still fascinating to hear.Overall, I was very happy to have visited. I learned more things about South American indians that I had not previously known.I have been to Machu Picchu twice. While not on the same scope, it is still an interesting place to visit.Make sure the Ruinas de Quilmes are on your to do list when visiting Tucuman.

holy_grizz

I enjoyed getting to see the ruins. You pay first then continue driving a little bit more to get to the parking lot and ruins. There are restrooms and a small shops selling souvenirs on the outer area before entering the ruins. There are guides that can take you through the restored ruins that are informative. I would recommend using the guides for an educational trip if you're not familiar with the area or history. During our trip, there were no English speaking guides so my information was limited. The tour was quick and once over, you are allowed to explore the rest of the place including climbing the paths to get higher. This was my favorite experience here as the views were spectacular. Bring some water if you're going to hike, as well as wear comfortable shoes as the hike up can be strenuous. Depending on how far you climb, you might have to climb over jagged rocks and cacti.

AdinaKarmiel

you can learn there a lot about the Incas conquests and the rebellions of the local tribes. The story there is incredible !

gauchitopete

Very impressive ruins set in an ampitheatre amphitheatre of hills. The dozens of houses and defensive works rise in tiers up the hillside and provide exceptional views of themselves and the valley stretching out to another range of hills some miles away. If you are fortunate to visit in the right season you will see giant cacti in flower. The blooms are really beautiful.There is an excellent coffee shop with comfortable seating where they sell worthwhile souvenirs including work by Hector Cruz, the local artist responsible for the nearby Pachamama Museo .If you are anywhere near Calafate make this your Number One sidetrip.

JFLR187198

Historical site of some importance, it is located at the foot of a small mountain and spreads out on the it. Climbing a little will help get the best views of the site and on the valley below. Plenty of big cactus trees. Some good photos to take.

CE778

If you are travelling up Route 40 and pass the ruins then by all means call in for a look. The site had some work done in the 1970s to mark the boundary of some of the buildings but it takes a lot of imagination to visualise what the place looked like when it was occupied. I saw now boards or literature to explain the site and the guide didn't convey much information either. Nice place to walk around or climb. Take a drink if it is hot.

Harriette7

Due to a disagreement between two groups who think they should be in charge of the ruins, the police closed the road and would not allow us to visit the ruins.

DarylJ552

The ruins of Quilmes are a few kilometers off of Route 40 near Cafayate,Argentina. The area is desert with lots of Cardon cactus. There isn't much left except for the rock walls that were the foundations of the buildings. There were approximately 5,000 people living here between 1000 and 1667AD. They fought off the Spanish for over 150 years until defeated and removed to Buenos Aires. There is a small museum but it was closed at the time of our visit.

gaucho_ec

Having seen other "ruins" (they all are rebuilt so don't think you're seeing the original thing) I think this is the better managed. It does impact you, and if you read or visit museums about this civilization you'll enjoy it even more. Another option is to take a guide, but I avoid them whenever I can as I prefer to check everything at my own (quite fast) pace. If you are in decent shape, the walk to the top is not hard and quick. The different view angles make it worthy. Choose this ruin, but if you've been to other similar attractions and have to go out of your way to get here, I'd give it a second thought.

ryanar70

Having stopped to see the ruins at El Shincal, we debated detouring relatively late in the afternoon to visit Quilmes. In the end, we thought we'd stop in and were very glad we did. Much better preserved, the ruins are again fascinating to wander through and we could have spent much longer taking it all in. We hired the on-site guide and were very happy with the tour.As per other reviewers, I'd like to see more interpretive information around the place. Still, it was really impressive.