The Bike tour between Cordoba and the Valle de Traslasierra is a popular mountain bike route in the centralargentinianSierras de Cordoba. It leads over the mountain Pan de Azúcar, the festival city Cosquín and the Los Gigantes massif and is for the most part gravel.
background
The varied route is often used for training mountain bikers, especially the eastern part between Córdoba and Cosquín, where you will meet numerous cyclists all year round. It offers spectacular views of valleys and landscapes that are actually almost deserted, considering that the megacity of Cordoba is only a stone's throw away.
The degree of difficulty is medium to high, there are some considerable inclines to be mastered, especially the ascent on the Pan de Azúcar and on the Los Gigantes with approx. 20% each. On the other hand, cars are relatively rare and hardly available in the West.
Well-trained cyclists can do the 180 km long route in one day, but this can be very strenuous because of the two pass heights and is only recommended if the sporty is in the foreground or you are after San Juan wants to continue. Those who are less fit or just want to enjoy the tour with breaks are well advised, in Cosquín or even better Tanti to take a night break.
preparation
A suspension mountain bike or at least a trekking bike is highly recommended as the road is very bumpy. You should also take tools with you, as no workshops are to be expected in large parts.
getting there
Cordoba can be reached by plane, bus and train.
Here we go
Cordoba - Villa Allende (16 km)
The first stage of the route is almost completely flat.
It's best to take this from Cordoba Avenida Monseñor Pablo Cabrera to the northwest towards Río Ceballos. Behind the bypass highway Avenida de Circunvalación A cycle path runs parallel to the road that accompanies the route to the airport. At the airport, turn onto the at the roundabout Avenida Padre Luchesse towards Villa Allende. There is no longer a cycle path here, but car traffic is clearly decreasing, also because a toll is required from motorists.
After about 10 kilometers you will reach Villa Allende, an affluent suburb of Cordoba, where the tour really starts.
Alternatively, especially from the north-west of Córdoba, you can also use the Avenida Rafael Nuñez / Donato Álvarez to take. This is very busy, however, a few hundred meters shorter. Another interesting variant is the much longer journey La Calera, which crosses a charming quarry landscape - there, too, there is partly a cycle path parallel to the road.
Villa Allende - Cosquín (29 km)
In Villa Allende you have to go to the Avenida Goycochea orientate towards Cosquín. You drive through the Las Polinesias district and then about 5 kilometers on an almost flat stretch to a stream where the asphalt ends. From then on it goes uphill.
On the way to Pan de Azúcar, at 1,200 m the highest mountain in the immediate vicinity of Córdoba, you pass numerous resting and bathing areas, so you can start the tour calmly and relaxed. The ascent is sometimes quite steep, especially on the last 3 kilometers before the mountain. A ride on the chairlift to the summit is tempting, from which you have a magnificent view of both Cordoba and the Punilla Valley, or a cold beer in a small bar at the valley station.
After Cosquín it is then only downhill. If you want to spend the night there, you will find some campsites at the entrance to the village, otherwise hotels in the center.
Cosquín - Tanti (26 km)
There are two alternatives between Cosquín and Tanti. The better known is recommended out of season, as it is very busy during the holiday season. It leads along the RN 38 to the entrance of Villa Carlos Paz - which you can of course pay a visit - and then via the RP 25 to Tanti.
The second alternative branches off to the west in Cosquín and is scenically and culturally more interesting, but more curvy and steeper. You have to go down the street Mallín and pursue them to the west. In the tiny place Mallín there is an old chapel from the 17th century, in the immediate vicinity there is also a cave.
Tanti itself (approx. 10,000 inhabitants) is a weekend and holiday resort that has some good swimming spots, but is otherwise rather uninteresting. Anyone who has not yet stayed in Cosquín or is taking the tour slowly can do so here - there are numerous campsites and hotels of all categories. You also have to consider that the next stage is more than 80 km long and leads over a 2000 m high pass.
Tanti - Los Gigantes - Salsacate (87 km)
Behind Tanti, the most adventurous section of the route begins, which you should only tackle with the right tools and preferably accompanied. On the RP 28, it initially leads relatively flat parallel to a stream, but winds quickly from El Durazno (approx. 5 km behind Tanti) up into the Sierra Grande, where it is then again relatively flat on a high plateau, a so-called Pampas, a barren rocky grassland, (not to be confused with the lowlandPampas!) continues. It is 37 kilometers to the highest point. The lookout point El Mirador is at an altitude of 2,040 m and thus just 300 meters below the summit of the mountain range, the Los Gigantes called. A tiny place is 9 kilometers from the highest point, but offers no accommodation.
Behind El Mirador things tend to go downhill again. During the descent you have breathtaking views of the Traslasierra valley.
Salsacate, the end point of this route, has about 3,000 inhabitants and a river that is suitable for swimming. Here you can spend the night on campsites or in hotels.
security
Theft and robberies occasionally occur on the route between Córdoba and Cosquín. Unfortunately, the bike thieves have also recognized that there is a lot to be had on the route (i.e. high-quality bikes). It is particularly advisable on weekdays to join a group in Villa Allende (or on the way back in Cosquín). There is usually a lot going on at weekends and during the holiday season and the risk is then significantly lower.
trips
From Salsacate you can easily reach the following places:
- Villa de Soto and Cruz del Eje (80 km) north on a good, fairly flat and not too busy road (RP 15). The hippie colony is ideal for overnight stays San Marcos Sierras. From this area you can simply return to Cosquín and Córdoba via the RN 38.
- Mina Clavero, Nono and Merlo in the south, also via the RP 15. Here you come to the reservoir, which is well worth seeing Dique Ing.Medina Allende past, which is picturesquely embedded in the mountains. There are good camping facilities as well as hotels and hostels in all places.
- San Juan can be reached via the small town via the old trunk road, which has now been degraded to the "provincial road" RP 20 Las Palmas to reach. Hardly any traffic - but also hardly any people who could come to the rescue if something happens, so we recommend accompanying them.
