379 km from Santiago · straight line
Elqui Valley
Sky, valley and silence. The furthest point on the route.
- Idea
- Several days
Photograph: ZKP · CC BY 2.5
Why it's worth the trip
Because it's the destination that closes the route: the furthest, the one that demands the most days and the one least like Santiago. You mostly come here for the night sky.
Landscape
A narrow green valley wedged between dry hills, with small towns, vines and pisco distilleries. It has some of the clearest skies on the planet, which is why astronomical observatories cluster here. Gabriela Mistral came from this valley, born in Vicuña.
- Valley
- Mountain
What the trip could look like
Several days: valley towns by day, stargazing by night and a deliberately slow rhythm.
A possible format, not yet a trip with a date.
Who this destination is for
A good fit if
- Anyone with a long weekend or holidays
- Astronomy
- Anyone wanting the long trip of the year
Maybe not if
- An ordinary weekend: it's too far for two days
Worth knowing
- Stargazing depends on the moon phase: check the calendar first.
- Nights are cold even in summer because of the altitude and dry climate.
Sources
Other destinations
Aguas de Ramón
The ravine that starts where the city ends, with a waterfall at the far end.
- Validating
- A day
- Moderate
Yerba Loca
A whole glacial valley an hour from the city. The gate of the Andes.
- Validating
- A day
- Moderate
Río Clarillo
Native forest and clear water in the foothills above Pirque.
- Validating
- A day
- Gentle