Chiloe Island
UNESCO World Heritage Site (Churches Of Chiloe, 2000); A Green, Rainy Archipelago With Its Own Culture, Wooden Churches And Stilt Houses · Castro, Los Lagos
Chiloe is a large, green, rainy island off the coast south of Puerto Montt, and it feels like a different country: a place of rolling farmland, fishing villages, shingled wooden houses, myths of ghost ships and forest spirits, and a culture that grew up largely apart from the mainland. Its great treasure is a set of wooden churches built by Jesuit and Franciscan missionaries and local carpenters from the eighteenth century onwards, sixteen of which are a World Heritage Site: the yellow and violet church of San Francisco in Castro, the ancient church at Achao, and others standing alone on the shore of quiet bays. Castro, the capital, is also known for its palafitos, colourful houses on stilts over the tidal water. On the Pacific side, Chiloe National Park protects rainforest and wild beaches, and at Punihuil boats take visitors to islets where Magellanic and Humboldt penguins nest together. Food is a reason to come, above all curanto, shellfish and meat cooked in a pit. It rains a lot.
Plaza de Armas, Castro, Chiloe, Los Lagos, Castro, Los Lagos, Chile
The island is open all year. The UNESCO churches keep varying hours and some are open only for services or in summer. Ferries across the Chacao Channel run frequently through the day. Penguin boat trips at Punihuil run roughly from September to March.