Churches of Chiloé

The Churches of Chiloé are outstanding examples of the mestizo culture that resulted from Jesuit missionary activities.

Groups of missionaries would travel around the islands of the Chiloé archipelago. In each zone, they would build a church, looked after by local laymen for the rest of the year. This tradition was started by the Jesuits in 1608 and later continued by the Franciscans. European and indigenous cultural traditions were combined to create this unique form of wooden architecture.

Community Perspective: these churches are a great excuse to visit the beautiful surroundings of Chiloé and taste its excellent seafood. Nan visited 7 of them on public transport, Allan tackled 11 by rental car. Timonator (14/16) found out that they only have regular opening hours in January and February – the rest of the year, you have to look for someone with a key.