Why this ride
It goes by way of Churgh of Caguach, Church of Tenaún and Church of Quinchao. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Church of Quinchao and Church of Tenaún
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 171 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 8 h 55
- 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.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Church of Quinchao
Chiloé is an island of wooden churches, and the one at Achao on Quinchao island is the oldest of the survivors. The Church of Santa María de Loreto was built in the eighteenth century by Jesuit missionaries and local carpenters, using native timber, cypress and larch, joined with wooden pegs and not a single iron nail. The facade has a long portico with a tower, and the interior, with its vaulted ceiling shaped like an upturned boat hull, shows the skill of the island's shipbuilders. The Churches of Chiloé are a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and this is one of the stars.
Read the complete Church of Quinchao write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Church of Quinchao is where the day begins. Next is Churgh of Caguach.
2. Churgh of Caguach
Chiloé is a green, rainy island off the coast of southern Chile, and its wooden churches are among the most remarkable buildings in South America. Jesuit missionaries began building them in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and after the Jesuits were expelled, local carpenters, used to building boats, carried on the work with larch, cypress and native timber, producing churches with shingled towers, porches and curved wooden ceilings like upturned hulls. UNESCO listed a group of sixteen of them in 2000, and the church on Caguach island is a famous one, linked to the pilgrimage of Jesús Nazareno that draws devotees each year at the end of August.
Read the complete Churgh of Caguach write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Churgh of Caguach comes up about 29 km into the recorded legs. Next is Church of Tenaún.
3. Church of Tenaún
Out on the eastern coast of Chiloé, where the island looks across a channel at the smaller islands of the inner sea and, on a clear day, the snowy volcanoes of the mainland, the village of Tenaún gathers around a wooden church that looks almost too bold for its setting. The façade is painted deep blue, scattered with white stars, and topped not with one but with three towers. It is one of the sixteen churches of Chiloé on the World Heritage list, masterpieces of a unique tradition of wooden architecture.
Read the complete Church of Tenaún write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 104 km into the recorded legs you reach Church of Tenaún. Next is back through Churgh of Caguach.
4. Back to Church of Quinchao
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Church of Quinchao write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Churgh of Caguach, late in the day. Next is Church of Quinchao.
5. Church of Quinchao
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Church of Quinchao 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 Quinchao. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Church of Quinchao to Churgh of Caguach
Church of Quinchao → Churgh of Caguach is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Churgh of Caguach to Church of Tenaún
Churgh of Caguach → Church of Tenaún is 75 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Church of Tenaún to Back to Church of Quinchao
Church of Tenaún → Back to Church of Quinchao is 67 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.