Chile Guide
Chiloé
Ancud
Often overlooked by travellers on their way to Castro, ANCUD is a pretty little seaside town and a lively fishing port, with an excellent museum. Founded in 1769 as a Spanish stronghold, after Peruvian independence in 1824, it became the crown's last possession in South America – the pathetic remains of a once proud empire. Its forts resisted one attempt at capture, but finally fell in January 1826 when the lonely and demoralized Spanish garrison fled into the forest in the face of a small Chilean attack. The remains of these Spanish forts – Fuerte San Antonio in the town and Fuerte Agüi on a peninsula to the northwest – can still be visited today and command wonderful views out over the bay. One of Chile's most important pingüineras, or penguin colonies, clings to Islotes de Puñihuil, a set of tiny islets just off the coast to the west of Ancud at Pumillahue. Intrepid hikers will head down the Pacific coast to visit Sector Chepu, the least accessible section of the Parque Nacional Chiloé.
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