Why this ride
A 203 km round trip from Chonchi - roughly 3 h 29 in the saddle. It goes by way of Church of Rilán, Church of Achao and back through Church of Rilán.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Church of Ichuac and Church of Achao
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 203 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 29
- 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 18 km this is Chiloe Island Route, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 18 km
- Named road
- Chiloe Island Route
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Church of Ichuac
Chiloe is a large, green, rainy island off the coast of southern Chile, and its wooden churches are among the most unusual in the Americas. In the seventeenth century, Jesuit missionaries arrived to convert the Chono and Huilliche people, and they found a population of skilled carpenters and boatbuilders. The churches that arose from this meeting, built entirely of local timber, with shingles of alerce cypress and pegs instead of nails, combine European plans with the techniques of ship carpentry. About sixteen of them were listed by UNESCO in 2000, and the one at Ichuac is among the most appealing, on the island of Lemuy, a short ferry ride from the main island.
Read the complete Church of Ichuac write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Church of Ichuac is where the day begins. Next is Church of Rilán.
2. 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 comes up about 53 km into the recorded legs. Next is Church of Achao.
3. 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
about 103 km into the recorded legs you reach Church of Achao. Next is back through Church of Rilán.
4. 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
back through Church of Rilán, late in the day. Next is Church of Ichuac.
5. Church of Ichuac
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Church of Ichuac 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 Ichuac. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Church of Ichuac to Church of Rilán
Church of Ichuac → Church of Rilán is 53 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 50 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Church of Achao to back through Church of Rilán
Church of Achao → back through Church of Rilán is 50 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Church of Rilán to Church of Ichuac
back through Church of Rilán → Church of Ichuac is 53 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.