Why this ride
From Dalcahue it runs 342 km to Dalcahue; allow about 8 h 55 of riding. It goes by way of Church of Rilán, Church of Detif, Church of Chonchi and back through Church of Detif.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Church of San Juan and Church of Chonchi
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 342 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.
Scenic road chapters
Chiloe Island Route
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 59 km this is Chiloe Island Route, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 59 km
- Named road
- Chiloe Island Route
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. 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
Church of San Juan 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 59 km into the recorded legs. Next is Church of Detif.
3. 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
about 139 km into the recorded legs you reach Church of Detif. Next is Church of Chonchi.
4. Church of Chonchi
Chonchi is a small port town on the east coast of Chiloe, built on a steep hillside above the channel, and locals sometimes call it the city of three floors, because its streets climb in terraces from the waterfront to the plaza and the church above. The church of San Carlos de Borromeo, painted in warm yellow and red and crowned with a tall tower, was built in the nineteenth century, in the typical style of the island, and it dominates the square. Inside, it has the characteristic wooden columns and a ceiling like the hull of a ship, and the interior smells of old timber and wax.
Read the complete Church of Chonchi write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Church of Chonchi, about halfway. Next is back through Church of Detif.
5. back through 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 through Church of Detif sits at 110 km, about halfway. Next is back through Church of Rilán.
6. 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 comes up about 285 km into the recorded legs. Next is Church of San Juan.
7. 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
Church of San Juan closes the day.
Leg by leg
Church of San Juan to Church of Rilán
Church of San Juan → Church of Rilán is 59 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Church of Rilán to Church of Detif
Church of Rilán → Church of Detif is 80 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Church of Detif to Church of Chonchi
Church of Detif → Church of Chonchi is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Church of Chonchi to back through Church of Detif
Church of Chonchi → back through Church of Detif is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Church of Detif to back through Church of Rilán
back through Church of Detif → back through Church of Rilán is 80 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Church of Rilán to Church of San Juan
back through Church of Rilán → Church of San Juan is 58 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.