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Attractions: Nature

What is the main attraction of the Elqui Valley? That is easy to answer: a beautiful climate with a lot of sunshine and brightness, all year through all seasons, pure air and pure water.

The valley provides you with fascinating views of the Cordillera de los Andes, full of vivid colours and practically right above the different villages, getting even more impressing the closer you get to Alcohuaz and/or Cochiguaz. In turn, you find an opportunity to enter the mountain range, because there exists a real door towards higher altitude, with a shift of fauna and flora, lots of minerals causing the rich colours of the landscape and contributing to the magnetism of the entire atmosphere (lodestone and quartz). It is definitely one of the most beautiful places accessible during expeditions.

Another impressing experience is being below this incredibly brilliant celestial vault with clear visibility of the Milky Way. You can identify other stars and constellations with the naked eye and so check your knowledge about astronomy even without the help of a telescope. The Elqui Valley has also a high reputation as a place for resting and relaxing. You can easily verify this for yourself.

Cordillera

In the mountains exist different paths and trails used by horses, they are very narrow and without any kind of signs. They can be used as circuits for trekking and hiking. One of the most spectacular mountain ranges are Alcohuaz and Cochiguaz being kind of a door towards the beauty of the Andean world. The most accessible mountains for mountain climbing (intermediate or advanced level) are: Gabriela Mistral (3.940m.); La Coipa (4.040 m.), La Embarradita (4.398 m.), Cancana (4.109 m.), and others.

Valles

There are the transversal valleys of the river Rio Claro, Alcohuaz and Cochiguaz.

In the valleys you can go hiking and practice mountainbiking. The most famous routes are descents by mountainbikes (completely equipped), very comfortable for those who want to discover the valley at their own without being athletes.

Rios

There is the river of Cochiguaz, the "Estero Derecho" or "Rio Claro" and the "Estero de Quebrada de Paihuano". All of them originate in the high mountains, increasing their size while passing downwards.

Their water is refreshing in summer and very cold in winter. You can go for a walk at their shores, fishing trouts, swim and watch the nature. There are various campsites at the riverbanks.