Elqui Valley - Chile

Elqui Valley, Chile's New Age tourist Mecca (think Taos, Tibet, Machu Pichu, Ayres Rock, the Pyramids), is 370 miles north of Santiago and 40 - 80 miles east of the beach city of La Serena. It begins in the little town of El Molle and runs along the Elqui River--which, like most rivers, is the result of several rivers coming together. The valley is known for its rugged mountains and clear desert air, both of which have prompted international astronomical organizations to set up telescopes here and to the north. In Chile, the valley is famous both as the home of Nobel Prize winning poet Gabriel Mistral, who is buried in Montegrande and memorialized in a museum in the valley's only city, Vicuña, where she was born, and as the home of pisco, a brandy distilled from grapes and flavored in many different ways. Read More