Tour Elqui Valley and Mamalluca Observatory
Leaving the city of La Serena heading east on the way to the Andes cordillera we will notice how the landscape changes into the beautiful and charming Elqui Valley.
On the route that lead us to the city of Vicuña, we will find, at the side of the road, the Pucalro Dam, dam with the capacity to contain 200 millions m3. We will be able to look upon the beautiful landscape of the lake from the look out point located in the upper part of the wall.
A few miles from here, there’s the city of Vicuña, birthplace of the great Chilean poet Gabriela Mistral. Here we can visit the Bauer tower, the old town council, and main square of Vicuña, decorated with sculptures and with original Vicuñas motives.
Then we will visit a Pisco factory where we will learn about the process of making this delicious drink, and of course we will taste the different varieties of this Chilean Pisco.
We will stop, then, in a tipical restaurant to enjoy of its delicious food.
We continue our trip heading to the town of Montegrande, a small town in which Gabriela Mistral lived as a child. We will visit here the school-house museum in which we will know about the life and work of Gabriela Mistral. Later in the afternoon we will end our trip in a small town initially called “La Union” and since 1930’s called Pisco Elqui.
After the tour through the Elqui valley we return to the city of Vicuña waiting for the transfer to the Mamalluca observatory.
Touching the stars in the Mamalluca observatory
The Mamalluca tourist observatory started as visionary school project in 1995 that was carefully developed and finally inaugurated in 1998. Here the tour starts with an introductory talk about astronomy in charge of a specialized guide. Then we enjoy a marvellous journey trough our skies, visiting stars and constellations with the help of telescopes placed in the terrace of the observatory. Besides with your bear eyes you can observe planets like Jupiter, Saturn and Mars or the constellations of Orion, Taurus, Sagittarius, Scorpion and the Southern Cross (Crux).
We will also enjoy watching the famous Magellan Clouds, two satellite galaxies very similar to our own galaxy that can be seen only from the south hemisphere.
Finally we go to the Mamalluca observatory main dome where a guide with a good knowledge about the southern sky will show you, with the help of an electronic telescope, objects in the deep universe like the Nebula 30 Doradus, the Open Cluster M47 or the open cluster the Jewel box located in the constellation of Crux.
After this amazing experience we return to La Serena.
Included:
- Transfers
- Guide
- Lunch in a Restaurant
- Ticket museum Gabriela Mistral
- Ticket Mamalluca Observatory
Gallery
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Night Trekking
Pisco Elqui, a town 80 miles from La Serena, in the very heart of the Elqui Valley, will be the starting for this trek to the surroundings hills. A walk under the magic light of the stars that cover the Elqui sky.
With the enough light to appreciate the hilly landscape, we walk until we reach a natural lookout point where we can share a cup of Pisco sour with excellent panoramic views of the valley. This will be a magical experience that includes also a very interesting story of the guide that will share with us this adventure.
To watch the stars at 1.200 mts (3.900 ft aprox.) elevation in the heart of the valley is an experience you cannot let go.
Included:
- Guide
- Pisco Sour
Gallery
