Castro's palafitos are the postcard image of Chiloé: wooden houses on stilts, painted in strong colours and balanced over the tidal edge of the fjord. The best-known group is around the Gamboa district, where the houses line the water below the town.
They are not museum pieces. People live, cook, host travellers, and run small businesses in them. Low tide shows the stilts and mudflats; high tide gives the prettier reflection.