Castro's Stilt Houses (Palafitos)

About this place

Rows of colourful wooden houses standing on tall timber stilts over the bay in Castro, capital of the island of Chiloé and one of Chile's oldest towns, founded in the sixteenth century. Fishermen built them long ago to moor their boats right at the house, and they became the island's emblem. The houses are clad in small overlapping wooden shingles like scales, a Chiloé building tradition, painted red, blue, yellow and green. At high tide the water rises beneath them so they seem to float; at low tide the long stilts appear and boats rest on the mud. The best views are from the bridge and the shore opposite Gamboa, and many houses are now small hotels and cafés with terraces over the water. In central Castro stands a large yellow-and-violet wooden church, one of Chiloé's UNESCO-listed wooden churches, plus a crafts and seafood market. Chiloé's weather is often rainy and misty, so bring a rain jacket. A short ferry crosses to the island from the mainland.