By air
Mocopulli, Castro (MHC), ~20 km
South America · Chile
Chiloé, Chile
Wooden churches and houses on stilts
Getting there
Best time to visit
December to March — summer
Don't miss
Castro's palafitos
The Church of Castro
Puñihuil
Chiloé National Park
Things to do
The UNESCO wooden churches
Castro's palafitos
Penguins at Puñihuil
Where to eat
Sources: Photo: Claudioarzola · CC BY-SA 3.0
What to pack
Rain gear, layers
A quieter corner
The Muelle de las Almas, the 'pier of souls'
Questions travellers ask
Which months suit Chiloé best?
December to March, in summer. Bring rain gear and layers.
Is there an airport on Chiloé?
Yes — Mocopulli, Castro (MHC), about 20 km away.
What are Chiloé's highlights?
The UNESCO wooden churches, Castro's palafitos, the Church of Castro and the penguins at Puñihuil. Chiloé National Park rounds out a visit.
What's a hidden gem on Chiloé?
The Muelle de las Almas, the pier of souls. To eat, try curanto: seafood and meat cooked in the ground.
About Chiloé
- Island
Where it is
Chiloé is the largest island entirely within Chile, in the Los Lagos region in the south of the country, separated from the mainland by the Chacao Channel, with the open Pacific to the west and the sheltered Gulf of Ancud and many smaller islands to the east.
History
The Chono, Huilliche and Cunco peoples lived here when the Spanish arrived, and Castro was founded in 1567. Jesuit missionaries, who arrived early in the 17th century, inspired a distinctive school of wooden church building; Chiloé was the last stronghold of Spanish royalists in Chile until 1826, and sixteen of its churches, built in the 18th and 19th centuries, became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000.
People
Chilotes speak Spanish with many words of Huilliche origin and live from fishing, shellfish, farming and wool. They are known for the minga, a tradition of communal work in which neighbours may even haul a whole house across land or water, and for a rich mythology of forest spirits and ghost ships.
Known for
- Wooden churches, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
- Castro's palafitos stilt houses
- Curanto cooked in an earth pit
- Penguins at Puñihuil
- Myths such as the Caleuche ghost ship
Did you know?
Chiloé is a centre of diversity of the potato and the source of most cultivated potatoes grown outside the Andes, and its farmers still grow many native varieties.
We haven't written a guide for this place yet — you can still plan a trip here.