Jujuy Province
Jujuy is a
province of
Argentina, located in the extreme northwest of the country, at the borders with
Chile and
Bolivia. The only neighboring Argentine province is
Salta to the east and south.
Pre-Columbian inhabitants, that would later mix with the
Incas during their expansion period, practiced agriculture and domesticated the
guanaco. They had huts made of mud, and erected stone fortresses to protect their villages. An example of such fortresses is
Pucará de Tilcara, Pucará meaning "Fortress" (word also used for the
Argentine combat aircraft
Pucara).
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Ruins of the Pucará near Tilcara |
In
1593 a small settlement is erected in the Jujuy valley by the effort of
Francisco de Argañaraz y Murguía. In spite of the attacks of the
calchaquíes and
omaguacas aborigines, the population and activity of the village consolidated and grew.
At the end of the 17th century, the customs to the
Viceroyalty of Peru is transferred from
Córdoba to Jujuy.
With the separation from
Peru and the creation of the
Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, Jujuy loses its importance and its population starts diminishing.
During the
May Revolution and the battles for the independence of the
United provinces of the South, many confrontations took place in Jujuy because the Spanish forces concentrated their forces in Peru. The people of Jujuy had to endure the
Jujuy Exodus, a massive evacuation with a
scorched earth policy, led by General
Manuel Belgrano. Finally the Spanish surrendered, but the war seriously affected the economy of the area.
After a series of internal conflicts, the province, now separated from
Tucumán and
Salta, started a gradual economic and social improvement, and at the end of the 19th century
sugarcane industry arose. At the beginning of the following century, the railway already connected the province with
Buenos Aires, and
La Paz,
Bolivia.
Industry was impelled first in the 1940s with the construction of the first metal-production
furnace in the country, and then in 1969 with the discovering of
petroleum by the state-owned
YPF.
There are 3 main areas in Jujuy; the
Altiplano, a 3,500 meters high
plateau with peaks of 5,000 meters, covers most of the province. The
Grande River of Jujuy cuts through the
Quebrada de Humahuaca cannon, of heights between 1,000 and 3,500 meters. To the Southeast, the
sierras descends to the
Gran Chaco region.
The vast difference in height and climate produces desert areas such as the
Salinas Grandes salt mines, and subtropical
Yungas jungle.
 |
Quebrada de Humahuaca |
In spite of the different areas, the terrain of the province is mainly arid and semi-desertic, except for the
El Ramal valley of the
San Francisco River. Temperature difference between day and night is wider in higher lands, and precipitations are scarce outside the temperate area of the San Francisco River.
The Grande River and the San Francisco River are fed by the
Bermejo River. The
San Juan,
La Quiaca,
Yavi and
Sansana are fed by the
Pilcomayo.
The main agricultural activity is
sugarcane, and its later industralization represents more than half of the province's gross production, and 30% of the national sugar production. The second agricultural activity is the
tobacco, cultivated in the Southeaster valley, as a major national producer. Other crops include
beans,
citrus and
tomatoes, and other vegetables for local consumption.
Jujuy is the second producer of
iron, used by
Altos Hornos Zapla furnace to make
steel. Other industrial activities include mining for construction material,
petroleum extraction at
Caimancito, salt production from
Salinas Grandes salt basin, and the paper production feed by the Jujuy's forests with 20% of the industrial product of the province.
Cattle and goats for milk and wool are a minor activity, as well as
llamas,
vicuñas and
guanacos.
 |
Cerro de los Siete Colores, Purmamarca |
An important and still growing activity, tourism in the area brings a number of Argentine tourists (80%), tourists from other
South American countries (12%) and
Europeans (7%). Most tourists head for
San Salvador de Jujuy to start their exploration of the province. The Horacio Guzmán international airport, 34 km from San Salvador, connects the province with
Buenos Aires,
Córdoba, and some destinations in
Bolivia.
Apart from the fantastic contrast of land colours and formations, tourists are attracted also by the strong aboriginal roots in the culture of Jujuy.
Aymará and
Quechua cultures coexist in the area, and ruins of the
Incas are well conserved.
Tourists who come to Jujuy visit the area of the
Quebrada de Humahuaca and its
Cerro de los Siete Colores,
Pucará de Tilcara,
Salinas Grandes and many small towns. Other less frequent destinations include the
Calilegua National Park in the
Yungas jungle,
La Quiaca,
Laguna de Pozuelos, and
Laguna Guayatayoc.
The province is divided into 16 departments (in the
Spanish language,
departamentos).
Department (Capital):
#
Cochinoca (
Abra Pampa)# El Carmen (
El Carmen)# Doctor Manuel Belgrano (
San Salvador de Jujuy)# Humahuaca (
Humahuaca)#
Ledesma Department (
Libertador General San Martín)# Palpalá (
Palpalá)# Rinconada (
Rinconada)#
San Antonio Department (
San Antonio, Jujuy)#
San Pedro (
San Pedro)#
Santa Bárbara (
Palma Sola)#
Santa Catalina (
Santa Catalina)# Susques (
Susques)# Tilcara (
Tilcara)# Tumbaya (
Tumbaya)# Valle Grande (
Valle Grande)#
Yavi (
La Quiaca)
*
Official site (Spanish)
*
Description (English)
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Images from Humahuaca, Jujuy*
North of Argentina Tourist info*
Pictures of Jujuy
