Tilcara

San Francisco de Tilcara (usually referred to as Tilcara) is a city in the province of Jujuy, Argentina, and the head town of the Tilcara Department. It had 6,249 inhabitants at the 2010 census [INDEC]. Traces of human habitation in the area date back more than 10,000 years, making it one of the oldest continuously inhabited settlements of Argentina. Tilcara is located 84 km from the provincial capital, San Salvador de Jujuy, beside National Route 9, at about 2,500 m above sea level, well within the first heights of the Andes. The area features dramatic mountainous landscapes and rich aboriginal traditions, which make it a major tourist attraction in northwestern Argentina, with several nearby hiking tracks also attracting visitors. Possibly the biggest attraction in Tilcara is the nearby Pucará de Tilcara, the partially reconstructed ruins of a pre-Inca pukara, Quechua for "fortress", located a few kilometers away from the city of Tilcara on a hill with an impressive view of the valley of the Río Grande. The city is known in Argentina for hosting the Argentina national football team in a pre-World Cup camp in January 1986. Tilcara was chosen in order to train in altitude, in conditions similar to the ones Argentina would have face in Mexico that summer.