Chiloé Island (Castro)
Capital of Chiloé, the island of myths, with colorful stilt houses, World Heritage wooden churches, Cucao's Muelle de las Almas and the Puñihuil penguin islets.
Castro is the capital of Chiloé Province in Chile's Los Lagos Region, set on the Castro Fjord on the central east coast of Isla Grande de Chiloé. Founded in 1567, it is one of Chile's oldest cities. The Chiloé Archipelago is known for its distinctive Chilote culture: shingled, colorful houses, palafitos (stilt houses) standing over the water, 16 World Heritage–listed wooden churches, and myths and legends of ghost ships and spirits.
Using Castro as a base: in town, see the Gamboa and Pedro Montt stilt houses, the yellow-and-purple Church of San Francisco and the Lillo market; to the northeast, browse the craft market in Dalcahue, take the ferry to Quinchao Island to see Achao, the oldest church, and in summer take a boat to Mechuque Island; head south to Chonchi, Vilupulli and Lemuy Island for a church circuit, or west to Chiloé National Park at Cucao and the Muelle de las Almas (Dock of Souls) to see the Pacific; near Ancud in the north of the island, take a boat to see the Puñihuil penguins and kayak on the Chepu River.
From Puerto Montt, buses reach Castro in about 3.5 hours via the Chacao ferry, or you can fly to Mocopulli Airport. It rains throughout the year, with Dec–Mar the driest period; penguin season runs roughly Sep–Mar. Plan on 3–4 days; a car gives you the most flexibility. Don't miss curanto, seafood cooked in an earth pit, and Chiloé's native potatoes.
Top sights
- Palafitos de Castro – A row of colorful wooden houses on stilts standing on the bay, which look as if they float on the water at high tide. It is the most iconic…
- Church of San Francisco, Castro – A wooden cathedral in bright yellow and lavender on Plaza de Armas. It is one of the UNESCO World Heritage Chiloé Churches, and its interio…
- Pingüineras de Puñihuil – The only breeding ground where you can see both Magellanic and Humboldt penguins. You circle the small islands by landing craft for close v…
- Feria Lillo – A handicraft and seafood market beside the port in Castro, offering woolen goods, wood carvings, smoked mussels and seafood snacks.
- Museo de Arte Moderno Chiloé (MAM) – A contemporary art museum in a former wooden granary in the hilltop park on the west side of town, showing works by Chilean artists, with v…
- Church of Nercón – A UNESCO World Heritage wooden church south of Castro, with a tall bell tower and an interior of striking wood carvings painted to imitate…
- Church of Rilán – A UNESCO World Heritage church on the Rilán peninsula, with a three-tiered bell tower set against the grass by the sea and a fine blue vaul…
- Dalcahue Church & Market – A seaside town where a UNESCO World Heritage wooden church sits beside a Sunday handicraft market, and the 'kitchen' food stalls by the sho…
- Church of Achao – The Church of Our Lady of Loreto on Quinchao Island, built around 1740, is the oldest surviving World Heritage wooden church in Chiloé.
- Curaco de Vélez – A small village of old wooden houses with shingled roofs on Quinchao Island. Its seaside boardwalk, open-air oyster stalls and black-necked…
- Chonchi – A town built up a hillside in tiers, called the 'city of three levels.' Its colorful wooden houses and the UNESCO-listed San Carlos Church…
- Church of Vilupulli – A small World Heritage church standing alone in a grassy hillside field, whose simple proportions and wood-shingled bell tower are consider…
- Lemuy Island Churches – A quiet island across from Chonchi, where three World Heritage churches at Ichuac, Aldachildo and Detif sit between hilly shores.
- Chiloé National Park (Cucao Sector) – A temperate rainforest and dune coast facing the Pacific, with Cucao Lake, long beaches and boardwalk trails for seeing ancient Chilean cyp…
- Muelle de las Almas – A wooden pier stretching out over the Pacific from a cliff, inspired by the Chiloé myth of the dead crossing the sea, and the island's most…
- Ancud & Fuerte San Antonio – Chiloé's second-largest town, known for the ruins of Spain's last stronghold in South America and the Chiloé Churches Centre Museum.
- Chepu River & Sunken Forest – A "drowned forest" of dead trees standing in water, created when the 1960 earthquake made the river valley sink. Paddling through it at daw…
- Church of Tenaún – A blue-and-white UNESCO-listed church in a seaside fishing village. Its three-tower façade and star motifs are unique among Chiloé's church…
- Mechuque Island – A small island in Chiloé's inner sea, home to a village of stilt houses. Its wooden footbridges, colourful timber houses, and curanto cooke…
Where to eat
- Travesía – Run by Chiloé food researchers, with local cooks working a wood-fired kitchen to serve authentic Chiloé dishes.
- Mercadito de Chiloé – A creative Chiloé restaurant on the waterfront, opened in 2012; its seafood gnocchi and stews are crowd favorites.
- Sacho – A family restaurant founded in 1978; locals come for lunch, and curanto and crab gratin are the signatures.
Itineraries
- Lake District, Valdivia & Chiloé Island – A self-drive journey heading south from Temuco, linking volcanic lakes, a German-influenced river city, and an island o…