“Long ago, the mountains were drab, boring. Then the children wanted to add color so each night they added a different shade and by the end of the week, the mountain was a glorious rainbow and the children were happy, so happy.” The guide narrates, his lips crinkling at the edges of a fond memory. You’re seated beneath the shaded portico of an adobe house in the village of Purmamarca, 64km away from the precinct of Jujuy listening to this old man’s tale.

But a tale this is not for Cerro de los Siete Colores peers from just beyond the village. He’s told you of the spectacular hues of the mountain, dazzling under the slowly lightening sky early in the morning. Precambrian marine sediments and organisms compacted have risen above ground, following the geological history of the Andes and these stand behind the astounding phenomenon. Pink clay, the green of copper oxides and the amber of calcareous sandstone come together in a visual medley on these slopes. So you thank the guide and head back for an early night, eager to catch the sight of the Cerro bright and early the next morning.