The Agua Negra pass, which links the Argentine province of San Juan with Chile's Coquimbo Region, may not open until late December 2026 or the first days of January 2027 because of the snow piled up in the Andes. Meanwhile, an official and business delegation from Coquimbo, including Sernatur's regional director Angélica Funes, travelled to San Juan to propose an alternative route for tourists heading to the beaches of La Serena: cross at the Cristo Redentor-Los Libertadores pass in Mendoza and continue along the Chilean coast, Diario El Zonda and Del Sur Diario reported on 6 November 2026.
There is still no official date. In October, Chilean authorities had already ruled out December and were talking about January, as we reported in Agua Negra pass with no opening date. The new element is that the delegation now speaks of "late December or the first days of January".
View the data as a table
| Tourists via Agua Negra in 2025 | 56,448 |
| Tourists via Cristo Redentor in 2025 | 1.12 M |
| Metres above sea level at the border | 4,780 |
What the Coquimbo delegation said about the Agua Negra pass
The group included Carlos Ramos, chair of the International Relations Committee of the Coquimbo Regional Council; Pamela Rubio, manager of Hotel Club La Serena; Sernatur Coquimbo director Angélica Funes; Carlos Matus of the Regional Development Corporation; and hoteliers Octavio Ramos and Jaime Bordones. They appeared on Telesol's *Modo Tarde* programme in San Juan, according to Diario El Zonda.
| Topic | What the delegation said | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Agua Negra opening | Could slip to late December or the first days of January | Diario El Zonda, 6 Nov 2026 |
| Reason for the delay | The weather: there are funds and high-mountain machinery at work, "what hasn't helped is the weather" (Carlos Ramos) | Diario El Zonda |
| Alternative route | Cross at Cristo Redentor-Los Libertadores and drive from Los Andes along the coast to La Serena | Diario El Zonda / Del Sur Diario |
| Los Andes-La Serena drive | About five hours by car, via Pichidangui and Los Vilos | Diario El Zonda |
| State of the coast | Recovered from the July and August storms and ready for the season | Pamela Rubio, Hotel Club La Serena |
| Next binational meeting | Integration Committee, 2 and 3 December (includes the low-altitude tunnel) | Diario El Zonda |
"Today the Coquimbo region is prepared and ready to welcome people from Mendoza, from San Juan, all the Argentines who want to come," said Pamela Rubio. The delegation also said the coastal fireworks shows return this season, without giving dates.
How many tourists enter Chile through the Agua Negra pass and Los Libertadores
The official spreadsheet of foreign tourist arrivals from Chile's Undersecretariat of Tourism and Sernatur lists Agua Negra under the name of its Chilean border complex, Juntas del Toro. In 2025, 56,448 foreign tourists entered there, the highest figure in a series that starts in 2008, and almost half of them came in January (26,758). Cristo Redentor-Los Libertadores saw 1,119,198, twenty times more.
| Year | Juntas del Toro (Agua Negra) | Cristo Redentor (Los Libertadores) |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 48,285 | 1,077,170 |
| 2017 | 52,428 | 1,224,773 |
| 2019 | 20,936 | 542,293 |
| 2023 | 24,754 | 528,499 |
| 2024 | 30,034 | 905,876 |
| 2025 | 56,448 (record) | 1,119,198 |
| 2026 (January-August) | 28,511 | 426,262 |
Source: Undersecretariat of Tourism and Sernatur, foreign tourist arrivals by border crossing (October 2026 release, preliminary figures since 2020). Land crossings were closed in 2021 because of the pandemic. More data in our ranking of border crossings with the most tourists.
Why a late opening of the Agua Negra pass matters
Agua Negra is a seasonal pass: at 4,780 metres at the border, it only operates in the warm months. Arrivals are concentrated in January and February, so every week of delay weighs on occupancy in La Serena, Coquimbo and the Elqui Valley. The chart compares the summer months of three seasons:
View the data as a table
| 2019 | 2025 | 2026 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 12,104 | 26,758 | 17,862 |
| Feb | 4,522 | 13,825 | 6,764 |
| Mar | 1,952 | 4,386 | 2,013 |
| Apr | 908 | 2,859 | 1,493 |
| May | 0 | 936 | 379 |
In the 2025-2026 summer the pass opened on 26 November 2025 and 7,396 tourists crossed in December; in January 2026 there were 17,862, a third fewer than in January 2025, the year Argentine visitors dropped, as we analysed in Argentine tourists in Chile.
- 30-11-20232023-2024 opening
- 22-11-20242024-2025 opening
- 26-11-20252025-2026 opening
- 14-06-2026Closed for winter
- 6-11-2026Coquimbo suggests Los LibertadoresAgua Negra could open in late December or early January
- 2/3-12-2026Integration Committee
Does your hotel, cabin or tour in La Serena or the Elqui Valley want to reach Argentine travellers planning their summer?
See advertising optionsHow to get from San Juan to La Serena without the Agua Negra pass
On 6 November the Cristo Redentor pass was open 24 hours for cars, buses and trucks, with sub-zero temperatures at dawn in Las Cuevas (-9 °C) and roadworks on Route 7 at Agua de las Avispas, according to Diario Mendoza. The Pehuenche pass remained closed. These are the options for the summer:
| Option | What it involves | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Cristo Redentor-Los Libertadores | San Juan-Mendoza, cross to Los Andes and take the coastal route to La Serena (about 5 hours from Los Andes, per the delegation) | Pass status on the day at pasosfronterizos.gov.cl and seasonal hours |
| Wait for Agua Negra | Direct San Juan-Elqui Valley route via Route 41 | Official opening date (road authorities in Chile and San Juan) and bookings with free cancellation |
| Fly plus bus | Fly to Santiago or La Serena and continue overland | Summer fares and frequencies |
Before setting off, check the status of the crossings on the official site pasosfronterizos.gov.cl and our story on the Cristo Redentor pass open 24 hours. To plan the trip, see our guides to what to do in La Serena and Coquimbo and the Elqui Valley and its observatories.
Frequently asked questions
When does the Agua Negra pass open for the 2026-2027 season?
There is no official date. As of 6 November 2026, the Coquimbo delegation said it could open in late December or the first days of January 2027, depending on the weather in the mountains.
How many tourists entered Chile through Agua Negra in 2025?
56,448 foreign tourists through the Juntas del Toro complex, the highest since 2008, according to the Undersecretariat of Tourism and Sernatur.
How long is the drive from Los Andes to La Serena?
About five hours by car on the coastal route, according to the Coquimbo delegation, plus the stretch from San Juan or Mendoza and the Cristo Redentor crossing.
Is the Cristo Redentor pass open?
On 6 November 2026 it was open 24 hours, according to Diario Mendoza. Its status changes with snow: check on the day you travel.
