Highlights of Chiloé Island

Day 1: Transfer from Puerto Montt to Chiloé Island; La Casita Lodge

Your trip begins in the morning with you being picked up from either your hotel in Puerto Montt or Puerto Montt Airport. You'll be driven to the ferry port to cross over to the emerald island of Chiloé. This island is a different world from the nearby Chilean mainland – inhabited by Huilliche indigenous people, Spaniards arrived from 1567 onwards, three centuries before their arrival to the Puerto Montt area.

Chiloé is steeped in history, natural beauty (over half the island still has no road access), wonderful seafood, UNESCO churches and tranquility. You’ll visit the village of Chacao where the Spanish arrived in 1567 and the nearby Caullin Bay bird sanctuary. You’ll then pass through Ancud for an evening arrival at the beachside La Casita Lodge, 6km away.

Meals: Picnic lunch, dinner

Accommodation: La Casita Lodge

Day 2: Trek and boat trip to Puñihuil penguin colony; La Casita Lodge

Today will be spent enjoying the island’s rugged Pacific Coast – a sparsely populated area of tremendous beauty and diversity, with expansive beaches, coastal cliffs, tight rocky bays and marine wildlife. Activities will be geared to your interests and can include a focus on birdwatching, trekking or simply soaking up the variety of beauty. 

Whatever you choose, we'll also take a boat trip to the penguin colony of Puñihuil, the only place in the world where Humbolt and Magellanic penguins nest side by side. Lunch will be at a local farm – the family who run the farm are one of the founding members of the Chiloé Organic Association. Not only will you enjoy their great food but you'll also get an insight into life on the island. 

Later, dinner will be in nearby Ancud before another night La Casita Lodge.

Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

Accommodation: La Casita Lodge

Day 3: Visit Castro and Dalcahue; La Casita Lodge

Your third day will be spent exploring the east coast of the island. This has traditionally been where more of the island’s population has lived, in small protected bays. It is a region of farms, small towns and picturesque views over the other 40 islands of the archipelago. The backbone of the Andes is also visible, across the water 40 miles (60kms) away.

First we'll visit the bustling but small capital city of Castro – home to one of the 16 UNESCO World Heritage site churches as well as iconic palafito stilt houses built along the shores of the estuaries. Castro has a long history; it was settled by the Spanish in 1567, sacked by Dutch pirates in 1600 and 1643, and visited by Darwin in 1832. Currently, it is home to the island’s government as well as the economic base of the salmon farming industry.

Into the afternoon we'll drive up the coast to Dalcahue, another small town with a UNESCO church. You'll visit several small markets and get a feel for life on this coast.

Later you can choose to visit one of the outer islands or drive the coastal road north to visit more small, off-the-beaten-track villages where life follows a unique rhythm. In these villages you'll see farmers ploughing with oxen and wooden boats being built by hand, as they have been for centuries.

In the evening, you’ll arrive back at La Casita Lodge. You can either return to Ancud for dinner or take something back to eat at the lodge.

Meals: Breakfast, picnic lunch, dinner

Accommodation: La Casita Lodge

Day 4: Visit Chepu river valley; Transfer to Puerto Montt or Puerto Varas

You'll have a relaxed start to your final day with free time in the morning to enjoy the peaceful beach, return to the nearby Pacific, or visit the nearby Chepu river valley where you can have lunch at a local farmer’s home. In the late-afternoon a transfer will take you to Puerto Montt Airport or Puerto Varas, depending on your plans.

Meals: Breakfast, picnic lunch