3 Best Sights in Chiloé, Chile

One of the best nature excursions on Chiloé is to Monumento Natural Islotes de Puñihuil. Located 29 km (18 miles) southwest of Ancud, the three small islets here are home to an abundant colony of Humboldt and Magellanic penguins, along with a variety of other birds and marine otters. From September to March, a local tour operator, Ecomarine Puñihuil (www.pinguineraschiloe.cl), for 8,000 pesos, offers 30-minute boat excursions to view the penguins up close. From December to March, they can take up to eight people in the mornings for longer voyages farther out at sea to search for blue whales, which have been extensively tracked in the area by scientists.

Northwest of downtown Ancud, the 16 cannon emplacements of this fort are nearly all that remain of Spain's last outpost in the New World. Constructed in 1786, the fort was a key component in the defense of the Canal de Chacao, especially after the Spanish colonial government fled to Chiloé during Chile's war for independence.

Statues of mythical Chilote figures, such as the Pincoya and Trauco, greet you on the terrace of this fortresslike museum, just uphill from the Plaza de Armas. The replica of the schooner La Goleta Ancud is the museum's centerpiece; the ship carried Chilean settlers to the Strait of Magellan in 1843. Inside is a collection of island handicrafts.