Why this ride
From Castro it runs 152 km to Castro; allow about 3 h 35 of riding. It goes by way of Church of Rilán, Church of Achao and back through Church of Rilán.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Church of Nercón and Church of Achao
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 152 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 35
- 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 32 km this is Chiloe Island Route, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 32 km
- Named road
- Chiloe Island Route
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. 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 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 32 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 76 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 Nercón.
5. 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 at Church of Nercón. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Church of Nercón to Church of Rilán
Church of Nercón → Church of Rilán is 32 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 44 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 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Church of Rilán to Church of Nercón
back through Church of Rilán → Church of Nercón is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.