| From | Car | Bus | Tours |
|---|---|---|---|
| From La SerenaGoogle Maps | 63 km on Ruta 41; 1 h. To Pisco Elqui, 101 km, 1 h 50 min. | From La Serena's Terminal Rodoviario (Amunátegui 107) there are buses to Vicuña throughout the day, 1 h; several continue to Pisco Elqui, about 2 h, and some as far as Alcohuaz. | There are day tours from La Serena to the valley (8 to 10 h), which usually include a winery or a pisco distillery, Vicuña and Pisco Elqui. |
| From SantiagoGoogle Maps | 531 km on Route 5 North (Ruta 5 Norte) to La Serena, then Ruta 41; about 6 h 30 min. | There are direct Santiago–Vicuña buses, just a few a day, about 6 h; many more go to La Serena, where you change. |
You'll want a car: two wineries are less than 15 km from Vicuña and the rest are in the upper valley, between Montegrande and Alcohuaz, 30–50 km away on Ruta D-485. The valley buses are handy for getting between villages.
Harvest: in March, according to the valley's wineries.
Harvest runs from February to April. The Fiesta de la Vendimia de Vicuña (Vicuña harvest festival) is on the last weekend of February, free, in the main square, with wineries, pisco distilleries and breweries. Dry, clear weather almost all year: strong sun by day and cold nights. Most wineries are open year-round; booking is advisable.
A day from La Serena is enough for two wineries. Better still, a weekend with a night in Vicuña or Pisco Elqui; two wineries have accommodation.
Base town: Vicuña (and Pisco Elqui, in Paihuano, for the upper valley).
Accommodation at 2 wineries: Viñedos de Alcohuaz, Piuquenes Elqui.
Restaurant at 1: Fundo Los Nichos.
Frequency of buses to the upper valley (every half hour according to a travel guide) not confirmed on an official site: the local company publishes only contact details. No 2026 date for the Vicuña festival. Harvest months according to the wineries' profiles.
Hollow dots are approximate locations. Open this valley in the map with filters.
Those open to visitors first.
Pioneering family-run boutique winery of the upper Elqui Valley, in a 19th-century adobe manor house beside the road to Montegrande. Syrah and Moscatel Rosada grown above 1,000 m, with tastings by booking.
Pisco distillery in operation since 1868, the oldest in Chile, which also makes sweet wines. Daily guided tours of its stills, cellars and the cellar of niches.
Family project of Juan Luis Huerta and Helia Rojas in Horcón, upper Elqui: Pajonal late-harvest wines and a dry Pedro Jiménez, a wine shop open daily, and cabins.
Winery of the Porfiri Trivelli family in Diaguitas, Elqui Valley, with mountain vineyards planted from 2013 at up to 1,100 m above sea level. Visits by appointment, arranged by email.
Winery founded in 1998 by the Olivier family at the far end of the Puclaro reservoir, in Elqui, with vineyards from near the sea up to 2,000 m; wine shop open daily and visits by booking.
Mountain vineyards between 1,650 and 2,200 m in the upper Elqui, on granite: Syrah, Garnacha and Cariñena trodden in stone lagares. Winery tours, tastings and wine-and-stars evenings.
Family project of winemakers Steffan Jorgensen and Pamela Núñez, with single-vineyard Syrah, Carménère, Malbec and Pinot Noir from three parts of the Elqui Valley.
Family project of winemaker Juan Pablo Rosset in La Serena: small-batch reds from Limarí and Elqui grapes and a sweet Moscatel, sold through its online shop.
