Our time in the Valley was memorable. So much so that we've decided to go back. The people were nice and there were various things to do. It all made for a relaxing time with a taste of summer in December.
We were glad we hired a car, rather than taking a tour. The roads were better than we expected and armed with a Rough Guide we felt we were better off going at our own pace.
For first time visitors one has to note that the Valley is not just the One place but several. You will have to priorize or be prepared to spent at least 3-4 days to get a good grasp/glimpse of what is here for you to see and perhaps BE. We followed our generation who came here in the late 60's and early 70's to see and be for ourselves. In this mystical space You.. Not me... decide. BE for it it is only in the Doing that we Become.
Mountain views - including the observatories, Gabriela Mistral memorials, quaint villages, and most of all a restaurant powered entirely by the sun - amazing and great food. I enjoyed this trip much more than I expected
We had a hire car and drove to the Elqui Valley up the steep and winding roads, taking in fantastic views of the mountainous deserts and the lush river valley floor where vineyards grow and small charming little villages punctuate the way up to Elqui.
We visited as part of a private tour to do stargazing and check out the countryside. The Elqui Valley does not disappoint - you have beautiful and progressively more rugged countryside as you drive in, lots of vineyards and lots of pisco distilleries (along with a very nice small winery in Cavas) and charming little mountain towns. At night, the stars are to-die-for - so clear and so dark, you can see things here that aren't visible much of anywhere else. The guided tour approach is a good one if you aren't fluent in Spanish, because in the valley few people speak any English. Be sure to check out the crafts in the village of Horcon (go no earlier than lunchtime), the Los Nichos pisco distillery, and the Restaurant Solar (all the cooking is via solar ovens!). If you can, stay in a dome at Elqui Domos (it calls itself a hotel, but it's really a collection of cabins) and pay for the personal astronomy tour they offer - way better than what you'll get at one of the public observatories, and the sky is darker there.
The drive thru this area of Chile is quite beautiful. The landscape Is mountainous with vineyards as a contrast. An interesting sight is the dam that has displaced many of the natives. Unfortunately, the dam has not held the water that it was hoped and the relocated people do not have access to it and are somewhat trapped in their location. There is a Pisco distillery in the Valley also and it is an interesting place to visit.
The Elqui Valley has a number of small towns such as Cochiguaz and . Vicuna is the biggest, but Pisco is the more popular place for tourists to stay with a wider range of cabanas, hostels and hotels. It's quite a long way from La Serena (the bus trip is slow and not too comfortable for normal-sized adults), and thus it's not really advisable to try and do it as a day trip from there unless you are really in a hurry. Better to kick back and soak up a view of the valleys. There are a range of tour companies that will take you to distilleries or on horse-riding or mountain bike treks. The star attractions, though, in my opinion, are the pretty valleys and the wonderful starry nights. You can head up into the hills with a guide and a telescope and a pisco sour.
We had two lovely tours to the Elqui valley. The first one was a full day trip with a small group in a small van with a guide. We made many stops , a papaya plantation, winery with pisco, some small villages and a lovely local restaurant, The scenery was magnificent , breathtaking and is a must. our second tour was at night to visit one of the many amazing Observatories to see the stars , moon, planets and clusters. FANTASTIC, each person took turns at the huge telescope to view each of the sites. WOW. Wowie
Go here. Just an hour plus from Serena. A tiny super-green valley surrounded by impressive supper-dry mountains.We visited during the day. Nice, picturesque, lots of small towns, couple of local museums and pisco distilleries. We also spend the night: mystical...clear magical skies, so many starts!!! you can only fully appreciate the place if you spend the night.