General

First of all, it is important to know which services are not available once you are in the Elqui valley in order to be prepared, as it happens frequently that tourists are looking for a service which cannot be found here.

La Serena is the last city where you can change money and rent a car.

In Vicuña you will find the last pharmacy, automatic cashier and gas station.

There are lodging places all over the valley as well as little shops where to buy food; in Paihuano and in Pisco Elqui there are also some restaurants, night clubs like pubs and discotheques, public phone centers (centros de llamado) and Internet. Although there is a mobile phone signal, it is still weak and there is no complete coverage all over the valley. There a few places where you can pay with credit cards.

A lot of sun is typical for the Elqui Valley - all year with warm, sunny days, clear nights and very little rain in autumn or winter. It has a semi-desertic climate, very dry with high temperatures during daytime, easily reaching 35°C (95ºF) in summer. Up in the Cordillera temperatures fall substantially in winter, with increasing precipitations falling as snow.

The Elqui Valley is a friendly and safe place for tourists, with honest people almost always willing to talk to strangers, even if they do not speak a proper Spanish.

How to get here

Lan Chile is the only company offering flights from Santiago to La Serena, Airport La Florida. There are several flights daily to and from Santiago, depending on the season.

Buses to La Serena leave from the "San Borja" bus terminal in Santiago. There are a lot of bus companies going to La Serena, but only two of them "Expreso Norte" and "Turbus" offer trips until Vicuña.

From La Serena towards the Elqui Valley there is also a bus connection. There are two companies: "Sol de Elqui" and "Via Elqui". They leave more or less every 30 minutes from 06.30 h until 20.00 h. The buses leave from the bus terminal in La Serena and/or the "Plaza de Abastos". The fare is about 2.000 Chilean Pesos. They pass through Vicuña, Paihuano and Montegrande and finally reach Pisco Elqui (time from La Serena to Pisco Elqui: aprox. 2 hrs 30), where they stop first at the "Plaza". Our office is in the same street, about 100 mtrs before the Plaza (Calle O`Higgins).

The public buses do not reach a lot of really attractive and beautiful places and villages like Cochiguaz, Quebrada de Paihuano or Alcohuaz. Some local buses go as far as the village of Horcón, but not very regularly. To go to the above mentioned places we recommend taking one of our tours or renting a taxi.

Starting from La Serena, you have to take the ruta 41 towards the Elqui Valley (East). You pass Vicuña (aprox. 66 km) and then Rivadavia (km 83). There you have to turn right (there are signs) towards Paihuano, Montegrande, Pisco Elqui. The road is paved until Pisco Elqui.