Of all the islands of the Chiloé archipelago, Lemuy is one of the quietest, and the church at Detif, at its far eastern end, stands almost alone on a grassy slope above the sea, with a few houses scattered around and the islands of the inner sea on the horizon. It is one of the sixteen wooden Churches of Chiloé listed as a World Heritage site, built in the late nineteenth century of native wood, with a simple façade, an arcade at the front and a tower rising above the entrance. The interior is equally simple and beautiful, and the church is cared for by the local community, which still uses it for services and festivals, such as the feast of its patron saint.
Lemuy is a gentle island of rolling hills, small farms, sheep and patches of forest, crossed by a single main road that runs from the ferry landing through the village of Puqueldón to the eastern end at Detif. Along the way, two other World Heritage churches, at Aldachildo and Ichuac, are worth stopping at. The views across the channels to the main island of Chiloé and, on clear days, to the snow-capped volcanoes of the mainland, are wonderful. The light is soft and changes constantly with the passing clouds and rain showers.
To get to Lemuy, you take a short ferry from the main island near Chonchi, a crossing of a few minutes with frequent departures during the day. The road across the island is partly paved and partly gravel, narrow and winding, with steep sections, and it can be muddy and slippery after rain, which is often. Traffic is very light, and you are more likely to meet sheep, dogs or a farmer with a cart than another vehicle. On the main island, the road from Castro to Chonchi and Quellón is part of the Pan-American highway.
Puqueldón has a few small shops and places to eat. Chonchi is a pretty town of wooden houses on a hillside above the sea, with a church of its own on the World Heritage list. Try empanadas filled with seafood, and the potatoes of Chiloé, which come in hundreds of native varieties, many of them unique to the island.