Isla Chiloé Things to Do

The culture of Chiloe is unique because it was rather isolated from Spanish colonial history and its dependence on the sea for survival.

Nearly all the houses on the island are made from wood. The famous thing about Chiloe are the many wooden churches. The walls of the houses have what I called 'fish-scales' designs as pieces of wood were laid side by side across the wall and then, another section on top would overlap the bottom section a little... like 'fish-scales'. The traditional industry on this island is, naturally, fishing.

One comes to Chiloe to hibernate in the friendly, tranquil atmosphere.

Stay in Castro, which has the best atmosphere of all the towns here and is not too far from all the other sights.

Despite being destroyed by fires and Earthquakes numerous times throughout its history, Castro is still going strong, and today is the capital of Chiloe, and, judging from what we saw, its most visited town. It's a good base for exploring the island as there is a good choice of accommodation & restaurants, and many of the islands highlights, such as the national park, the small town of Chonchi and the numerous islands on the east coast are in easy reach.

In town there is a historic cathedral which survived the 1960 Earthquake. It has an ornate interior and lies on the attractive main square. Also very noticeable in castro are the fascinating palafitos (houses on stilts) which dominate the waterfront around town.

Chiloe's largest town contains a number of worthwhile attractions, making it a good place to visit for a couple of days. Ancud is the first place that most visitors see in Chiloe, as it's located just to the south of the ferry terminal, from where the Puerto Montt boat arrives.

The town has an interesting historical museum, where you can learn all about its history and its people. There are some fascinating pictures of Ancud before the tsunami which destroyed much of the town. Also interesting is the story of the Goleta Ancud, a ship famous throughout the country owing to its role in helping to settle the Magellenic region.

Other attractions in town are the Fuerte San Antonio, the last fortress held by the Spanish in the War of Independence. A few kilometres west of ancud you can visit a penguin colony where you can see both Magallenic and Humboldt penguins.

We stayed for one day in Ancud, and this was enough to see the town's main attractions. We would have liked to see the penguin colony as well but the weather was too bad so we decided to move on.

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Castro is a very charming city as it's climbing on the gentle hills and spreading along the beautiful coastline. Being in a way separated from the rest of Chile, Chiloe has maintained its local flavour. Walking in the streets is very pleasant. There are houses of Spanish architecture matching harmoniously with the typical "palafitos" (houses on stilts). Food is good and there are many tours taking you all around Castro and to other islands. The beautiful church of Castro is the dominating feature in the central square. There are a lot of stalls in the open markets selling local products very cheaply.
In Local Festivals their love for local food is expressed with huge quantities of "Curanto" accompanied by their original chilean music.

It's connected to the land and Puerto Montt in the North by ferry boats from Ancud. There are boats going to Chaiten (nine hours) on the other side from Castro and others from Quellon to Chaiten or Puerto Chacabuko.

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The wonderful Park of Chiloe is a must-see place. Especially Cucoa beach is a natural gift. Millions of shells are scattered on the sand. The perfect decoration ! There are a lot of possible walks around as there are forests and rivers to complete the picture !!!
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Quinchao is also an archipelago that consists of 10 islands with Achao, the capital, as the civil center of the communities. There are hills and levees so there is a lot of high points with panoramic views. Very old churches are proudly standing up with their unique style.
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An island of green fields with cows and sheep grazing ! A serene picture that works as a time-forgetting cure..
Dinner included lamb on the spit in a warm wooden restaurant accompanied by other typical Chilean tit bits. Delicious !!
Houses are all made of wood each one having its own shape and colours.
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Aquí incluyo algunos detalles de la iglesia de Ancud : el púlpito , los suelos , el artesonado , las tejuelas de la fachada
Here I am including some details of the Ancud Church : the pulpit , the floor , the ceilings , the facade tiles