Situated on the outskirts of the town called Pisco Elqui, Domos Elqui is a different accommodation concept, designed to offer its customers the ideal opportunity to explore the beautiful night sky, in the Elqui Valley, Northern Chile. It’s internationally renowned as being one of the best stargazing locations in the world, due to its clear atmosphere and sky.
Built by February 2005, the hotel consists of 7 spheres, or domes and a recently added astronomic observatory which holds professional Schmidt-Cassegrain type telescopes.
As one of the 7 astronomical worldwide hotels and the only one situated in the Southern Hemisphere, Elqui Domos focuses most of its services during night time. An astronomy tour starts around 10 p.m. and across one hour you are given information and the opportunity to watch the stars through a professional telescope, under the guidance of an astronomy enthusiast. During the hours when the Sun’s still up, the hotel personnel can organize other activities such as horse riding, mountain biking, visits to vineyards or the the birthplace of the Nobel prize laureate Gabriela Mistral. Astronomy courses are available, as well as hammocks and wooden outdoor bathtubs.
Each of the 7 geodesic domes is furnished in a two storey plan: on the first floor a living room and the bathroom, and in the second storey the main bed and a detachable roof over it. The terrace holds a small dining table and pillows are spread on the floor, for relaxation. There is no TV set inside the rooms, and our guess is that you probably won’t regret missing the latest episode of the Kardashians. Every dome has its own professional telescope for you to use.
Lodging and other services are more than affordable, not at all proportionate to the good quality accommodation and the spectacular scenery. We recommend checking it out.
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