Why Honeymoon in the Elqui Valley
Few places let you see the Milky Way this clearly without a long expedition. In the Elqui Valley you can have dinner in a village restaurant, then lie back in a reclining chair while a guide points a laser at Saturn's rings.
Days are unhurried. Couples taste pisco at small distilleries, cycle between vineyards, swim in the cold river or do nothing at all by a pool shaded by fig trees. The valley also has a reputation in Chile as a spiritual retreat. You will see yoga classes, massage and natural therapies on offer in the upper villages.
It is an honest, rural place rather than a polished resort. That is much of its charm. The prices are kinder than in the Atacama.
When to Go
The valley is dry year-round, so the main question is moonlight. Book your nights for the week either side of a new moon and the sky will be at its darkest. Around the full moon, observatory tours still run, though the faint galaxies fade.
September through November and March through May are the most comfortable months, with warm days and cool nights. December through February is hot in the afternoons and busy with Chilean holidaymakers, especially in Pisco Elqui.
June through August brings cold nights, sometimes near freezing, plus the odd cloudy spell. The coast at La Serena can sit under low morning fog called camanchaca for much of the year, but the inland valley usually climbs out of it by Vicuña.
Where to Stay
Vicuña is the valley's main town, about an hour from La Serena. It has the most services, the Mamalluca observatory nearby and an easy grid of streets around a shady plaza. Stay here if you want short drives and a choice of restaurants.
Pisco Elqui, roughly 45 minutes farther up the valley, is the village most couples picture: a church, a small plaza, distilleries and lodges stepping up the hillsides. Montegrande, just below it, is quieter still.
The stays that suit a honeymoon are the astronomical lodges and dome cabins scattered along the valley. Elqui Domos, near Pisco Elqui, is the best known, with geodesic domes that open to the sky. Book a place with its own telescope or guided star sessions so you do not need to drive at night.
Romantic Things to Do
Start with a guided night at an observatory. Mamalluca near Vicuña is the classic public observatory. Several private observatories run smaller, more personal sessions with larger telescopes. Bring warm jackets for both of you.
By day, visit a pisco distillery. Capel in Vicuña is the large commercial house with tours. In Pisco Elqui, older family distilleries such as Los Nichos show traditional copper stills and cellars.
Vicuña has a museum devoted to Gabriela Mistral. Her grave is in Montegrande. Read one of her short poems before you go.
Rent bikes and ride the quiet road between villages, swim at a river beach in summer or book massages at your lodge. Sunset from any hillside, as the valley turns pink and gold, is free.
Getting There and Around
Fly from the US to Santiago (SCL), then take the short domestic flight north to La Serena (LSC), about an hour. From the airport, Vicuña is roughly an hour inland on a paved road. Pisco Elqui is about 45 minutes beyond that.
A rental car is the easiest way to explore. Roads in the valley are paved and quiet, though the last stretches to some lodges are gravel and the curves above Pisco Elqui are tight. Avoid driving back from late observatory tours if you have been tasting pisco; many lodges arrange transport.
Buses and shared taxis connect La Serena, Vicuña and Pisco Elqui through the day. You could combine Elqui with La Serena's beaches or a drive north to the Atacama, although the distances are long.
Food and Drink
Pisco is the obvious drink. Try it neat at a distillery, in a classic pisco sour and in the local variation with fresh fruit. Elqui also produces wine from vineyards at surprising altitude; ask for a local syrah.
The valley's food is simple and good. Look for goat cheese, papayas grown near the coast, dried fruits, olive oil and baked empanadas. Some restaurants and community projects cook meals with solar ovens, a fun lunch in a region with so much sunshine.
In La Serena and Coquimbo on the coast, eat seafood: machas (razor clams) baked with parmesan, fried fish at market counters and ceviche. Dinner in the valley tends to run early on observatory nights, so book a table before your tour.
Honeymoon Tips
Check a moon calendar before you pick dates. Two or three nights close to a new moon matter more here than the exact month.
Pack sunscreen, hats and lip balm for the day and real warm layers for the night. Desert temperatures can drop sharply after sunset, even in summer.
Book observatory tours in advance in summer and on holiday weekends, when they sell out. Tours are cancelled on the rare cloudy night, so do not leave yours to your last evening.
The upper valley is a long way from emergency services and cash machines. Carry some Chilean pesos for small shops and distilleries. Elqui pairs naturally with a few days in Valparaíso or a flight to San Pedro de Atacama for desert landscapes on a bigger scale.
