How to visit La Serena and Pisco Elqui | Chile
Planning on heading north from Santiago or Valparaiso to San Pedro de Atacama?
A good way to break up the long 18-hour bus journey is to stop off by the seaside town of La Serena and take a day trip to Pisco Elqui.
Located about a 7-hour overnight bus from Valparaiso and 11 hours from San Pedro de Atacama, La Serena is a popular Chilean getaway beach town. It is a great stop to spend time chilling in the sun and to try some of the national drink, Pisco, in the beautiful valley where it is made.
Not as busy as the more famous Chilean beach towns, La Serena is built for the summer months (January and February in South America). The old town where the locals live is just like any other town – it has a sort of hectic charm that we love so much. However, take a walk along the coast and you’ll see high-rise apartments that lay empty for most of the year and restaurants serving all of your favourite beach treats.
While we were there it lacked the crowds, and the high prices, of other beachside towns such as Viña del Mar. So why not stop in La Serena? Here is a guide to the best things to do in and around the town as well as some great tips to visit the Elqui Valley.
A Guide to visiting La Serena and Pisco Elqui
Walk along the malecón
Enjoy the best part of La Serena by walking the 2 hours, 10 km, walk along the beach. Start from the lighthouse which was built in the 50s and follow the yellow sand and freezing cold waters. It doesn’t seem to matter if you are in the north or south of Chile, the water is always freezing! It is possible to surf and swim in designated areas but some areas aren’t suitable due to strong currents, so just make sure to check first. If you fancy breaking up the journey, there are plenty of restaurants and empañadas stands dotted along the way.
Continue to the end of the beach and you will reach the small town of Coquimbo. Here you can climb up the hill to have a great view of the town, the ocean and the walk you just did from the base of a huge cross. Grab lunch and head back to La Serena. If you don’t feel like walking the 10 km, hostels rent bikes or you can take a bus.
Most people we met who walked the whole way took the bus back. The bus from Coquimbo to La Serena costs 450 CLP.
Japanese Gardens
You may be surprised to hear, as we were, that there is a Japanese Garden in La Serena. In fact, Kokoro No Niwa Japanese Garden is the largest in all of Chile! Opened in 1994 as part of the 450th anniversary of the founding of La Serena it is a great place to chill out. Grab a book and some lunch and join the locals.
Entrance is only 1,000 CLP. Try to spot the cute turtles as they flirt with one another.
stargazing under the clearest sky on earth
The Elqui valley has a dozen or so high-quality observatories. It is one of the best places on Earth to watch the stars as there is almost never any clouds! So, if you are in the area, there are 99% chances that you will be able to join a tour – of course, as long as you are visiting when the moon is not full. In fact, the closer you are to the full moon the less you are likely to see the stars, milky way and planets.
If you want to organise a tour to one of the observatories, it is best to stay in the towns of Vicuña or Pisco Elqui. A lot of private observatories offer you to book a tour online with pick up and drop off from your hostel. I would recommend Pangue Observatory. which is run by a retired French man.
Of course, it is possible to organise everything from your hostel in La Serena or online. However, you should expect to pay a bit more.
Vicuña is probably the best town to stay in if organising your own trip as it is closer to the observatories. The small town is only 1 hour away from La Serena by local bus and costs 4,000 CLP.
Visit the Elqui valley and drink Pisco
The main reason for stopping in this part of Chile was to visit the Elqui Valley. The valley is home to the town of Pisco Elqui, where the famous drink Pisco is made.
After visiting Vicuña, continue for another 45 minutes by bus into the valley to the town of Pisco Elqui. It is one of two towns in the world that make the trademarked Pisco drink, which we enjoy so much in Pisco Sours. The other town is Pisco, in Peru. Currently, there is an international trademark dispute between Chile and Peru regarding who first started making Pisco. Ask locals in either country and they will passionately confirm that pisco originates in their home nation. The town was originally called La Greda, then Union and then finally renamed Pisco Elqui in 1936 as an attempt by Chile to prove the Pisco was in fact made here first.
Take the journey and visit a Pisco distillery to learn the origins and how to make the spirit. The main distillery is Mistral, located right off the main square, they do tours in English and Spanish. We decided not to visit Mistral as the price was high and the English tour wasn’t until late afternoon. Instead, we took a tour of the Fundo Los Nichos distillery for only 1,000 CLP. It was interesting to visit their storage room which was made to look like a tomb full of dead bodies in order to deter thieves!
During the tour, you will learn that Pisco actually comes from a wine grape. Rather than be left to ferment like wine, it is distilled like vodka to be made into a spirit. At the end of the tour, you will be given a shot of each of their different bottles to sample. It’s strong stuff and we wouldn’t recommend doing this first thing in the morning with stomach problems…
The Fundo Los Nichos is a 30-minute walk from the central plaza. During that time you can enjoy the beautiful views of the valley, the vineyards and try to spot hummingbirds as they whiz past.
Take a day-trip to Pisco Elqui
Unless you want to take it easy, it’s very possible to leave in the morning from La Serena, visit Pisco Elqui, take a Pisco tour and return back to La Serena.
You can also, stop in Vicuña to do an observatory tour, sleep there and return the next day to La Serena to pursue your trip north or south of Chile. A little more travel but it would save money on accommodation and you will have more options to eat. There is not much to do in Pisco Elqui other than the Pisco tour.
Other things to do in La Serena
If you feel like taking to the open water and spotting some wildlife, the National Humboldt Penguin Reserve is located just off the coast. Here in season, you will get a chance to see penguins, dolphins, seals and birds. By this stage of our trip, we were all “penguined” out after seeing 1,000,000 penguins in Punta Tombo and King Penguins in Tierra del Fuego.
Weather in la serena region
You may have noticed that we don’t have pictures for some of the recommendations. You may also notice the conditions in some of the photos. Simply put, the weather was awful! A storm came into Chile as we were leaving Valparaiso and fully hit while in La Serena. In fact, it was so bad that almost every room in our hostel had water leaks and the wifi broke because it got wet. Nothing in this dry city is built for the rain and when it comes in as bad as it did, everything is f*cked.
The weather was so bad that it caused landslides on the roads into the Elqui Valley, closing the route and observatories for days. We heard stories of buses coming from San Pedro de Atacama that had to stop for hours because the roads were flooded.
This is highly unusual. The Elqui Valley is considered one of the best places on earth to go stargazing as it has almost no clouds year-round. In fact, most of the world high power telescopes are located in Chile, and most of them are in the Elqui Valley. However, while we were there we only saw clouds! There is however very low chance for this to happen to you. It is always Sunny in La Serena, so don’t be scared and make a trip to this place!!!
Where to stay in la serena and pisco elqui
There are not too many hostels in La Serena. We stayed in Cosmo Elqui and despite the leaky roof (which wouldn’t happen often as it rarely rains) it was one of our favourite hostels in Chile. They have a great rooftop terrace, Netflix, rent bikes and offer a nice breakfast.
In Pisco Elqui we stayed in the only hostel we found open, which was also recommended to us by the staff in Cosmo Elqui. After a quick walk around town and following a local into what can only be described as a disused tool shed with a mattress and a sink, we ended up in Hostal Triskel. Filled with cats and a nice garden, the private room was exactly what we needed for the night. Not exactly a bargain at 26,000 CLP (€36) each but breakfast was included.
Where to go after la serena
head North
You can take a direct bus to San Pedro de Atacama for 45,000 CLP – 16 hours – it is the easiest but not the cheapest option. You can also take a bus to the city of Calama for 30,000 CLP and then a local bus to San Pedro de Atacama for 3,000 CLP. If you can also choose to go to Arica or Iquique. There are direct buses also to these destinations.
Note: bus ticket prices vary between high and low seasons so they may be different from when we visited in mid-May. For a quicker and more expensive option, it is possible to fly to Calama and the bus to San Pedro de Atacama. The town of Calama isn’t the best place in Chile. We didn’t feel really safe and there are a lot of stories regarding backpackers being mugged in the area or during the bus ride… So please, be aware of your belongings and surroundings if you decide to stop in this city. You will more than likely have to change the terminal to get to San Pedro de Atacama.
head South
You should be able to find a bus to Valparaiso or Santiago de Chile for a bit more than 6000 CLP (less than €10)
Cost and useful information
Transport:
Valparaiso – La Serena (bus): 6,200 CLP (€8.68)
La Serena – Pisco Elqui (bus): 3,000 CLP (€4.20)
Pisco Elqui – Vicuña (bus): 2,000 CLP (€2.80)
Viscuña – La Serena (bus): 2,000 CLP (€2.80)
La Serena – Calama (bus): 30,000 CLP (€42.00)
Calama – San Pedro de Atacama (bus): 3,000 CLP (€4.20)
Accommodation:
Hostel Cosmo Elqui La Serena – Dorm w/ breakfast: 8,500 CLP (€11.90)
Hostal Triskel Pisco Elqui – Private room, double bed w/ breakfast: 26,000 CLP (€36.40)
Leisure:
Pisco Tour: 1,000 CLP (€1.40)
Japanese Gardens: 1,000 CLP (€1.40)
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About the Author
Jen is the Funder, Author & Photographer behind Talesfromthelens.comJen has lived for the past 15 years across Oceania and Ireland while also travelling in Latin America, North America, and Europe. She has visited more than 65 countries and set foot on every continent in the world! She is a coffee nerd, passionate about photography, wildlife, and outdoor activities.
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