Chonchi

Chonchi is called the ciudad de los tres pisos because it is built on a slope steep enough that the town reads as three stepped levels above the water, with the streets running along the contours and short steep connections between them. Its church of San Carlos, begun in the eighteenth century and finished later, is one of the sixteen Chiloe churches inscribed by UNESCO in 2000, with a tower that was rebuilt after storm damage. The town was a port for the cypress timber trade and its waterfront warehouses date from that. Licor de oro, a spiced whey-based liqueur, is made here and sold locally.

History

Chonchi began as a Jesuit mission station, whose school had 150 pupils in 1755, and the town itself was founded in 1767 on the orders of Don Guil y Gonzaga, the governor of Chiloé; in 1787 it had 315 inhabitants. After Chiloé joined Chile the town grew, the census of 1833 showed it to be the most important town in the south of the island, and it became a parish in 1836. Its good anchorage made it a natural stop for traffic in the channels, the timber trade turned it into a hub of the region, and its prosperity peaked at the beginning of the 20th century (Wikipedia, Chonchi).

Highlights

• A town in three stepped levels - streets along the contours of the slope.
• The church of San Carlos - one of the sixteen inscribed in 2000.
• Waterfront timber warehouses - from the cypress trade.
• Licor de oro - the local spiced liqueur.

When to go

December to March. Half a day.

What to expect

The streets are genuinely steep. Church opening depends on the parish. Rain is frequent in any month. The town is quiet outside summer with limited services.

Nearby

Castro is north; Cucao and Chiloe national park are west.

Key facts