“CASTRO & DALCAHUE IN CHILOÉ ISLAND” TOUR.

The Big Island of CHIOLE is the largest of the islands that make up the Chiloé archipelago, an insular group located in the Los Lagos Region, in south-central Chile. The area is characterized by its great maritime activity, by the strong religiosity —manifested in its churches and festivities—, by its handicrafts in fibers, wool and wood, by its pottery, by the buildings in stilt houses and, mainly, by the traditions cultural and mythological of its inhabitants.

CHACAO, founded as San Antonio de Chacao, is a Chilean town belonging to the Ancud commune, located in the extreme north of the Big Island of Chiloé, in the Los Lagos region. Founded as a fort in 1567 by the Spanish conquerors with the name of San Antonio de Chacao, the town grew in its first two centuries to become a small town. From 1655 it became the residence of the governor and the troops settled in Carelmapu until that year, becoming in the following years the main military position of the province of Chiloé. This importance is reaffirmed by the presence of the so-called " Palacio del Rey ", a two-story wooden construction defended by four cannons, which operated as the residence of the governors of Chiloé, and of which there are records since 1740. Its main attraction is the Main Church of San Antonio de Chacao, a construction of two towers whose original wooden construction dates from 1710. In front of this temple is the Plaza de Chacao, where two cannons from the old Battery of Remolinos are exhibited, today disappeared. A couple of kilometers to the east, bordering the coast, is the Chacao Viejo sector, corresponding to the place of the first Spanish settlement, where another wooden church stands on top of one of the earth walls of the old colonial fort. On one side of this place is the Plaza de Chacao Viejo, where two cannons of the time are exhibited.

The city of DALCAHUE (in Mapudungun: dalkawe, ‘place of dalcas’) is the capital of the Dalcahue commune, in the Los Lagos Region, Chile. Located on the northern coast of the Dalcahue channel, on the eastern coast of the Big Island of the Chiloé archipelago. In pre-Hispanic times, the place where the town of Dalcahue is today was much visited by the Chonos and was inhabited by huilliches, because it was the narrowest part of the Dalcahue canal and, therefore, the most natural raft. towards the island of Quinchao. When the Spanish conquerors arrived, they also settled there for the same reasons. The very meaning of the word Dalcahue reveals this importance, since in the Mapudungun of Chiloé Dalkawe means place of dalcas, that is, of the three-plank boat that the Chonos originally used and whose use spread to all the cultures of the archipelago. including the Spanish. In 1567 the expedition of Martín Ruiz de Gamboa took possession of the Chiloé archipelago and in their advance towards the south the first town they founded was Tenaún, today the northern limit of the commune, as they continued they thought of settling the capital in what would later become San Juan, because it was very easy to defend, but they realized that the difference between tides was too high and they gave up. During the Colony, Dalcahue was considered a town of Spaniards and indigenous people, under the name of Dalcapulli or Dalcahue. In a census carried out by Jesuit missionaries between September 1734 and April 1735, it is indicated that for that period there were 8 families, with a total of 50 inhabitants, 21 of which were Spanish. In 1787 it already had 662 inhabitants of which 637 were Spanish and 25 indigenous.

CASTRO, located in the Chiloé archipelago, Los Lagos Region, is the third oldest city in Chile with continued existence, being founded in February 1567 by Marshal Martín Ruiz de Gamboa under the name of «Santiago de Castro». It is the capital of the commune of the same name and of the province of Chiloé. According to the national census carried out in 2017, Castro has a population of 33,417 inhabitants.

PUERTO VARAS, located in the province of Llanquihue (Los Lagos region) belonging to the Metropolitan Area of ​​Puerto Montt, together with the homonymous commune and the commune of Llanquihue. It was created from the German colonization with immigrants who settled on the shores of Lake Llanquihue between the years 1852 and 1853. According to the 2017 census, it has a population of 44 578 inhabitants. Puerto Varas has historically stood out for its relationship with tourism. The founding of Puerto Varas is part of the so-called colonization of Llanquihue, and dates back to the year 1853, when a series of governmental actions carried out by the Government sought to incorporate uninhabited territories from the southern zone to the rest of the country. When the colonization territory was created, by Supreme Decree issued by the Ministry of the Interior dated June 27, 1853, it began with a paulati non-settlement of the Llanquihue lake basin with immigrants coming mainly from Germany. The first 212 German settlers who arrived at the future Puerto Varas arrived at the end of 1853, in the La Fábrica sector, where the road from Melipulli, future Puerto Montt, ended. The Bittner, Von Bischofshausen, Gebauer, Nettig, Schminke and later Klenner, Vyhmeister, Schwabe, Leichtle, Luckeheide and Minte families, among others, were located in this place. The road soon reached another sector on the shores of the lake, where a fiscal shelter and a small boat were built, with which the settlers were transported to the land they had been assigned (the future Puerto Chico). On July 6, 1859, the sub-delegations and districts into which the Llanquihue territory was divided were delimited. District No. 1 of the 2nd La Laguna subdelegation was named Puerto Varas, in honor of the then Minister of the Interior, Antonio Varas. Puerto Varas progressed to the point of counting at the end of the 19th century, the Government was requested to recognize the Villa Title, which was granted by decree No. 4838, on October 30, 1897.

The city of Puerto Varas, since 1992, has a heritage zone, recognized by the State of Chile. This special area recognizes the environmental attributes of the urban landscape composed at that time, of a rich and varied historical architecture whose origins date back to the German colonization process of Lake Llanquihue, which began in the mid-nineteenth century. There are also buildings that are part of the modern architecture of Puerto Varas. In terms of sustainability and architecture, the German School of Puerto Varas stands out, since the establishment has non-conventional renewable energy generation with hybrid systems (wind and solar), and a geothermal heating system that allows reducing up to 70% the use of diesel oil in your boiler.

Itinerary

• Departure from Puerto Varas to the island of Chiloé.

• To get to this magical island, we will first navigate the Chacao Channel for 30 minutes, observing a great variety of birds and sea lions, in order to reach the town of Chacao to visit its plaza and church.

• Then, we will head towards Dalcahue, where we will stop in the waterfront sector for a walk and visit the Craft Market, Museum and church.

• By coastal route Llao Llau we will continue our trip to Castro, with time for lunch (does not include lunch).

• Later we will visit the Palafitos de Gamboa neighborhood, the square and church of Castro, ending our tour in the church of Nercón.

• Return to Puerto Varas.

It includes

• Guide service in Spanish, English.
• Ship.
• Transfers.

Does not include

• Professional guide in French, German and Italian languages. If you want a guide in these languages, it is done by request and an extra charge must be paid.