Elqui Valley

We drove from La Serena to Vicuña in our new rental car (this time a VW Polo) at the end of Friday afternoon (July 20th). We had reserved a hostel in Vicuña for 3 nights. The hostel is super centrally located and has a beautiful outdoor area.🌸

On Friday evening, we visited the village square in Vicuña, where a book fair📚 was taking place. There was a program every evening and on this particular evening, there was a musical group from Pisco Elqui.

We also attended another festival where we could observe the starry sky with telescopes. 🌌 The sky was beautiful, as the well-equipped instruments allowed us to see much more than with the naked eye. At this small festival, there was a tasting of different Piscos 🍷(alcoholic drink from the region) as well as Chilean delicacies made from pumpkin (pumpkin soup) and Sopapillas (a type of pumpkin pastry).

The next day, we continued to explore the Elqui Valley and drove to Pisco Elqui. In this small village, various "hippies" were selling their handmade products on the village square. In front of the church, which is also located there, women were dancing and you could join in with great joy (I didn't miss this opportunity) 💃🏼. So far, this village square has topped all the other places we have seen, as real "life" could be observed here: Whether children, young people, adults, locals or tourists, everyone was welcome. 👫

On Saturday evening, we attended the closing concert of the book fair in Vicuña, featuring the Chilean and well-known pianist Roberto Bravo. 🎶

On Sunday, we hiked up to the hill overlooking Vicuña, where we enjoyed a magnificent view of the vineyards and the nearby mountains (Andes). It is fascinating to see that many cacti grow on these steep rocks. In the late afternoon, we drove to the "Embalse Puclaro" (reservoir), where we enjoyed nature.

This valley is a haven for nature lovers and is often referred to as esoteric, due to the fact that "hippies" mainly live in Pisco Elqui.🤹🏽‍♂️

An important personality born in Vicuña is Gabriela Mistral, who received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1945. The main road throughout the entire valley, several streets in the villages, and various museums have been dedicated to her. I recommend the museum in Vicuña, as I personally liked it better than the one in Montegrande (village before Pisco Elqui).😊

The three days in this beautiful and worthwhile valley flew by very quickly. Tomorrow we will go back to La Serena so that we can take the night bus to Valparaiso in the evening. 🌈