Why this ride
358 km from Chonchi to Chonchi, about 6 h 10 of riding. On the way it passes Church of Nercón, Church of Rilán, Church of Achao and Church of Chelín.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Church of Chonchi and Church of Chelín
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 358 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 6 h 10
- 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: planning record, not independently verified geometry.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distances and riding times are planning figures. 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 19 km this is Chiloe Island Route, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 19 km
- Named road
- Chiloe Island Route
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Church of Chonchi
Chonchi is a small port town on the east coast of Chiloe, built on a steep hillside above the channel, and locals sometimes call it the city of three floors, because its streets climb in terraces from the waterfront to the plaza and the church above. The church of San Carlos de Borromeo, painted in warm yellow and red and crowned with a tall tower, was built in the nineteenth century, in the typical style of the island, and it dominates the square. Inside, it has the characteristic wooden columns and a ceiling like the hull of a ship, and the interior smells of old timber and wax.
Read the complete Church of Chonchi write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Church of Chonchi is where the day begins. Next is Church of Nercón.
2. Church of Nercón
Chiloé, the big island off the coast of southern Chile, is a place of rain, mist, green fields and sheep, and its most distinctive treasure is its wooden churches. More than a hundred and fifty were built, mostly in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and sixteen of them were listed by UNESCO in 2000. The Jesuits began the tradition in the seventeenth century, when they travelled around the archipelago by boat, holding mass in chapels in each community, and after they were expelled in 1767, the local people kept the tradition going on their own, with carpenters and shipbuilders who knew how to work wood.
Read the complete Church of Nercón write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Church of Nercón comes up about 47 km into the recorded legs. Next is Church of Rilán.
3. Church of Rilán
Chiloé is an island of rain, wood and faith, lying off the coast of southern Chile across the narrow Chacao channel, and its wooden churches are its great treasure. Built by island carpenters following a tradition introduced by Jesuit missionaries in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and continued by Franciscans, they combine European church forms with local shipbuilding skills, using native timbers and covering the walls with overlapping wooden shingles called tejuelas. Sixteen of them were listed by UNESCO in 2000, and the church of Santa María de Rilán is one of them. It stands on the Rilán peninsula, east of Castro, facing a quiet inlet, its tall tower and painted wooden facade rising above the low houses and green fields of the village.
Read the complete Church of Rilán write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 91 km into the recorded legs you reach Church of Rilán. Next is Church of Achao.
4. Church of Achao
Chiloé is an island of rain, green hills and wooden churches, off the coast of southern Chile, and the church of Achao, on the small island of Quinchao, is the oldest of them. Built in the eighteenth century by Jesuit missionaries and local carpenters, it is made entirely of wood, joined with wooden pegs instead of nails, and its interior is painted in soft blues and whites, with a vaulted ceiling and carved altars. It is one of the sixteen churches of Chiloé inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000.
Read the complete Church of Achao write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Church of Achao, about halfway. Next is Church of Chelín.
5. Church of Chelín
Getting to Chelín is part of the pleasure, because it lies on Lemuy, a small island off Chiloé's east coast reached by a short ferry. From Chonchi the crossing is quick, and the vehicles line up on a ramp, with the sea bright and often choppy. Lemuy is a rolling island of small farms, potato fields, sheep and hedged lanes, with a population that is mostly spread over small settlements. There are no big towns here at all, and fuel is not something to count on, so fill up in Chonchi, about 21 km away by the map, before you cross.
Read the complete Church of Chelín write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Church of Chelín sits at 179 km, about halfway. Next is back through Church of Achao.
6. back through Church of Achao
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Church of Achao 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 Achao comes up about 230 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Church of Rilán.
7. back through Church of Rilán
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Church of Rilán write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 272 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Church of Rilán. Next is back through Church of Nercón.
8. back through Church of Nercón
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Church of Nercón 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 Nercón, late in the day. Next is Church of Chonchi.
9. Church of Chonchi
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Church of Chonchi write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 358 km.
Leg by leg
Church of Chonchi to Church of Nercón
Church of Chonchi → Church of Nercón is 47 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Church of Nercón to Church of Rilán
Church of Nercón → Church of Rilán is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Church of Rilán to Church of Achao
Church of Rilán → Church of Achao is 42 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Church of Achao to Church of Chelín
Church of Achao → Church of Chelín is 49 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Church of Chelín to back through Church of Achao
Church of Chelín → back through Church of Achao is 49 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Church of Achao to back through Church of Rilán
back through Church of Achao → back through Church of Rilán is 42 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Church of Rilán to back through Church of Nercón
back through Church of Rilán → back through Church of Nercón is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Church of Nercón to Church of Chonchi
back through Church of Nercón → Church of Chonchi is 47 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.