Paddling near Castro, Los Lagos

Castro sits on the eastern coast of Isla Grande de Chiloé in Los Lagos, where the Estero de Castro — a sheltered tidal fjord — cuts into the island and creates calm, navigable water right at the city's doorstep. The area is known for kayaking past the iconic Palafito stilt houses of Pedro Montt, exploring the Gamboa River, and making the overnight journey to the sunken forest of the Río Chepu, where the 1960 earthquake dropped the land and a tsunami drowned a valley, leaving dead tree trunks standing in the river. Marine wildlife — dolphins, sea lions, and otters — is a regular presence on the water.