Day 1: La Serena - Vicuņa
After your arrival at La Serena Airport, we will do a short tour of the colonial cities of La Serena and Coquimbo, its harbor, and the bay of La Herradura. During this tour we will enjoy a nice lunch in a local restaurant in Coquimbo and try some typical food. After lunch, we will start our explorations of the mystical Elqui Valley with its rich pre- Columbian history, cultivation of pisco grapes, and its famous astronomic observatories. In the afternoon, we will arrive at Vicuņa, a cozy laid-back town, birthplace of the poet Gabriela Mistral, who is remembered as the first Latin American woman poet to win the Nobel Prize in literature. We will check into our hotel. After sunset and before dinner, we will drive up into the Andes and visit the Mamalluca Observatory to gaze the clearest skies in the world for the first time. We return to Vicuņa for our dinner and overnight stay. (L,D)

Day 2: Vicuņa - Elqui Domos
Today we will explore the Chilean Pisco culture that thrives in the Elqui Valley. Witnesses to this are the various "Pisqueras", Pisco production plants. We will visit the oldest Pisco distillery of Chile, "Pisquera Artesanal Los Nichos" where Pisco is still produced the old-fashioned way. Besides that, we will observe the craftsmanship of the manufacturers in the "Planta Artesanos de Cochiguaz de Montegrande". We will enjoy a nice lunch on the way and arrive in our hotel Elqui Domos in the afternoon. This "Astro-hotel" offers exclusive dome-shaped rooms with a detachable ceiling and private telescope in each "room" to observe the incredible clear sky up in the Elqui Valley. We will have dinner in the enchanting village Pisco Elqui. Overnight and private stargazing at Elqui Domos. (B,L,D)

Day 3: Elqui Domos - La Serena
After breakfast, we will drive down the Elqui Valley to the Pacific Coast. On the way, we will visit the locations where the actual "raw material" of the Chilean Pisco and wine grows; the family-run vineyard "Cavas del Valle" is the smallest in Chile and produces superb Syrah wines. We will enjoy lunch at a local restaurant in Vicuņa. In the early afternoon we will arrive at our beach resort hotel in La Serena. The afternoon will be at leisure to relax and enjoy the facilities of the resort. Overnight in La Serena. (B, L)

Day 4: La Serena
After breakfast we will drive to the airport of La Serena where we will drop you off to board your connecting flight. (B)