Elqui Valley is located in northern Chile and is one of the country’s premiere tourist regions. It is one of the continent’s best regions for stargazing and ‘astro-tourism’, with excellent observatory tours available that take in the impressively-designed Observatorio Mamalluca and Observatorio La Silla. The Elqui Valley is also famous for its production of pisco, a brandy-like liquor, and there are many pisquerias (distilleries) in the region between La Serena and Vicuna, where you can sample the popular local drink. The Elqui Valley also boasts the Gabriela Mistral Museum - the former home of the Nobel Prize-winning poet - and the Cerveceria Guayacan, an exceptionally popular craft brewery. Horseback tours of the valley are also highly recommended, as are the numerous campgrounds spread throughout this scenic region.