Fiesta Costumbrista Chilota

Held since 1979 on the third weekend of February at Castro's Municipal Park, the Chilote Custom Festival is the main traditional event of Chiloé, the archipelago off Chile's southern coast known for its distinctive culture, wooden churches and unique culinary identity. The festival draws more than 45,000 visitors each year, seeking a deep dive into Chiloé's food, dance and music traditions.

At the centre of the festival is curanto al hoyo, an ancient method of cooking shellfish, meat and potatoes together in a pit dug into the earth, layered with hot stones and covered with local nalca leaves. Alongside curanto, visitors can try milcaos and chochoca, both potato-based specialities distinctive to the island, and Chilote lamb barbecue, all reflecting Chiloé's deeply rooted, geographically isolated food culture, shaped by its cool climate and abundant seafood.

For a region whose culinary identity is genuinely distinct from mainland Chile in ways that reward direct tasting, the Fiesta Costumbrista offers the single most concentrated opportunity anywhere in the country to experience authentic Chilote cuisine in one place.