Why this ride
201 km from Chonchi to Chonchi, about 4 h 41 of riding. It goes by way of Church of Dalcahue, Church of Tenaún and back through Church of Dalcahue. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Church of Aldachildo and Church of Tenaún
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 201 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 41
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Chiloe Island Route
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 63 km this is Chiloe Island Route, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 63 km
- Named road
- Chiloe Island Route
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Church of Aldachildo
Aldachildo is another of the small wooden churches on Lemuy, and it asks you to think about how the Chilote churches were actually used. They were not built for tourists, or even mainly for Sundays. When Jesuit missionaries began to organise the islands in the seventeenth century, they did not have enough priests to be everywhere. So they trained local laymen to look after chapels, lead prayers and baptise, and the missionaries themselves sailed round the circuit once a year, on a kind of pilgrimage that the communities still remember with an annual festival. After the Jesuits were expelled in the eighteenth century, those lay guardians kept the system alive.
Read the complete Church of Aldachildo write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Church of Aldachildo is where the day begins. Next is Church of Dalcahue.
2. Church of Dalcahue
Chiloé is a damp, green island off the coast of southern Chile, and its wooden churches are its soul. The Church of Dalcahue stands on the waterfront of a small town on the eastern side of the island, facing the inner sea and the islands of the archipelago, with a long arcaded porch along its front and a tall tower rising above. Built entirely of wood, with shingles cut from native trees, it is one of sixteen churches inscribed in 2000 as the Churches of Chiloé.
Read the complete Church of Dalcahue write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Church of Dalcahue comes up about 63 km into the recorded legs. Next is Church of Tenaún.
3. Church of Tenaún
Out on the eastern coast of Chiloé, where the island looks across a channel at the smaller islands of the inner sea and, on a clear day, the snowy volcanoes of the mainland, the village of Tenaún gathers around a wooden church that looks almost too bold for its setting. The façade is painted deep blue, scattered with white stars, and topped not with one but with three towers. It is one of the sixteen churches of Chiloé on the World Heritage list, masterpieces of a unique tradition of wooden architecture.
Read the complete Church of Tenaún write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 100 km into the recorded legs you reach Church of Tenaún. Next is back through Church of Dalcahue.
4. back through Church of Dalcahue
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Church of Dalcahue write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Church of Dalcahue, late in the day. Next is Church of Aldachildo.
5. Church of Aldachildo
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Church of Aldachildo write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Church of Aldachildo. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Church of Aldachildo to Church of Dalcahue
Church of Aldachildo → Church of Dalcahue is 63 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Church of Dalcahue to Church of Tenaún
Church of Dalcahue → Church of Tenaún is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Church of Tenaún to back through Church of Dalcahue
Church of Tenaún → back through Church of Dalcahue is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Church of Dalcahue to Church of Aldachildo
back through Church of Dalcahue → Church of Aldachildo is 63 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.