Why this ride
The stops in between: Church of Dalcahue, Church of San Juan, Church of Achao and Church of Rilán.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Church of Colo and Church of Rilán
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 342 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 7 h 27
- 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 San Juan.
3. Church of San Juan
San Juan is a tiny village on a sheltered inlet on the east coast of Chiloé, the big green island off the coast of southern Chile, and its wooden church stands right by the water, painted white with a tall tower, looking out over the boats moored in the channel. It is one of the sixteen Churches of Chiloé on the World Heritage list, a unique school of wooden architecture that grew out of the Jesuit missions of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and was continued by the Franciscans and the islanders themselves. The churches were built by local carpenters using native woods, with techniques borrowed from boat building, and many of them are covered in wooden shingles. Inside, the vaulted ceilings often look like the hull of an upturned ship.
Read the complete Church of San Juan write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 71 km into the recorded legs you reach Church of San Juan. 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 Rilán.
5. 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
Church of Rilán sits at 88 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 216 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Church of San Juan.
7. back through Church of San Juan
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Church of San Juan write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 271 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Church of San Juan. Next is back through Church of Dalcahue.
8. 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.
9. 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
The route ends here after 342 km.
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 San Juan
Church of Dalcahue → Church of San Juan is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Church of San Juan to Church of Achao
Church of San Juan → Church of Achao is 56 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Church of Achao to Church of Rilán
Church of Achao → Church of Rilán is 45 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Church of Rilán to back through Church of Achao
Church of Rilán → back through Church of Achao is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Church of Achao to back through Church of San Juan
back through Church of Achao → back through Church of San Juan is 55 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Church of San Juan to back through Church of Dalcahue
back through Church of San Juan → back through Church of Dalcahue is 36 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.