La Poma and the Devil´s Bridge

La Poma is located halfway between Cachi and San Antonio de los Cobres, in the north of the Calchaquí Valleys, 190 km from the capital of Salta. It is a town with few inhabitants and an enormous geological wealth. The Devil´s Bridge is one of them, a tunnel over the Calchaquí riverbed, formed by the basaltic remains of the Los Gemelos eruption and the natural dug of the stream.

The rumor of the river hidden in the canyon
La Poma is a town at the northern end of the Calchaquí Valleys, that system of valleys and hills that it calls with its magic of colors, in endless slopes and streams, caverns and natural sculptures. The circuit is full of stories, loudness and fascination, but it is necessary to ascend to 3000 meters above sea level.

Route 40 crosses this land of couplets and winds between the mountains of red and orange colors. A woman, legend of the couplet, inspiration of zambas, pomeña she, says "I am a daughter of the clouds / relative of the downpour / I live on the highest hill / where the star shines on me." La Poma is the land of the sun and the winds that shaped the adobe village and ogival arches. It is a town for which time does not run, seated west of the Calchaquí River that runs parallel to the route for several kilometers. A little north of this town, the remains of the original town, La Poma Vieja, are swept away by the 1930 earthquake and partially rebuilt. There the old church stands out.

Goat herding, sheep herds, plowed land, alfalfa fields, river fishing, handicrafts, couplets and verses are the brushstrokes that describe this area of ​​the valley. The origin of the name has two versions. One, that "La Poma" derives from pumice stone, abundant material in the region. Another version indicates that it is the Quechua voice to refer to puma.

La Poma is the starting point to explore the Devil´s Bridge, natural caverns formed on the Calchaquí riverbed. Basaltic lava from the eruption of the Twin volcanoes clogged the river, and when it solidified, the caves formed with the erosion of the water that dug a natural tunnel about 110 m long. The Twins of La Poma, between hills and streams, are the landscape engineers.

By a natural path you go down to the river bed, which runs hidden, rumorous, encased by the vertical walls of the canyon. From there you can see the stalactites and stalagmites that hang from the walls, formed by dripping water crammed with calcium carbonate.
It is a place that requires a lot of caution to visit, because of the slippery rocks and floodwaters of the river. Therefore, it can only be entered with an authorized guide. The Devil´s Bridge is one of the attractions of the mythical route 40.