Fifty kilometres north of Belén, the village of Hualfín is worth a spontaneous stop if the pace allows. Pozo Verde — a narrow red canyon with a series of emerald-green mineral pools at its floor — is accessible on foot from the west side of Ruta 40 just past the football ground. The Capilla Nuestra Señora del Rosario in the village, built in 1770, is one of the oldest colonial churches in Catamarca. Neither requires a commitment; both reward a pause if the day has been kind with time.
Santa María de Yokavil sits at the northern end of the Catamarca stretch of Ruta 40, where the road crosses into the heart of the Calchaquí Valleys. The town takes its full name from the Valle de Yokavil — a Quechua word whose etymology, according to the Jesuit chronicler Lozano, derives from a term for the act of penetrating the mountain, which seems apt for a valley pressed between the Nevado de Aconquija to the east and the cordillera to the west. It is a quiet, agreeable town with two tree-lined plazas, a good regional restaurant scene, and a pace that makes the long day feel finished rather than interrupted.
The Museo Arqueológico Eric Boman on Plaza General Belgrano holds the valley's most important pre-Columbian collection — its centrepiece is a copper mask dated to around 1000 BC, considered one of the oldest metal objects found in the region, alongside Diaguita and Inca-era ceramics, textiles, and funerary urns. The municipal campsite is three blocks from the centre on Sarmiento 700 — hot showers, parrillas, power outlets, and a pool. Settle in, eat on the plaza, and rest. Tomorrow the road runs 80 kilometres north to Cafayate through the canyon country of the Quebrada de las Conchas.
Deleting this waypoint is permanent and cannot be undone.