Founded in 1544, La Serena is the second oldest city in Chile. In this region the sun shines all year through. Here nature has been able to combine its extensive coastline of fine sands on the Pacific Ocean with beautiful fertile valleys and desertic landscapes. The old city offers tourist attractions marked by the colonial and mining periods. Eastwards, through a rugged geography of soft hills covered with vineyards, lies a place of peace and tranquility: the Elqui Valley, first sanctuary of dark skies in the world, transforming the valley into one of the best places for the observation of stars and planets worldwide.