so yeah i didn't check the weather before booking this bus to jujuy and honestly that's on me. my phone said 2 degrees celsius and i packed shorts. the guy next to me on the coach laughed when i got on, take one look at my flip flops and just went "vos estas loko" which like, fair, fair. i am absolutely out of my mind.

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Q: Is this place worth visiting?
A: honestly yes but only if you like being slightly miserable in the best way. the landscape hits different when your fingers are numb. it's like nature with extra drama.

Q: Is it expensive?
A: super cheap compared to bs as. hostels are like 800 pesos a night, food is like 200 pesos for a massive plate of locro. your wallet will thank you.

Q: Who would hate it here?
A: anyone who needs wifi, warmth, or comfort. also if you're the type who complains about walking uphill then stay in bs as please.

Q: Best time to visit?
A: i'd say september-october before the real cold hits but honestly the cold is kind of the point. july was wild though.

the altitude here is no joke either. 673 meters above sea level according to some weather thing i found and honestly i felt every single meter on the walk to my hostel. my lungs were screaming. a local told me "te vas a acostumbrar" which means you'll get used to it but honestly i don't think i ever did. i was wheezing for three days straight.

the thing about jujuy is nobody really talks about it. everyone goes to mendoza or cordoba but this place? it's like argentina's weird older sibling nobody invites to parties

i met this girl at a empanada place who was a photographer from cordoba and she told me the light here is different. i didn't really get it until i saw the sunset over the hill behind the cathedral. it's like someone turned the saturation up on real life. the sky went this insane orange-pink that looked fake and i literally just stood there for like twenty minutes like an idiot. a guy walking past goes "bonito, no?" and i just nodded because words weren't working.

the weather data says humidity is 36% which explains why everything feels so dry. my lips were cracked, my skin was doing things, i went through half a tube of chapstick a day. someone told me to drink more water but i kept forgetting because there's no humidity so you don't feel sweaty so you don't think you're dehydrated but you totally are. learn from my mistakes.

the food situation: i ate so much locro. so much. it's this thick stew with corn and meat and it's exactly what you need when it's 2 degrees outside. i found this tiny place near the central plaza that had the best locro i've ever had and it cost like nothing. the lady there looked at me like i was crazy for having three bowls but honestly i needed that warmth inside me.

there's this thing about jujuy that nobody mentions in the guidebooks - it feels real. not touristy real, actually real. the markets aren't for tourists, they're for people who live there. i bought this wool scarf from a woman at the mercado and she gave me a look like "are you going to actually wear this or are you one of those tourists" and when i put it on immediately she nodded approvingly. i think i passed some kind of test.

the pressure was 1022 when i was there which apparently is pretty high and maybe that explains why i had the worst headaches for the first two days. a local warned me about this - said to drink coca tea. i thought he was joking but no, everyone here drinks it and it actually helps. i felt stupid for not listening sooner.

things i learned the hard way:

- bring actual warm clothes, not "warm for bs as" clothes

- the cold is dry cold which sounds better than it is

- everyone will laugh at you if you don't have a scarf

- eat locro. eat so much locro.

- take the bus from bs as at night so you arrive in the morning and can immediately go to a cafe and warm up

i heard from another traveler that the carnival here is insane but i missed it by like two weeks. she showed me videos on her phone and honestly it looked chaotic in the best way. everyone was covered in colored foam and dancing and it looked like pure joy. i made a mental note to come back for that.

the thing about being a budget student traveling alone is you eat a lot of bread. like, a concerning amount of bread. but jujuy has these bakeries that sell these little cheese pastries for like 30 pesos and honestly that was my breakfast every day. i found one near my hostel and the guy started recognizing me which was either nice or creepy, haven't decided. he started giving me extra cheese which i appreciated.

safety wise? i felt fine. i walked around at night a bunch and nothing happened. obviously use your brain, don't be flashing your phone around, don't go down dark alleys - basic stuff. a girl at my hostel told me she got her phone stolen in salta so i was a bit paranoid but nothing bad happened to me. i think as long as you're not being obviously stupid you're fine.

the tourist vs local thing: there's barely any tourists. i saw maybe five other foreigners the whole time i was there. which is wild because this place is incredible. i think that's actually the appeal though - it's not trying to be anything. it's just existing, being cold, being beautiful, being slightly difficult to get to.

i met this history nerd at a museum who told me all about the indigenous cultures in the region and honestly i learned more in that one conversation than i ever did in school. he was super passionate about it and i felt a little bad that i didn't know any of this already. the museum itself was small but had some really cool artifacts. the entry was like 50 pesos which is basically free so obviously i went twice.

nobody comes to jujuy by accident. you have to want to be here. that's kind of the whole vibe

the weather was consistently cold while i was there - like 2 degrees every morning according to my phone. i checked constantly hoping it would go up but it just stayed there, mocking me. the feels like temperature was the same which meant no escape from it. at least there's no wind i thought, and then the wind started. i learned that jujuy weather is like a personal attack on anyone who underpacks.

i took a day trip to humahuaca which is like two hours away and that was a whole other level of beautiful. the colors of the hills are insane - reds and yellows and oranges that look like someone painted them. i went to this viewpoint and just sat there for an hour. a vendor selling crafts told me about the hill of seven colors which i need to go back and see.

the bus back to jujuy was packed and hot which was a nice change. i fell asleep and woke up with my face against the window and there was condensation on the glass which told me everything about the temperature difference inside and outside. i didn't want to get off but i had to because my hostel was calling and also i needed more empanadas.

would i go back? absolutely. would i pack better this time? hopefully. the lesson here is always check the weather, always bring a scarf, and always listen to locals when they tell you something. they know what's up.

anyway that's my jujuy experience. it's cold, it's beautiful, it's cheap, and nobody talks about it. go before everyone else finds out.

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links for the curious:

tripadvisor jujuy guide

yelp jujuy restaurants

reddit argentina jujuy threads

lonely planet jujuy

wiki jujuy overview

official argentina tourism jujuy

Freezing My Ass Off in Jujuy (And Actually Loving It)

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