Church of Detif and Church of San Juan

Scenic road chapters

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Church of Detif

   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.

   Read the complete Church of Detif write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Church of Detif is where the day begins. Next is Churches of Chiloé.

2. 2. Churches of Chiloé

   Chiloé is a large, rain-washed island off the coast of southern Chile, a place of mist, green hills, wooden houses on stilts and a culture of its own. The Spanish Jesuits arrived in the seventeenth century, and with few resources they trained local carpenters, who built churches out of native timber using the shipbuilding skills of the islanders. The result is a collection of wooden churches with pitched roofs, covered porches and towers, covered in shingles of alerce or cypress, many painted in bright blue, yellow or white. Sixteen of them are listed by UNESCO, and the town of Castro has one of the grandest, the San Francisco church, built in the early twentieth century, yellow outside and in warm varnished wood inside.

   Read the complete Churches of Chiloé write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Churches of Chiloé comes up about 51 km into the recorded legs. Next is Church of San Juan.

3. 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 107 km into the recorded legs you reach Church of San Juan. Next is back through Churches of Chiloé.

4. 4. back through Churches of Chiloé

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Churches of Chiloé write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Churches of Chiloé, late in the day. Next is Church of Detif.

5. 5. Church of Detif

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Church of Detif 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 Detif. That is the ride.