Pueblo Perdido de la Quebrada

The ruins and objects found make up this archeological site to visit in San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca, 5 km from the city center, on provincial route 4. Cultural tourism, pottery and agriculture The archaeological remains connect with the cultures that inhabited the region in pre-Columbian times. The culture of La Aguada had its time of splendor between the fourth and fifth centuries of our era. Its area of influence was located on the border of the provinces of La Rioja and Catamarca. From the investigations, it is known that they raised llamas and had water resources management in a flourishing agriculture. The town of La Aguada was agroalfarera, with an economy based on cultivation terraces along the hills of the region. Pottery is the best known art in this culture, with a solid iconographic presence. Its social organization consisted of independent manors.

Teachers and researchers from the National University of Catamarca were the ones who discovered the archeological ruins and started the project to protect the treasures found. The place has an Interpretation Center at the foot of the creek, opened in 2009. In its construction, old techniques combined with modern materials were put into play. And it is the starting point to start the walk.   The complex has specialized staff to provide guided tours and clearly explain the worldview of the original people. Inside the facilities there is a small museum with objects found in the ruins. 200 m stairways lead to the vestiges of the settlement, surrounded by cacti vegetation. It is about 40 stone and mud enclosures, which made up the rooms, corrals and courtyards of its former inhabitants, discovered under a dense vegetation of hundreds of years. This project carries in its guts the dreams and efforts of many Catamarqueños, those who want to take care of their ancestral inheritances and transmit them to future generations. Undoubtedly, it goes hand in hand with cultural tourism in search of proposals that play harmoniously with ecology and environmental care. The Lost Town of the Quebrada is another diamond recovered in the province of Catamarca, home of an old town of guardians of the ravine.