Andacollo

The compact town of Andacollo, an important gold and silver mining center since the 16th century, makes a pleasant stopover between Ovalle and La Serena. Here you'll find one of Chile's most famous religious icons. The wooden image of the Virgen de Andacollo, deemed miraculous by the Vatican in 1901 for its putative power to cure disease, draws some 150,000 pilgrims to the town each year from December 23 to 26 for the Fiesta Grande de la Virgen. During the festival, the statue is decorated and paraded through the streets.