It’s hard for me to convey the beauty of the otherworldly landscapes around Salta and Jujuy, in Argentina’s northern provinces.
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This is Cerro de los Siete Colores, (Hill of Seven Colors) bordering the historic pueblo of Purmamarca. There’s a beautiful legend around this UNESCO site, whose town was first founded in pre-Hispanic times as part of the Inca Road.
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The legend says when settlers built a town in the area, the hills were boring and dull. Then every night for seven nights, the children of the town snuck out of bed and painted the hill a different magical color to bring some life to the area.
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The geographic reason for the hill’s existence has something to do with different stones from different time periods merging together because of rivers and tectonics and....other complex stuff I’m not clear on because I’m not a geologist. But the legend is cool and it’s stunning, isn’t it?
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