Chiloé Archipelago

The Chiloé Archipelago is a group of islands in southern Chile separated from the mainland by the Canal de Chacao, known for its distinctive vernacular culture of mythology, wooden palafito stilt houses, and UNESCO-listed wooden churches. Castro, the regional capital, clusters its coloured palafitos along the waterfront, their reflections visible in the calm channel at low tide. The dense temperate rainforest covering the interior of Isla Grande shelters a range of endemic species, including the Monito del Monte, a marsupial surviving from the Gondwanan era.