Experience the best of Pisco Elqui

Pisco Elqui lies high in the Elqui Valley, in Chile's Coquimbo region, at the end of a road that climbs inland from La Serena and Vicuña. The village was called La Unión until 1936, when it took the name of the spirit made from the valley's grapes. Muscat vines cover the valley floor and climb terraces up barren brown slopes, and small distilleries in and around the village offer tours and tastings.

The dry air and clear skies attract astronomers, and large observatories stand on mountain tops across the region. The poet Gabriela Mistral, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature, was born in Vicuña, lower down the valley, and grew up in Montegrande, a village near Pisco Elqui where she is buried.

Pisco sours are mixed from the valley's own spirit, and the farms grow papayas and grapes under almost constant sun. Evenings are cool at this height, and winter nights can be cold. After dark, the stars are the main show.