Laguna de Brealito

Célebre espejo de agua de los Valles Calchaquíes 

Only twenty kilometers away from Route 40, at the detour to Seclantás, is the Brealito Lagoon.

On the winding road, with dense cardonales, suddenly a light blue spot is seen in the lowlands: it is the lagoon. It is located about 2700 meters above sea level, so it stands out for being in an area of low rainfall and thawing rivers. It is also home to birds, wild donkeys and fish.

To our surprise, some elegant white parinas with pinkish tones on their wings were walking along its shore. We were able to see them up close as you can get to the shore in the vehicle. Fortunately we were the only visitors and everything there was pure calm. During the summer season, many fishermen camp in search of silversides.

There are all kinds of unfounded myths about the lagoon, one in particular referring to its infinite depth, such as the belief that it is an "eye of the sea". 

In the solitude of that August weekend it felt like an inert, secluded, almost implausible mirror.

Nearby lies the village of the same name, charming but equally desolate and silent. We climbed up to the small church from where you get a full view of the village and then continued on our way to the Hacienda de Molinos, to enjoy a high altitude tannat from Valle Arriba "El Seclanteño" and some tasty empanadas with lots of local paprika, proud to have met one of the landmarks of the Calchaquíes Valleys.