Ancud

Ancud is the gateway to Chiloé — the first town most travellers reach after crossing the Canal de Chacao by ferry from Puerto Montt. A working port town of around 41,000 people on the northern coast of Chiloé Island, it was founded in 1768 as a fortified bulwark against foreign powers and served as the capital of the archipelago until 1982. From here the Spanish crown mounted its long defence of the island, and in the 19th century the town played a key role in the Chilean colonization of Patagonia. That history is still legible in its hilltop forts and its small but earnest museums, while the surrounding coast — penguin colonies, wide western beaches, and the eerie sunken forest at Chepu — is the real draw.

The character is unpolished and maritime: fishing boats, seafood markets, wood-shingled houses, and weather that rolls in off the Pacific. Ancud is compact and walkable, centred on the Plaza de Armas, with the port and markets a short stroll downhill and Fort San Antonio guarding the bay above. Many visitors treat it as a one- or two-night base for the penguin tour and a first taste of Chilote culture before continuing south to Castro.

Come in summer (December–February) if you can: January averages a mild 15 °C, rain eases to its lowest, and it coincides with peak penguin nesting. Winters are cool, very wet and humid (July averages 7.5 °C with around 350 mm of rain), so pack waterproofs whatever the season — Ancud sees rain on roughly 200 days a year.

By Car / Road

All buses and cars to Ancud from the mainland route through Puerto Montt and cross the Canal de Chacao to Chiloé by ferry. The bus from Puerto Montt costs around CLP 6,500 and takes about 2.5 hours including the ferry crossing; buses depart frequently from Puerto Montt's bus terminal until around 21:00.

Ancud is served by several companies, including Tur-Bus, Pullman, Cruz del Sur / Transchiloé, and Queilen, spread across more than one terminal. The Terminal Municipal is at the corner of Avenida Aníbal Pinto and Marcos Vera; the Cruz del Sur station is at Los Carrera and Los Cavada.

The town centre is compact and easily covered on foot, though some streets (and several hostels) climb steep hills. For exploring beyond town — the beaches west of Ancud or the road south to Castro — the best option is to rent a car for the day; ask at the local gas station about rentals. The Mar Brava public bus reaches the penguin colony area for those without a car (see the Do section).

• Fort San Antonio — At the end of Avenida San Antonio, past the intersection with Lord Cochrane. Open 24 hours. Free. A small Spanish fort with a fine lookout over the Bay of Ancud, and the best-preserved part of Ancud's colonial fort system. The battery of San Antonio is the standout; nearby, the arsenal (polvorín) of Fuerte Real de San Carlos — built as late as 1824 by Antonio de Quintanilla, the last Spanish governor of Chiloé — still stands at the centre of a small plaza. Together with the forts of Agüi, these form one of the four fort systems of colonial Chiloé.

• Churches of Chiloé Museum — Errázuriz 227, at the end of the tree-lined entryway near Chacabuco. Daily 10:00–12:30 and 14:30–17:30. Suggested donation CLP 500. A small but absorbing museum on Chiloé's famous wooden churches, with displays of the nail-free joinery techniques used to build them and cutaway scale models of churches across the island.

• Museum of Ancud (Museo Histórico Regional) — Libertad 370, near the main plaza and tourist information centre. Free. Informative displays on the history of Chiloé. Small, but worth a visit.

• Penguin tours — The most popular excursion from Ancud is the nearby penguin colony, where in season Magellanic and Humboldt penguins nest side by side. They return to the islands around September, peak in December–January, and leave once the chicks have hatched in late autumn. The colony is 28 km from town. You can reach it on the Mar Brava public bus, which leaves the garage at 06:45 and 11:45 and returns at 13:00 and 17:00; from there you hire a boat out to the offshore nesting islands. Many agencies and hostels in town also run tours — these usually cover transport and the boat trip, occasionally adding hikes or scenic stops, so confirm exactly what's included before you book.

• Chepu Adventures Ecolodge — Camino a Chepu Km 13.2 (Chepu Rural, about 38.5 km southwest of Ancud); ☏ +56 9 9379 2481. Eco-tourism in the Chepu wetlands, including dawn kayaking through the haunting Valley of the Dead Trees — a drowned forest of sunken logs — plus trekking to a penguin colony, bird and mammal watching, and eco-camping powered by wind and solar (adults only; private-bathroom cabin suites for two).

Ancud's food is unmistakably Chilote — built around seafood and the island's signature curanto, a feast of shellfish, meat and potato breads traditionally baked in a pit under hot stones and leaves. You'll also find completos (loaded hot-dog sandwiches), and German-influenced kuchen cakes that turn up across southern Chile.

• Retro's Pub — Maipú 615. The local all-rounder: completos (try the ones with palta/avocado), lunch, pizza, tea and coffee, hearty meat and fish dinners, and excellent desserts and kuchen made by Marcela. Popular with locals of all ages; open 11:00–02:00. The owners also organise beach curanto for groups on weekends.
• Kuranton — At the port. A simple, inexpensive spot to try the famous curanto.
• La Candela — Libertad 599, across from the Plaza de Armas. A fantastic restaurant — worth stopping for lunch, dinner, dessert, or all three.
• Casamar — Modern seaside restaurant and bar with sea views, a big video screen at night, good music and fine food and drinks.
• El Chilote Mena — Pudeto 318; ☏ +56 65 625835. Decent Chilean food and drink; open late.
• Pedersen Salón de Té — Just down from La Candela. A small café serving sandwiches and desserts; a good, inexpensive place to sample kuchen at its best.

The local toast is a Pisco Sour, and the morning-after remedy is a strong black coffee — both easy to find around the centre.

• Retro's Pub — ☏ +56 65 626410. The town's go-to for pisco sours and cocktails by night, and good black coffee by morning. Open 11:00–02:00, with music and a TV screen.
• Cafe Arte Nerudiano — Maipú 650, second floor. A cosy, arty café-bar with a balcony on the upper floor of a wooden gallery in the centre. Wifi, a permanent art exhibition, and multilingual Chilean/Belgian owners; known for delicious pisco sours, cocktails, sandwiches and cakes — intimate and romantic at night.
• CasaMar — ☏ +56 65 655670. Restaurant, pub and event centre with a dance floor, at the corner of Errázuriz and Costanera; the local choice for weddings and New Year's Eve.

Tap water in Ancud is generally treated and considered drinkable, but if your stomach is sensitive, bottled water is cheap and widely available.

Budget

• 13 Lunas Hostel — Los Carrera 855; ☏ +56 65 622106. Backpacker hostel right across from the Cruz del Sur bus station. Clean dorms, free WiFi, breakfast included, laundry (CLP 1,500/kg), friendly English-speaking staff. From CLP 16,000 (4-bed dorm) / CLP 17,000 (6-bed dorm).
• Hospedaje Kreisel — Prat 350, opposite the Unimarc supermarket; ☏ +56 65 628015. Family-run; no WiFi. CLP 6,000.

Mid-range

• Hostal Lluhay — Lord Cochrane 458, near the docks. Set high above the road with lovely views over the harbour; breakfast included, internet, and a sitting room with a grand piano and traditional decor. Many room types; inexpensive.
• Hospedaje Austral — Aníbal Pinto 1318; ☏ +56 65 624847. Cabin-style single/double rooms with a simple breakfast, kitchen on request, and WiFi. Lovely owners (and a friendly dog, Lorenzo); three houses down from the Terminal Municipal. From CLP 7,000 per person.

Upscale / heritage

Ancud has two main markets selling both food and handicrafts. The Mercado Municipal, at Arturo Prat and Libertad, has two floors of stalls offering regional crafts — knitwear, wool goods, baskets, carved wooden items — plus a restaurant and seafood market. The Feria Rural y Artesanal, on Pedro Montt between Dieciocho and Arturo Prat, has local food sellers on the ground floor and handicrafts above.

For something a little different, Quepuca (Pudeto 277 — up the stairs two doors down from Botica café) is a women's cooperative selling local handicrafts, mostly knitwear and yarn. Prices in markets are generally as marked; this is a small town, not a hard-bargaining bazaar.

• Castro (~88 km / ~1.5 hr south) — Chiloé's capital, famous for its stilt houses (palafitos) and the UNESCO-listed San Francisco church; easy bus connection.
• Quellón (far south of the island, ~3 hr) — the end of the Pan-American Highway and a ferry port toward Patagonia.
• Chepu (~38 km southwest) — drowned forest and wetlands for dawn kayaking, gateway to Chiloé National Park's northern sector.
• Puerto Montt (~2.5 hr north, including the Chacao ferry) — mainland transport hub and gateway to the Lake District.