The north part of Chile, Norte Chico (Little North) has a pleasant Mediterranean climate, miles of beaches, vineyards and clear desert skies for keen astomoners.

A good base for exploring the region is La Serena, an attractive colonial town.

Tours visit the the Elqui Valley, a productive agricultural area with charming villages, orchards and vineyards. The valley is one of Chile's major pisco producers. Pisco, produced from distilled grapes, is used to make pisco sour, a refreshing cocktail.

International astronomical observatories have been established in the region to take advantage of the clear skies free of light pollution. Tours to star and planet gaze through impressively large telescopes are another popular excursion.

La Serena

La Serena, Chile’s second oldest town is 470km north of Santiago. Founded in 1544 it’s a small town and a day will take in all the main sights;

• The Plaza de Armas, the historic heart of La Serena, is a popular place to promenade and people watch.
• The historic buildings on and nearby the Plaza. Most notable are Iglesia Catedral (1844), Iglesia San Francisco (1600’s) and Iglesia San Augustin (1755). You can get a map from the tourist office and explore independently or take a half day tour.
• Mercado La Recova is a ground floor market with restaurants and bars above. The market sells dried fruits and souvenirs. The restaurants above specialize in seafood and compete hard for your custom by offering complimentary pisco sours.

Elqui Valley

Full day tours, which include lunch, leave La Serena in mini vans of about twelve people. They travel along the valley following the Elqui River. Highlights are;

• The orchards where papaya and custard apples and much more are cultivated.
• Roadside fruit stalls where you can try the local fruit including cactus.
• Village of Vicuna, most notable for growing raw grapes to feed the local distilleries for production of pisco.
• Museo Gabriela Mistral (Vicuna) contains a photographic history of her life and some personal items. She was one of Chile’s most famous poets and the first Latin American woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1945.
• Capel, a growers’ cooperative pisco distillery, gives tours of the bottling plant and explains the process of producing pisco.
• The semiarid countryside and the sheer quantity of grapes vines cultivated, even on very steep terrain. All vines are covered with shade cloth, an incredibly labour intensive process.

Astronomical Observatory Tours

Keen astronomers should book to visit major scientific observatories otherwise visitors can take a standard tour.

Tours depart La Serena about 9pm and return about 2am. Some telescopes are so big they accessed by a step ladder and the roof cover parts for viewing. You can see Jupiter with its four moons and quite clearly the craters on the moon.

How to Get There

La Serena has a domestic airport, Aeropuerto La Florida, and the flight from Santiago takes just under an hour. There is a bus terminal covering long haul routes, including the seven hour journey to Santiago.

Where to Stay

La Serena has a full range of accommodation. Prices are significantly higher in the peak season, January and February. At this time and it’s wise to make an advance reservation.

Tours & Tourist Information

La Serena has numerous tour agencies offering many excursions at similar prices. Taxi colectivos to a range of destinations leave from various points around town. You can also hire a taxi to tour the Elqui Vallley. Inquire at the tourist office, Sernatur for details.

Festivals

Festival de la Vendimia in February in Vicuna celebrates the annual grape harvest. It ends 22nd February the anniversary of the village’s founding.

Chile - General

This long slinky country is so varied with desert in the north, sapphire blue lakes and fiery volcanoes in the Lake District and glaciers in the deep south.