Why this ride
The stops in between: Church of Dalcahue, Church of Castro and back through Church of Dalcahue. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Church of Colo and Church of Castro
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 111 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 23
- 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 36 km this is Chiloe Island Route, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 36 km
- Named road
- Chiloe Island Route
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Church of Colo
Colo is one of the quiet places of Chiloé that most visitors never reach, a small settlement on the eastern side of the big island, with a wooden church on a rise above the water. It belongs to the family of churches that the Jesuits and local carpenters created in the colonial and early republic periods, and which UNESCO protects together. Their charm is simple. A front porch of columns, a tower with an octagonal top and a roof like an upturned boat. Inside, the nave is a hull of curved timbers, the ceilings painted with stars or sky, the altars carved by local hands. They were built without nails in some cases, using wooden pegs, and the big planks were cut by axe.
Read the complete Church of Colo write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Church of Colo 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 36 km into the recorded legs. Next is Church of Castro.
3. Church of Castro
Castro's church is the first thing that makes visitors to Chiloé stop talking. San Francisco stands on the Plaza de Armas of the island's capital, a big building with a corrugated-metal skin painted in yellow and violet, two towers and a wooden interior that is mostly hand-cut native timber. It was built in the early twentieth century to replace an earlier church that burned, by an Italian architect, and it is one of the sixteen Chiloé churches that UNESCO listed in 2000. The rest are mostly smaller and older, scattered along the coast, built by Jesuit missionaries and their Chilote carpenters, who were boat builders first and used what they knew. If you tip your head back inside, the vaulted ceiling looks like an upturned hull.
Read the complete Church of Castro write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 55 km into the recorded legs you reach Church of Castro. 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 Colo.
5. Church of Colo
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Church of Colo 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 Colo. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Church of Colo to Church of Dalcahue
Church of Colo → Church of Dalcahue is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Church of Dalcahue to Church of Castro
Church of Dalcahue → Church of Castro is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Church of Castro to back through Church of Dalcahue
Church of Castro → back through Church of Dalcahue is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Church of Dalcahue to Church of Colo
back through Church of Dalcahue → Church of Colo is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.