Norte Chico - La Serena


La Serena

South of the Atacama Desert, after passing lonely beaches, the Pan de Azúcar National Park with its incredible variety of cactuses, islands full of penguins, and the Copiapó Valley, one reaches La Serena. The Copiapó Valley almost beats the desert in beauty with its grapevines and fruit plantations, although the desert has its own spectacular surprise when in some areas in specific years it explodes with multi- colored flowers and is for a short time the "flowering desert".

La Serena has become the area's most attractive beach resort. The long Avenida del Mar offers miles of long beaches lined by chalets, apartment buildings and small restaurants that come to life in the sum- mer. In contrast, the city center has a colonial and traditional atmosphere and includes 30 colonial churches. On the outskirts of La Serena, the fertile valleys of Elqui and Hurtado not only produces papayas and grapes for the production of Pisco but supposedly also emit esoteric waves. As the tale goes, the Elqui Valley has mysterious energies.

Gabriela Mistral, the famous poet and winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1945, was born here. With its beautiful views and quiet towns a visit to the "Norte Chico" will not go unrewarded. The region's clean and clear night skies have attracted international astronomical observatories that were established in the region's mountains; some of them are open to visitors.

North coast
Northern Chile with its miles and miles of coastline offers a spectacular landscape where the sea contrasts with the desert under an intense blue sky. The clearness of the sky is much valued by national and international astronomers who have built a number of observatories, such as La Silia, El Tololo and the spectacular Very Large Telescope. Another regional attraction is the so-called "flowering desert" that occurs every few years when the flowers grow and cover the and ground, creating a wonderful spectacle.

Furthermore, the waters of the Pacific Ocean are more temperate in this sector, offering perfect conditions to swim and practice water sports, as well as a large selection of sea food, which is why numerous restaurants in the area offer a delicious maritime cuisine.

Over 90% of the population lives on the coaxial platform and the largest urban centers are Arica, lquique and Antofagasta. These cities offer a series of excursions to surrounding areas and show the visitor their own history, preserved in old buildings and in valuable specialized museums.

Attractions
History and Legend
Between 1880 and 1920, this area was transformed into a hive of industrial activity, as dozens of mining towns such as Oficina Humberstone sprung up almost overnight to exploit the massive nitrate deposits of the Atacama Desert. Cities like Iquique export capital of the nitrate boom filled with millionaire entrepreneurs and boomtown miners. Today, elegant historic architecture reminds visitors of an age gone by.

Archaeology
The Chango Indians of this rugged coast traded fishmeal and guano with inland cultures, trekking through the desert on age-old trails marked with huge geoglyphs, such as those at Cerro Pintados, near Iquique. Near Mea, the San Miquel de Azapa archaeological museum displays artifacts from over 10,000 years of cultural development, including the world's oldest mummies.

Recreation and Relaxation
Sunny skies and extensive beaches make Chile's northern coast an ideal location for relaxing getaways. Arica, Iquique, and Antofagasta all boast top-notch hotels, splendid seafood restaurants, casinos and dubs. At the other end of the spectrum, coastal villages like Bahia Inglesa and remote parks such as Pan de Azúcar National Park provide sun and surf in a pristine coastal desert setting.

Activities
Astronomy
Recognized by astronomers as processing the clearest skies in the southern hemisphere, Chile's northern coast provides the best viewpoint on the Southern Gross, the twin Magellan Cloud galaxies, and other little-known features of the southern firmament.

Observation of flora and fauna
Coast mist-fed ecosystems such as that of Pan De Azúcar National Park contain over 140 species of endemic cactus, white the extraordinarily rich marine environment of Reserva Nacional Pinguino de Humboldt is home to a wide variety of birds and marine mammals, including sea lions, bottle-nosed dolphins, Humboldt penguins and Chilean pelicans. In September and October following exceptionally rainy winters, the coastal desert around Vallenar bursts into color in a phenomenon known as the "flowering desert."

Mystical and Religious
The enchanting Elqui Valley purportedly possesses healing and esoteric energies that attract New Age travelers from across the globe.

Gastronomy 
With locally grown produce ranging from olives to papayas, and an abundant variety of fish and shellfish, the cuisine of northern Chile is fresh, healthy and elegant. For starters, ask for a pisco sour made with famous limes from the oasis of Pica, and dig into a delicious ceviche. Appetite piqued? The feast is just beginning.