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One of southern Chile’s most dynamic places for its landscape, food and culture is Chiloé, the stunningly beautiful archipelago hanging off of continental Chile, but twisted in some distinctive form. Though the main island can be reached via a short ferry ride across the Chacao Channel from the mainland, Chiloé has developed in large part in insolation, forming a culture unlike anywhere else in the country.

 

This is a place where tales of mythological figures such as sirens, witches and ghost ships are woven into the fabric of daily life. These superstitions were originally a product of the indigenous Huiliche communities, but when the Spanish arrived Chilote folklore began to fuse with elements of Christianity. That transition was sped forward greatly when Jesuit missionaries built hundreds of wood shingle churches, many of which are now UNESCO World Heritage sites.

 

The archipelago is a place of rolling green hills, dramatic beaches, and thick temperate forests, which together form one of the most unique collections of flora and fauna in South America. That ecological diversity has also helped give Chiloé one of Chile’s most distinct regional cuisines.  While curanto - a potluck of meat, shellfish, and tubers that are cooked in an earthen oven – is the most representative dish, there’s much more to be found here. Traditionally a seafaring culture, the diet here is rich in fish and shellfish, as well as aquatic plants, though the patchwork of green pastures provides grazing room for lambs as fine as any in Patagonia and the growing of potatoes, which are used in almost everything.

 

Modern Chiloé is increasingly leaning on its past. In the capital of Castro the iconic palafitos, stilted wood buildings, are being turned into cafes and boutique hotels, effectively preserving them. Modern architects are building structures that resemble the hulls of ships. Natural resources, such as the Puñihuil penguin colony or the forests and swampland of Chiloé National Park, are being protected with help from the increasing number of tourists. An airport, Mocopulli, is even in operation here now, which means you can reach Castro by flights from Santiago and Puerto Montt, though the ferry system is more efficient than it has even been.