Day 13: Castro - Chiloé National Park - Muelle de las Almas
Today is the day we will enter the National Park and the Pier of Souls in Chiloé After two days making the route of the Chiloé Churches, one of the most recommended routes that can be done on this incredible magical island. Today, despite being the last day we will spend here, we get up somewhat earlier and after having coffee at our Cabañas Alcamar, we approach Castro in search of a good breakfast with which to start the day.
Although it seems a lie, here it is not like in other places where coffee shops open very early and as we imagine, at 8 in the morning it is still all closed, so we have to approach a supermarket that sells bread to stock up on several bollitos with sausage, more water and soda, juice and a couple of sweets for 5000CLP with what we will do both breakfast and lunch today, since at noon we hope to be on one of the trails of the National Park or road Pier of Souls in Chiloé, so we do not want to risk finding no place to eat and have to wait until late-night to return to Castro. They also say that prevented woman is worth two, do not?.
We make a quick breakfast in the Plaza de Armas, we sit in front of the best views we could have, the Castro Church, accompanied by the morning breeze and a totally clear sky that we hope will continue to accompany us for the rest of the day.
Castro Church
We are 50 kilometers from Cucao, which is the entrance area of the Chiloé National Park and about 1 hour away by car, so when there are a few minutes to 9 in the morning, we return to the car, we put our GPS and we left for our visit today.
Road damage to the Chiloé National Park caused by the earthquake
Chiloé National Park
First of all we will tell you that there is not too much information about the Chiloé National Park and what you can find, or at least the one we find, can be confusing, since it is not too explicit.
That is why we wanted to make a brief summary, detailing the characteristics that we believe are more useful to organize a visit:
- The Chiloé National Park has 3 distinct zones:
- Chepu: The northernmost one that includes a sea lion colony on Metalqui Island, which is very difficult to access, in addition to requiring special permits.
- Abtao: This area is located in the middle area of the park and currently has restricted access unless you do an 18-kilometer trek from Pichihué.
- Chanquin: This is the most accessible area and to which most tourists go and from where there is access to the eight trails that you can do inside the park, which range from a few kilometers to the longest 25 kilometers.
Chiloé National Park Map
Keep in mind that the weather in Chiloé is quite changing something much more evident in this area of the island where it rains a lot so it is advisable to come prepared, both in clothes and footwear, in addition to bringing water and food, about all if you want to do some long path, since within the National Park there are no places where you can stock up.
At the entrance of the Chiloé National Park you will find a small CONAF booth where you can buy tickets, 2000CLP per person, in addition to picking up a map where you can see the different trails.
In the same way you can ask for information on any of the trails, something highly recommended if you do not know exactly distances or level of requirement of the walk.
Of the 8 trails we mentioned earlier there are four that are the most tourist or made:
- El Tepual Trail: a 1km trail, although to get there you will need to travel several more, which goes into a dense forest through different walkways.
- Cucao Dunes Trail: This is one of the trails that we will take this morning and leaves directly from the Visitor Center and goes through a forest to reach a viewpoint, the beach and the ocean.
- Cucao Beach Trail: Perfect complement to the Dunas de Cucao trail, which we will also do today. This trail is a small walk of 1.5 kilometers that shows you another of the areas of the Chiloé National Park.
- Canquin-Cole Cole Trail: This is the most famous but also the longest and most difficult trail. It is an excursion of 25 kilometers, about 6 hours only one way, which takes place along the coast and reaches the Cole river, passing through Lake Huelde.
Beginning of the Tepual Path
We arrive when it is 10 in the morning and after leaving the car in the parking lot of the Chiloé National Park, for free and see that the sky is not entirely on our side and receives us with a light drizzle, we approach a restaurant-cefetería that is right in front, where buses that come from Castro also stop and take you to the Pier of Souls in Chiloé to have a coffee and so warm up a bit and wait for amaine to start the route we have planned for today.
Coffee at the gates of the Chiloé National Park
After almost 30 minutes waiting and seeing that the sky is still quite cloudy, but when it stopped raining, we decided to get going so we approached directly to the CONAF booth and after paying a 2000CLP ticket per person, we began to travel the Beach Path, through which we begin to realize that in this area of the island, nature is the main protagonist.
Chiloé National Park Entrance
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Cucao Dunes Trail
Cucao Dunes Trail
Cucao Dunes Trail Viewpoint
The Dunes of Cucao Trail is not difficult at all, since they are a few kilometers, largely on flat land, so make a combination of the Dunas de Cucao Trail plus the Beach Path, making several stops and taking it with peace of mind, you don't It will take more than 2-3 hours, so if you want to do this tour only, you can leave Castro early and have one morning as expected to do both trails and round trip routes to the city.
Ocean from the Dunes of Cucao Trail
Beach trail
After the experience we have to say that coming only to Chiloé to visit this National Park, we believe that it is not justifiable, yes, do it as an extra one day to the Route of the Churches, combining it with the Pier of the Souls of Chiloé, is certainly a success.
If you also think that when you enter this park, enjoying nature and reach the ocean area, the only thing you have in front of you is Easter Island, the less impressive, do not you think?
After touring these two trails we leave the park when it is 12:30 noon and seeing what time it is and that we are going better in time than we expected, we tried to look at our help Tripadvisor the options we have for eating near where we're. It directly shows us a result: Traditions Morelia, one of the most recommended places in Chiloé where to eat empanadas, something that, as you can imagine, we can not resist and more considering that it is very close to where we are, right at the kilometer 25 of the w850 road that goes to the National Park to Chiloé, so we do not hesitate a second to approach there to fill the stomach.
Morelia Traditions
We choose a table and the whole menu that we propose, in addition to several dishes, we ask for two empanadas per person, two for meat, one for cheese and one for more soft drinks and beer, two portions of raspberry tata and two coffee beans for 12500CLP
Empanadas in Traditions Morelia
We can only recommend it, both for the food, which is very good and for the treatment they have given us, which has been exceptional. So if you are in the area, do not forget to stop by, we are sure you will not regret it.
It's 2:15 pm when we leave and return to the Chiloé National Park, this time towards Rahue, which is the place where we should leave the car to go to the famous Pier of the Souls of Chiloé, one of the places we most wanted to know about Chiloé and that thanks to a reader, Graciela Maria Rodriguez Padilla, we knew that we could visit this same day, something that we initially thought was impossible because of the distances and that after the experience we checked That is totally feasible.
Legend Pier of the Souls of Chiloé
This path that leads to the Dock of Souls in Cucao, has become one of the places to see in Chiloé that you can not miss and therefore, one of the most visited, despite being a medium / high difficulty route.
This tour where you find yourself surrounded by landscapes of breathtaking scenic beauty, culminates in a artwork which has local mythology as the protagonist.
Pier of Souls in Chiloé
According to the tradition of Chiloé and Cucao, when a person dies his spirit must come to this area and call Tempilkawe, also called raft, a mythical character who reaches the shore on his foam raft to take the soul of the deceased. The spirit must pay for this journey with precious stones, which are located on Rahue beach and which are polished by the erosion of the sea and the wind.
We arrive at what can be considered the gateway to the Pier of Souls when it's 2:30 p.m., where we find a small office, which is a cabin, where you have to pay 1500CLP per person.
From there, you can drive a few kilometers further, until you reach the highest part of the hill, where there are two car parks, the first with a bathroom and the second, a few meters later without this service. In both you are charged 2000CLP for the car, so it is best to stay in the first one, a few meters before, to be able to go to the bathroom if necessary, since in the rest of the way you will not find any other place, even for Buy anything or go to the bathroom.
We warn you that these last kilometers are crossed by an unpaved road, with a lot of slope, so if you take a tourism like us, it is worth taking it with great tranquility to not have any setback.
Trekking to the Pier of Souls
We leave the car in the first parking lot and get underway to start traveling the 2 kilometers that separate us from the Pier of Souls, this place that we have seen in several images and about which we have read so much, despite not being a very visited place in Chile, and that we really want to know.
Landscapes on the way to the Pier of Souls
We had read that the road was quite difficult and the truth is that we can not deny that there are several steep descents and ascents, but nothing that can not be done at a slow and steady pace, so we encourage you not to stop doing it for long that you read that it is difficult or that you need very good physical form to do it.
The journey will take approximately 45 minutes in each of the senses, taking it easy, making stops both to rest and to take pictures.
Views from the trail of the Pier of Souls
Last kilometer of the trail to the Pier of Souls
The path has only one direction, so there is no possible loss. In addition, you are probably not the only traveler to take the tour, so you only have to follow the direction of the march and once you reach the upper part of the hill, when you see the cartel that explains the legend of the Pier of Souls and from where you have unique views of the bridge and the surroundings, you must go down the right side to the objective.
Pier of Souls
On the way we meet a Belgian boy, with whom we travel part of the journey talking about Chile and the incredibly of the country, in addition to the route that each of us are doing, something that makes us avoid a little of the difficulty of the road and the tiredness and almost without realizing it to reach the highest part, from where you have incredible views of the pier of souls and from where, without looking up, we go down the hill to enjoy one of the most incredible places in which we have never been
Pier of Souls
There are no words to explain the feeling we have when we are here. We will only tell you that we sit in front of him, at a safe distance, enjoying only our surroundings, letting ourselves be carried away by the energy and magic of the place.
Pier of Souls
Pier of Souls
What we would like to comment on is something we live while sitting in front of the Pier of Souls. Although we understand that each person is a world and each one acts in his own way or as he wishes, and of course we are not the one to judge, there is something we would like to launch a air opinion and a reflection: there are certain places in the world (or in all, as you look at) where education should be mandatory for tourists and precisely, the Pier of Souls, is one of them.
If you feel like sitting, relaxing and enjoying the surroundings, do not do it right next to the bridge or over it, there are many who want to take a picture or simply enjoy the place without seeing someone lying on it 30 minutes ...
If you are not one of those who take into account the other travelers / tourists, nothing happens, but please, do not be on the Dock of Souls 45 minutes, taking photos, in all possible positions, for later, sit right at your family on it and have a picnic, while you see about 25 tourists we take pictures of the bridge (desperate) in which only you and your family leave.
This is what happens to us for 45 minutes with a Spanish and an Italian family, as well as some young Spaniards who lie just in front of the entry from the pier practically without letting anyone pass, who repeat pattern, shouting and taking the place the place as if it were his, showing no respect for the environment.
It is fortunate that this situation lasts only 45 minutes, until a tourist catches their attention, allowing us to spend almost an hour and a half more, sitting in front of the Pier of Souls, this time without distractions, enjoying this incredible and magical place.
It's after 5 in the afternoon when we start our way back, with our Belgian friend, but not before turning for the last time, to say goodbye to this impressive place, which we liked so much and from which we took a unique and unforgettable memory .
Panoramic Pier of Souls
Our new friend left the family in Cucao, since they didn't want to do the trekking, so now he has to go back by bus. Being the time it is and after having shared these hours, we all three of us in the car, to bring him to Cucao, in addition to 2 girls from Chile, mother and daughter, that we have been seeing along the way and that They ask us to come with us to Chonchi, where they have to take a bus to return home.
And so the 5 of us walked the way back, we two to Castro where we arrived past 7 in the afternoon, at which time we took the opportunity to spend time with Nelda, our hostess in Cabañas Alcamar with whom we shared a time this afternoon, talking about life and about Chile, before returning to Castro for dinner.
It is not 9 o'clock when we return to Castro, we approach another of the most recommended restaurants in the city: Pomodoro, an Italian where we order two pasta dishes plus natural juice, pisco, dessert and coffee for 27550CLP. Here we have to say that despite being number two on Tripadvisor, we have not found the Grace, so we cannot recommend it too much, unless you have a terrible desire to eat pasta or pizza.
It is 11 pm when we return to Cabañas Alcamar where we will spend this last night in Chiloé, the Magic Island of Chile.
Day 14: Castro - Puerto Montt - What to see in Punta Arenas: Plaza Muñoz Gamero, Braun-Menéndez House, Magellan Regional Museum, Cathedral, Naval Museum, Port
