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If this is your first trip to Chile and you're wondering, “Should we go to the Elqui Valley?” — my response would probably be: not really. Not if you're flying around from northern Chile to southern Chile to central Chile and maybe even to Easter Island. Elqui falls under that third visit kind of destination.
It’s really loved by locals. It’s this hippie town full of people who make bracelets and braid your hair, and it’s known because pisco is made here — and as you may know, that’s the favorite spirit of Chileans, specifically when mixed with a certain bubbly Tennessee/Atlanta syrupy drink that I won’t mention because it already has enough publicity around the world. What I mean is: if this is your first time coming to Chile, you’ll probably want to do Santiago and Valparaíso, Patagonia, and if you really want to push it — San Pedro. If you're one of those travelers who likes to cram in as much as possible in three weeks because you had a 50-hour flight here (exaggerating), then you'll probably add the Lake District too. If you're coming to Chile as a bucket list traveler, you're probably going to hit central Chile, Patagonia, and Easter Island. And if you're more of an off-the-beaten-path traveler, you’ll probably go for central Chile, San Pedro, and then maybe Bolivia into Peru, right? So as you may have noticed, I didn’t mention Elqui the whole time — and it’s because it's a tiny place that’s a six-hour drive from Santiago, and most people go there on more family-oriented trips. It’s where the kids can camp, you do a few hikes, and at night you go stargazing while the parents sneak off to buy a bottle of pisco. But — if you're coming here for an extended period of time, I honestly think Elqui isn’t a bad idea to consider. It’s full of “hidden gem” kind of finds. Now, out of all the people we give tours to, I tend to ask those who did go to Elqui: “Why did you choose Elqui?” And it always tends to be the kind of traveler who rents a vehicle and just goes. Like, “We just wanted to drive across Chile because it sounded like an awesome trip.” And I fully get it — it’s been a dream of mine to rent a bagger motorcycle and ride across Australia or something like that. So, if you’re the type of person who likes to rent a camper or an SUV, and you have the flexibility to pick it up in Santiago and drop it off in Arica — charged an arm, a leg, and a kidney — then I highly recommend this place. It’s probably going to be one of the bigger highlights between Santiago and San Pedro, along with maybe Bahía Inglesa. So yeah, definitely spend two nights, maybe three days here. Like I was saying, this is a place for pisco. And you’ve got two main pisqueras: Los Nichos (artisanal), and Mistral (more commercial). Now if you’re not the heavy-drinking type who’s into 40-proof, 35-proof alcohol — or brandy in this case — then check out the other beverages in the valley. There’s some really good craft beer like Brothers, and some really cool wineries that offer excellent wine tours, like Cavas del Valle (my personal favorite since it’s a boutique), and Falernia, which is also really good. They stand out for making varietals that aren’t very common by Chilean standards. Definitely worth a visit. Whenever I can get my hands on one of those wines, I try to bring one back. You don’t easily find high-altitude wine in Chile, even though you’d think you would. A lot of it is specialty stuff, and you’ve got to remember that we export like 75% of our wine. The alcohol consumption here is not like spring break — it’s actually very educational. So if you're going with teenagers, or if you're the type of person who enjoys drinking casually, this is a great opportunity to get wasted! (Just kidding.) This is a great learning place for these alcoholic beverages. One of the most overlooked things about this place is that it has one of the clearest skies in the world — if not the clearest. We’re talking about 300 nights a year of pure, star-filled skies. The stargazing here is amazing. It’s great in Atacama too, but the difference is that in Atacama, you’ve got more structured tours — telescopes, photos, the whole thing. In Elqui, it’s more like: bring a towel, sit on the ground, and just look up. The stargazing is way more organic. I’d highly suggest you’re not in a rush when you come here. Everything moves slowly. You have to ask for the check several times. But the food’s really good, especially in a little town called Vicuña. There are tons of small stands where people make their own stuff — you’ve got spiritual travelers, hippies, and artisans. It’s a cool vibe. Very peaceful. What To Do
Some Tips
Sample Itinerary Here’s what I’d do: Day 1 – Stop through Vicuña for lunch (maybe late, depending on what time you arrive from La Serena), then continue on to get settled and enjoy the night sky. Day 2 – Do a late breakfast (I usually do 8:30 a.m.), then check out one of the following hikes:
Day 3 – Sleep in again. Then (drumroll please): head to some pozones (natural swimming holes) near Pisco Elqui to cool off after all that hiking. Pozones
Before leaving, visit Fundo Los Nichos, and then either have lunch at Restaurant Durmiente Elquino or start your drive back toward the city to continue your travels.
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