4-day route La Serena - Elqui
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- 4 days
- 18 places
La Serena, Vicuña and Pisco Elqui in four days, built around the Saturday at Cerro Tololo and the observatory nights, which are booked before leaving.
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This route is built around a Saturday. Cerro Tololo receives public visits only on that day, and Saturdays fill up weeks ahead. If the Saturday can't be had, the route works anyway, without the giant telescopes in between.
What to book before leaving
Tololo, with a month's margin. Mamalluca, Vicuña's observatory, is bought at an office in front of the plaza and not at the observatory, and the Pisco Elqui observatories sell on their own, with small groups. None of the three is easily solved on arrival.
The valley has about 300 clear days a year, but that guarantees no particular night. Tours are scheduled according to the weather and a full moon washes out the sky, so it pays to check the lunar calendar before fixing dates and to ask what happens if that night is cloudy.
Roadworks on Route 41
The El Arrayán bridge, between Vicuña and Paihuano, is under construction and is crossed by a detour. Everything further up, Montegrande and Pisco Elqui, lies on the other side, so confirm the state of the crossing before leaving.
How to get there
From Santiago to La Serena it is about 470 km, by bus (with morning and night departures) or by plane. The night bus means the trip doesn't count as a lost day; the morning one eats up the first day. From La Serena to Vicuña it is 60 km.
The route climbs from the coast toward the mountains. Tololo is at 2,200 m, so bring a warm layer even if the day in La Serena is mild.
Book this trip
Hotels in La Serena
Stay22 · Booking.com, Expedia and others
Near the plaza and the historic center, easy to get around on foot. The base for the first day and the departure to Santiago.
Cars at La Serena airport
Discover Cars
Pick up on landing to drive up the Elqui valley. Compare companies and coverage.
Hotels in Vicuña
Stay22 · Booking.com, Expedia and others
The gateway town to the Elqui valley, 64 km from La Serena: Tololo and Mamalluca tours leave from here.
Day 1
La Serena, from the plaza to the lighthouse
The lightest day of the route, and it is designed for a Friday: the Archaeological Museum and La Recova are not open every day, and the following Saturday is the Tololo one. The whole centre is done on foot. The long stretch is to the lighthouse, which is left for the end of the afternoon. If you arrive by bus from Santiago in the morning, the day really starts after lunch. With the night bus or the flight, there is time to spare to go into the museum.
Stop 1
La Serena Archaeological Museum
A museum inside the Typical Zone, in a 1954 building with a baroque portal rescued from a colonial house. It brings together archaeology, palaeontology, history and ethnography; it is the quickest way to understand the region before heading out to the valley.
At Cordovez on the corner of Cienfuegos. It is not open every day and closes on public holidays: check the hours on the museum's website before building the day.
Stop 2
La Recova
La Serena's market, steps from the museum, with regional products and crafts.
At Cienfuegos on the corner of Cantournet. At weekends it closes earlier than on weekdays.
Stop 3
Plaza de Armas and historic centre
The plaza that organises the centre. The old quarter is a protected Typical Zone and is walked in an afternoon: it runs from the Alameda on the south to the streets Videla and Almagro on the north.
Stop 4
Jardín del Corazón
A Japanese garden (Kokoro no Niwa) in the city, between the plaza and Route 5. It is optional.
Eduardo de la Barra, between Pedro Pablo Muñoz and Route 5. It is run by the mining company CMP, not the municipality.
Sernatur Stop 5
Faro Monumental and Avenida del Mar
The lighthouse opens the Avenida del Mar, the seafront road of La Serena's beaches. It is the place for the last hour of light on the first day.
Public space by the sea. From the centre, taxi or shared taxi.
- Getting around
- On foot through the centre; taxi or shared taxi to the lighthouse. From La Florida airport or the bus terminal to the centre, taxi.
- Where to sleep
- La Serena, near the historic centre to get around on foot
Book for this day
Hotels in La Serena
Stay22 · Booking.com, Expedia and others
Near the plaza and the historic center, easy to get around on foot. The base for the first day and the departure to Santiago.
Cars at La Serena airport
Discover Cars
Pick up on landing to drive up the Elqui valley. Compare companies and coverage.
Day 2
Tololo and Vicuña, the first night of sky
A long Saturday. Tololo is about 87 km from La Serena on Route 41, with a gravel final stretch, and the visit leaves once in the morning and once in the afternoon. You arrive in your own car as far as the gatehouse and the NOIRLab bus goes up from there; bring an identity document. Places are limited and children under six are not admitted. If the Saturday can't be had, the day starts directly in Vicuña. From there come the museum, a pisco tour and, at night, Mamalluca. The night tour does not include transfer and the observatory is outside the town.
Stop 1
Cerro Tololo
The NOIRLab observatory, at 2,200 m. The public visit goes up to see its telescopes.
Saturdays only. Book on the NOIRLab site with a month's margin; places are limited and Saturdays fill up before anything else. Entry is through the gatehouse on Route 41, not through the summit.
Stop 2
Vicuña Plaza de Armas and Mamalluca office
The town plaza and, in front of it, the Torre Bauer, where the observatory is booked and paid for. Paying here is part of the process: nothing is charged at the summit.
Gabriela Mistral 270 (San Martín 275). Booking and payment close at least one hour before each departure.
Stop 3
Gabriela Mistral Museum
Vicuña's museum, next to the house where the poet was born. It holds original objects and documents and has a Poetic Garden. With guided visits and wheelchair-accessible routes.
Gabriela Mistral 759. Check closing days and holidays on the museum's website.
Stop 4
Capel tourist centre
A pisco plant 2 km from the town, on the road to Peralillo, with a museum and tasting in Spanish and English. It is the shortest way into the world of pisco before going up the valley.
Road to Peralillo. Booked by WhatsApp; there is a basic tour, a cocktail workshop and a guided tasting of six piscos. Check hours with the centre.
Sernatur Stop 5
Mamalluca Observatory
The municipal tourist observatory, 9 km northeast of Vicuña. There are three tours, of one to two hours: the astronomy tour with telescopes, the premium with a fulldome planetarium and terraces, and a planetarium show on its own.
Each visit requires a reservation and the ticket does not include transfer. Departures per night change with the season (more in summer than in winter) and with the weather: ask at the office what happens if it is cloudy that night.
- Getting around
- Own car to the Tololo gate and then the NOIRLab bus. Without a car, bus from La Serena to Vicuña and taxi, tourist van or shared taxi for the rest. To the observatory, by car, van or taxi.
- Where to sleep
- Vicuña
Book for this day
Hotels in Vicuña
Stay22 · Booking.com, Expedia and others
The gateway town to the Elqui valley, 64 km from La Serena: Tololo and Mamalluca tours leave from here.
Day 3
Montegrande and Pisco Elqui, the upper valley
The day climbs from the town to the head of the valley. Confirm the day before how the crossing at the El Arrayán bridge is, which is the only connection upward. The night is slept in Pisco Elqui: an observatory outing ends late, and this way there is no driving back to Vicuña through the valley in the dark. With Mamalluca the night before, this night can be just for dinner: there is no need to do both.
Stop 1
Gabriela Mistral Mausoleum, Montegrande
A hamlet where the poet's remains rest, on a site declared a Historic Monument. It is before Pisco Elqui.
Ask in Vicuña about the hours before going up, so as not to arrive at closed doors.
Stop 2
Pisco Elqui village
A small village surrounded by vineyards. The plaza gathers shops and the Pisco Mistral distillery; the oldest one, Los Nichos, is to the south.
It is walked entirely.
Sernatur Stop 3
Pisco Mistral distillery
A distillery on the plaza of Pisco Elqui, with a guided visit.
Check the price and hours with the distillery before going.
Stop 4
Fundo Los Nichos
The oldest distillation plant in the country, from 1868.
Visits leave in groups of up to ten people; arrive with half an hour's margin. If more than ten are coming, book. The price is asked for on site.
Sernatur Stop 5
Cavas del Valle
A boutique winery in the valley that takes visits by reservation: classic, private, masterclass and premium.
Route D-485, km 14.5, 1 km before Montegrande. Visits are booked through the winery's contact form, which is also where you ask the price and hours.
Stop 6
Observatory in the Pisco Elqui area
There are several operators around the village and in the side valleys, among them Chakana, Galileo, Cielo Sur in Alcohuaz and Cancana in Cochiguaz. Each one sells on its own and with small groups.
Prior reservation at all of them. Check the price and conditions with whoever you choose. Plan around the full moon, which washes out the sky.
- Getting around
- Own car, or bus and shared taxi that go up the valley from Vicuña and La Serena. Schedules change with the season: confirm them at the terminal.
- Where to sleep
- Pisco Elqui
Day 4
Return through the valley and departure to Santiago
The day is about going down: from Pisco Elqui to Vicuña and from there to La Serena. If you have a car, there is time to stop at a distillery that didn't fit in the day before. Without a car, the return is dictated by the last bus, so work back from there. From La Serena to Santiago there are morning and night buses, and flights. A late flight leaves margin; the night bus requires getting back to the terminal in good time.
Stop 1
Return to La Serena
The way back along Route 41, from Pisco Elqui to Vicuña and from there to the coast.
Confirm the state of the crossing for the descent too.
Stop 2
Trip to Santiago
By bus, with several operators and lie-flat services, or by plane from La Serena airport.
Confirm operator and schedule directly with the company.
- Getting around
- Own car or bus and shared taxi down the valley to La Serena; then bus or plane to Santiago. If you leave the car in La Serena, return it before going to the airport.
- Where to sleep
- Night bus to Santiago, or one more night in La Serena if the flight leaves early
Book for this day
Hotels in La Serena
Stay22 · Booking.com, Expedia and others
Near the plaza and the historic center, easy to get around on foot. The base for the first day and the departure to Santiago.
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