In Chiloe Island in Chile, there are not only World Heritage wooden churches to see, but also stilt houses on the sea.
They are called Palafito.
Very colourful and picturesque.
Originally they were built in the 19th century.
Our tour leader said “they are developed because people did not buy the land to build the houses”.
It is also said that they were built because the fishermen could get back home directly from the sea.
Maybe both are right.
When there was a big fire in Castro, the major town in the island, many of the stilt houses were damaged and since then they were mostly neglected, but in 2008 some young entrepreneurs thought of using these houses for tourists and now most of the houses are hostels or craft shops.
Apparently since 2012 when the airport was opened in Chiloe Island, tourism has been flourishing more and more , but we saw many of the stilt houses needed some repair works.
[ Dec.2015 ]
