Please note that visitors are received by appointment only. Information for weekend visits is available here.
Evening view of La Silla
The 3.6-metre telescope
New Technology Telescope (NTT)
The 2.2-metre MPG/ESO telescope
ESO’s La Silla Observatory, 600 km north of Santiago de Chile and at an altitude of 2400 metres, has been an ESO stronghold since the 1960s. It is equipped with several medium-sized optical telescopes and is home to the world’s foremost exoplanet hunter: HARPS (High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher), a spectrograph with unrivalled precision.
La Silla Observatory is located 600 km north of Santiago and about 160 km north of La Serena at an altitude of 2400 metres, bordering the southern end of the Atacama Desert in Chile. At La Silla ESO operates several of the most productive 4-metre-class telescopes in the world.
Arriving by plane
If you fly, the nearest airport is La Florida at La Serena. There is no public transport to La Silla Observatory, so you will need to rent a car.
Driving directions
Some of the car rental companies based at the airport are Econorent, Budget or Hertz, and average daily cost of a rental car is CLP 50 000 (EUR 70).
It takes around two hours to drive from the airport to La Silla. Drive west down Av. Colo Colo to reach the Panamerican Highway. Turn right (north) and continue to route C-541. Turn right to take this route and continue to the La Silla main gate.
Driving from the north, the turn is reached after Vallenar; from the south it is after La Higuera.
Please check the external map.
Facilities
La Silla is the first ESO observatory built in Chile and it has been an ESO stronghold since the 1960s. It is home to three major telescopes: the 3.6-metre telescope, the New Technology Telescope (NTT) and the 2.2-metre MPG/ESO telescope, all of them equipped with state of the art instruments.
It is not possible to stay overnight or obtain food in La Silla. Accommodation and meals are provided for ESO staff only. Further information on public visits to La Silla is available here.
For accommodation and meals you can return to La Serena.
La Silla site map