Long weekends are an opportunity to travel and discover new places. According to the figures provided by SERNATUR; 57.63% of the trips that are made annually in Chile correspond to departures in "low season" and holidays.
That is why we have prepared a complete guide to the attractions in southern Chile, which you can discover in short periods of time. For you to return to your home, full of art, culture and landscapes.
Churches in the south of Chile
Whether we are faithful to a religion or not, knowing churches when traveling is quite a cultural experience. The design, architecture and material of some temples is a tourist attraction that nobody wants to miss. Specifically in the south of Chile, where there are more than 16 churches that have been declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco.
According to the Chilota School of Wooden Architecture, the churches of southern Chile share common and globally recognizable elements: they were built using a meticulous carpentry technique, with exhaustive detail in the assemblies and splices. In addition, thanks to the Chilote woodpeckers, the conservation of these places is maintained to this day.
The material used in the construction was mainly wood obtained from the trees of the region: cypress, larch, mañío and coigue. For its part, the design is a fusion between indigenous techniques of the native peoples of the place and European architecture. Undoubtedly, a sublimecultural syncretism.
On the other hand, the location of the churches in the south of Chile is no coincidence: the Jesuits determined their orientation based on the landscape and the sea. The purpose of building the temples on hills was to make it easier for navigators to locate them. For this reason, we can observe these constructions from the sea and from different cardinal points. Likewise, in case of tsunamis or floods, the churches would not be under the sea.
Below, we mention some of the most visited in the south of Chile and that you can visit on a long weekend:Iglesia San Francisco, Castro.
