Chiloe is with 9,600 sq km the second biggest island of South America, located more than 1000km south of Santiago in the Pacific Ocean. It is a hilly and green but harsh land with more than 2200mm precipitation per year. Most of its population live in the two bigger towns Ancud and Castro, which have about 20,000 inhabitants each. Many descendants of the native tribe Huilliche live in its smaller villages and settlements. Thanks to its isolated location, Chiloe suffered less from the mainstream of Spanish colonial development.
Chiloe is famous for salmon farming, its fine wooden churches, picturesque Palafitos (houses on stilts above the water), pristine beaches, dense cold rain forests, abundant fauna and flora. Huge areas are protected by national, regional or private parks.
250km North of Chiloe is the city of Valdivia, which has with more than 120,000 people approximately the same population like Chiloe. We came March 12th 2012 to Chiloe via the Panamericana (Ruta 5) and the usual ferry from Pargua. Close to Pargua is the pretty fishing port Maulin.
Boys of Maulin with Bernado O'Higgis, the Chilean National Hero
An elderly man of a hardware shop asked us to come in. He showed us a beautiful hall in the building and he explained a lot of his history. Fortunately he spoke some German because his origin is the coast of Germany.
The floor in the hardware store
Ancud has a nice main square with weird figures of the Huilliche mythology. Castro is famous for its picturesque Palafitos, buildings which are built on stilts above the water of the Pacific Ocean.
The Trauco - Seducer of maidens, is a deformed and repugnant dwarf, with coarse figures and very strong. His clothing is made of vines from the trees, and he carries a wooden staff - the Pahueldun, and a stone axe. If someone bothers him, he is capable of killing them by merely looking at them, or he could sentence them to death within a year. He appears to young women in erotic dreams, bewitching them and attracting them into the forest, to stimulate them to the point of sexually possessing them. Women who have been seduced by him assure us that he is undeniably attractive.
One of Castro's waterfront
Chiloe is famous for its colorful wooden churches in nearly every bigger settlement.
Church of Chonchi
In the cathedral of Castro
Again in the cathedral of Castro
The National Park of Chiloe is on the wild and remote western side of the island, divided into two sections. There is a superb hiking trip in the northern section Chepu along the Huevil and Ahuenco beaches of approximately one day. First you have to cross the wide river Rio Chepu with a boat. We shared the costs with four other Germans and walked the tour with Claudia, Simone and Mathäus from Bavaria. We had a lot of fun - Thank you very much.
Wreck on the Huevil beach
Recycling of the wreck
Pristine beaches of the roaring Pacific Ocean
Pudu - Pudu, the smallest deer on earth close to the beach
Cormorants seen from the viewpoint at the southern end of the trail
The southern part Cucao of the National Park Chiloe provides stunning beaches and dense and thick cold rainforests in the back of the Pacific Ocean. We found the pleasant campsite Papa (GPS coordinates S42°36.436' W74°06.523') managed by an eldery Lady, where the trails to the beaches and to the viewpoint Cerro Huelde start. Our track to Cerro Huelde is included in the GPS coordinates file of Chile.
Oystercatchers on the beach north of Cucao
Bridge over Rio Denal
Southern Lapwing
Valdivia is supposed to be one of the most beautiful city in Chile - we truly confirm it. It is a bustling economic center with an important university in a marvelous environment situated close of the estuary of the river Rio Valdivia into the Pacific Ocean.
Waterfront of Valdivia
Market of Valdivia
Crocheted decorations
The environment of Valdivia is famous for its beaches, rivers, swamps, cold rain forests and ancient forts. Outstanding is the regional park Oncol with a good campground and nice trails (GPS coordinates: S39° 42.174' W73° 18.634'). Our track to Cima Oncol is included in the GPS coordinates file of Chile.
Valdivia seen from Cima Oncol (715 meters)
Huge spider (more than 10 cm diameter) in the Oncol park
Pink house on the beach between Niebla and Punta Curinanco
Lighthouse of Niebla
North of Valdivia is Mapuche country, the aborigines of southern Chile and Argentina. They live in beautiful little villages and communities. They farm the land with cows, pigs, different kinds of crops and corns.
Replica of an original Mapuche living house
Birds on the beach of Puerto Saavedra
For more pictures, please click here
For a map of our itineraries, click here
To download the GPS coordinates file of Chile, click here