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- Castro Cathedral
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- Penguins at Puñihuil
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- Playa Puñihuil
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- Museo
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- Chiloé
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- Ancud
The wooden churches of Chiloé are among Chile’s most valuable cultural treasures and were added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2000. The first of the 16 listed churches were built in the 18th century by Jesuit monks with the help of skilled local carpenters. They are made entirely of wood, without a single iron nail!
Travel Type: Culture / Nature
Duration: 4 Days
- Tour Description
- Included Services
- Gear
Flight to Castro. Your bilingual guide and Chiloé expert will pick you up at the airport. After the check-in in your hotel, you will explore Chiloé´s capital Castro during a city tour. You will visit the Plaza de Armas and its cathedral painted in daring lilac and orange. The island’s largest craft market can also be visited near the harbour. Castro is famous for its ‘palafitos’, houses raised on stilts above the water. There are various reasons for their existence, but the most compelling is perhaps the simple fact that early inhabitants sought to evade taxes by building over the water. After all, the ocean has always belonged to everyone!
Overnight in Castro.
Day 2: Puñihuil Penguin Colony, hike from Duhatao to Chepu, and taste Curanto
Today’s tour takes you to the northern part of the island. You will receive your lunchboxes for the day’s hike in Ancud. Then, we show you the beach of Puñihuil. Weather permitting; you will take a small boat to one of the rocky outcrops in the sea, where the penguins nest during the breading season. It is one of the few places where Magellan and Humboldt penguins live side by side. After the surely entertaining encounter with the penguins, the active part of the day begins: an approx. 4-hour hike along the coast from Duhato to Chepu on the “Sendero de Chile.” You will hike through an evergreen forest and pass the idyllic beach of Aulín. After the hike you will return to Ancud relaxed and refreshed. Make sure you stop to taste an original “Curanto,” a typical dish with meat, potatoes, collard greens and seafood cooked in an earth oven. Overnight in Ancud.
Day 3: Fundación Amigos de las Iglésias de Chiloé and Caulín
Today, you will visit the fascinating museum of the “Friends of the Churches of Chiloé” Foundation.
Here, you can learn everything about the island’s unique architecture and its background.
Afterwards, your excursion takes you to the Bay of Caulín, where black-necked swans and other bird species can be observed during summer.
Transfer to Puerto Varas and overnight.
Day 4: Puerto Varas
Departure or extension programme in Puerto Varas.