Muelle de las Almas, Wooden pier on Pacific cliffs in Chiloé, Chile

Muelle de las Almas is a wooden pier at a coastal cliff in the Gulf of Cucao that extends from the edge about 70 meters above the ocean. The structure reaches roughly 17 meters out into the sea and ends suspended in open air with no boat or other destination to reach.

Marcelo Orellana Rivera created the sculpture in 2005 as his thesis project, financed by a Fondart grant with support from the Municipality of Chonchi and Chiloé National Park. Built of natural wood, it was conceived as an ascending form reaching toward the beyond, inspired by the Chilote legend of the ánimas de Cucao.

Local beliefs in Chiloé associate this place with Tempilcahue, the mythical ferryman of the afterlife in traditional folklore. The wooden structure embodies this spiritual idea in a way that visitors can experience directly as they walk across the planks.

Access is from Cucao along route W-848 toward Rahue; a signed booth collects the entrance fee, and after 8 km a private car park marks the start of a 2 km transit easement leading to the sculpture. The walk is on foot or by vehicle to that point, with no facilities mentioned along the way.

The wooden planks appear to dissolve into the ocean when you walk on them, especially in certain light and weather conditions. This visual effect occurs because of the perspective and the way waves and sky merge together.