Chile Guide
El Norte Chico
Andacollo
Enfolded by sun-bleached, rolling hills midway between Ovalle and La Serena, ANDACOLLO is a tidy little town of small adobe houses grouped around a long main street. It's been an important gold- and copper-mining centre ever since the Incas mined its hills in the sixteenth century, but is best known as the home of the Virgen de Andacollo, a small wooden carving that draws over 100,000 pilgrims to the town each year. Most of them arrive between December 23 and 26 to participate in the Fiesta Grande de la Virgen: four days of music and riotous dancing performed by costumed groups from all over Chile.
Even if you miss that it's still worth coming to check out the two temples erected in honour of the Virgin. Largest and grandest is the Basílica, which towers over Plaza Pedro Nolasco Videla, the main square, in breathtaking contrast to the small, simple scale of the rest of the town. On the other side of the square stands the smaller, stone-built Templo Antiguo, dating from 1789. This is where the image of the Virgin stands for most of the year, perched on the main altar, awaiting the great festival when it's transported to the Basílica to receive the petitions and prayers of the pilgrims.
For a more celestial experience, head to the brand new Collowara Observatory (named after the Aymara term for "land of the stars"), some 15km northeast of Andacollo, atop the 1300-metre Cerro Churqui. Built specifically for public use, like that run by the Municipalidad of Vicuña, this observatory also features a top-quality Smith-Cassegrain telescope. The two-hour evening tours (CH$3500) start with a high-tech audiovisual talk (in Spanish and English) about the galaxy and other astronomical matters, followed by the opportunity to observe the heavens through one of the telescopes – unless, of course, you're unlucky enough to be here on a cloudy night. You should be at the observatory ticket office at Urmeneta 599 (Mon– Sat 9am–10pm, Sun 10am–10pm; 
51/432964, 
www.collowara.cl ) half an hour before the scheduled visit (9pm, 10.30pm & 11.30pm). It's best to make a reservation in advance; minivan transport is provided to and from the observatory.