The Andes Mountains Tour

The small sacrifice of getting up early to go out at seven o’clock in the morning from La Serena will be pleasingly compensated with the wonderful experience of knowing the Andes Mountains and the beautiful secrets that we will discover.

We leave behind the first villages of the Elqui Valley, crossing the Gabriela Mistral International Road, which is fully decorated of vineyards, used for making the traditional distilled called Pisco, and move towards the mountain chain up to the village of Huanta.

After a short stop in Huanta, we’ll take again the road and cross the International Border to Argentina. As we drive towards the mountains, you’ll be able to observe how the landscape changes as the hours go by. From the Elqui’s fertile nature to the loneliness of the dry and cold mountains, you’ll be surprised by the variety of colours over the mountains.

The maximum point of our ascent will be at 3.350 m., when you’ll meet the great surprise of our trip: the reserve called The Lagoon, 40 million of cubic meters and five kilometres of extension, is the reserve of sweet water, hiding in The Andes, that provides a unique contrast. The peace that you’ll breathe in this place is astonishing: the silence, the breeze, and the calm will surprise you. It is obvious that, before returning, it is necessary to stop to meditate and to enjoy the peace of the place by looking into the water mirror

After the visit to the reserve, we’ll return to Huanta, where we will recover energy with a typical country lunch. Finally, we will visit the village of Chapilca, where we’ll find a group of 40 women trying to keep alive the essence of their handcrafted typical art: blankets, caps, jackets, scarves, etc. We will know the history of Chapilca, about its women and their fine work.