Quemchi is a Huilliche word that means ‘rusty land’ and is a Chilean commune and town in the Los Lagos region in the province of Chiloé, on the north eastern coast of Chiloé’s Isla Grande, between Ancud and Dalcahue.
This small island town which has a population of 3,000 inhabitants, maintains the culture of Chiloé intact. Its colourful streets and wooden houses covered with larch shingles are a faithful reflection of a past that is still with us and enchants the people who walk along its streets.
In the streets of Quemchi you will find attractive coffee shops and stylish restaurants, a variety of local shops, a beautiful promenade and a large crafts market next to the landing pier that offers different kinds of wool, wood and vegetable fibre handicrafts.
You can also visit the Museum dedicated to Francisco Coloane, a Chilean writer born in Quemchi, who is considered one of the best exponents of Chilean narrative. Coloane describes man’s constant battle for survival in an unfriendly environment. The seas of the south of Chile were the favourite background for his stories. The museum is a typical Chilote stilt house of the beginning of the twentieth century. The furniture has been recreated, and the house includes a small library with the original novels of this famous writer from Chiloé. Some of his best known works are: “El Ultimo Grumete de la Baquedano” (The Baquedano’s last cadet), “Tierra del Fuego” or “Cabo de Hornos” (Cape Horn), among others. He was awarded the National Prize for Literature in 1964.
And lastly, you should also visit the Quemchi church, known as the Colo Church; it is built of “Coigüe” and cyprus wood on top of a stone base, and was declared a National Monument in 1999. A number of religious feasts are celebrated in the church and its surroundings. It is one of the 16 wooden churches in Chiloé that were declared World Heritage Buildings by Unesco in 2000.
Quemchi Map
