Excursion to La Serena for cruise passengers

For cruise ships, the route of which goes through the north of Chile: the port of Coquimbo, I offer group excursions to La Serena in Russian (groups are small, are formed as applications are received and agreed in advance).

The classic and most interesting tour route in La Serena takes eight to nine hours, although it can be reduced to six. The tour begins at the port, where you are greeted by a driver (Chilean) and a Russian guide. After gathering the group, you will visit the greenest valley of the North of Chile - the Elqui Valley. Due to the unique climate of the coastal zone, with its dense fogs (which the local Quechua Indians call Kamanchaka - or "darkness"), as well as the Elki River flowing from the mountains, which provides the terrain with water, the terrain resembles an oasis in the middle of the desert.

By the way, the La Serena zone is located at the southernmost latitude of the Chilean Atacama Desert and the fragile ecosystem of the Elqui Valley is a vivid example of how amazing and diverse Chile’s nature is. On the way, our first stop will be the museum of the famous poetess, mentor Pablo Neruda and Nobel Prize winner in Literature - Gabriela Mistral in the town of Vicuña near Coquimbo.

For a long time, Gabriela Mistral worked in one of the lyceums for girls in La Serena, now this lyceum bears her name. After visiting the museum, we will go to one of the factories for the production of traditional Chilean spirits - pisco, which is the subject of a centuries-old dispute between neighboring countries: Chile and Peru. You will see vineyards (by the way, in March the grapes are ripe, and on some excursions it is even allowed to try) grown for production in Pisco by Chileans, get acquainted with the cooking technology and can taste one of the best piscos in Chile. Then our route takes us to the oldest (after the capital) city of Chile - La Serena, where we will pass along the promenade and see the old lighthouse, then - visit the Plaza de Armas, the heart of the old city with its beautiful buildings that survived from colonial times. The next point on the map of our excursion we will stop at the port of Coquimbo, where we will visit the hill "Castle of Carmen" in the fortress of Lambert. Built to protect Coquimbo Bay from the Spanish flotilla during the First Pacific War (1865), and rebuilt in 1879 by one of the most influential townspeople, Carlos Lambert, whose commercial interests were to protect the port, Fort Lambert is waiting for you.

Next, we will visit the observation deck “Los Navegantes” on a hill, where you will enjoy a beautiful view of the Pacific Ocean. Now we will go to the Catholic Church of Guayacan, which is located near the Horseshoe Bay and the metal construction of which was ordered from the maestro of metal structures of the late 19th - early 20th century, Gustav Eiffel. The last point of the tour in Coquimbo is the “Cross of the Third Millennium”, installed in 2000 on the hill “Vigia” (the name translates as “observation post, tower”).

At the end of the tour, we will return to the port of Coquimbo, where you will continue your cruise in Chile.