Santa Cruz & Gran Chiquitania
The mystical site of El Fuerte exudes such pulling power that visitors from all over the world come to Samaipata just to climb the hill and see the…
Must-see attractions in Santa Cruz & Gran Chiquitania
Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz's lush botanical gardens, 12km east of the city center, make for a tranquil escape from the urban scene. Covering more than 200 hectares, the…
Santa Cruz & Gran Chiquitania
Intricately carved wooden pillars and doors displaying a fascinating combination of motifs are the star attraction at this moving memorial, completed in…
Santa Cruz & Gran Chiquitania
San José has the only stone Jesuit mission church and merits a visit even if you miss all the others. Although the main altar is nearly identical to those…
Santa Cruz & Gran Chiquitania
The church of San Miguel's spiral pillars, carved wooden altar with a flying San Miguel, extravagant golden pulpit, religious artwork, toy-like bell tower…
Santa Cruz & Gran Chiquitania
A steep path leads down a hillside to the sheltered clearing where Che and 16 fellow guerrilla fighters evaded capture for 10 days until, on October 8,…
Santa Cruz & Gran Chiquitania
The restored interior of this 1747 mission is particularly beautiful, and the original paintings and woodwork remain intact. The pulpit is covered with a…
Santa Cruz & Gran Chiquitania
Built in 1709, the elaborately restored cathedral on the east of the plaza has an overhanging roof supported by 121 huge tree-trunk columns and a similar…
Santa Cruz & Gran Chiquitania
This museum is inside the impressive Centro Cultural Ernesto Che Guevara, which was completed in 2016 in time for the 50th anniversary of Che's death the…
Santa Cruz & Gran Chiquitania
In 1995, 28 years after Che’s death, a soldier who carried out the burial revealed that Che's body lay beneath Vallegrande’s airstrip. After two years of…
Santa Cruz & Gran Chiquitania
Santa Ana church, with its wooden altar and reed roof, is more rustic than others on the mission circuit and recalls the first churches constructed by the…
Santa Cruz
Although the original cathedral on Plaza 24 de Septiembre was founded in 1605, the present structure dates from 1845 and wasn’t consecrated until 1915…
Santa Cruz & Gran Chiquitania
The first mission church at San Ignacio de Velasco, founded in 1748, was once the largest and most elaborate of all the mission churches. It was…
Santa Cruz & Gran Chiquitania
This series of three beautiful waterfalls on a turbid mountain river plunge 45m into a dreamy tropical lagoon. La Pajcha has a sandy beach for swimming…
Santa Cruz & Gran Chiquitania
Swiss priest Martin Schmidt designed the present church, which was constructed between 1749 and 1752. Restoration work was completed in 1992 to beautiful…
Santa Cruz & Gran Chiquitania
After Che’s execution in La Higuera, south of Vallegrande, his body was brought to the hospital laundry and put on display for the world's press. The…
Santa Cruz & Gran Chiquitania
Intricate art-restoration work is performed in the Museo Misional on the south side of the plaza which, apart from being the birthplace of the former…
Santa Cruz & Gran Chiquitania
Samaipata’s small archaeological museum displays pieces excavated from El Fuerte and provides information about the site. It's worth coming here before…
Santa Cruz
There are good city views of Santa Cruz from the bell tower of the Basilica Menor de San Lorenzo.
Santa Cruz
This protected area, 12km south of Santa Cruz, is a strange and striking sandy desert that seems out of place in Santa Cruz's humid environs. It's a good…
Parque Histórico Santa Cruz la Vieja
Santa Cruz & Gran Chiquitania
A few kilometers outside town, this is the site of the original city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra. The only thing left behind of the old city is an…
Iglesia de los Santos Desposorios
Santa Cruz & Gran Chiquitania
Buena Vista’s Jesuit mission was founded in 1694 as the fifth mission in the Viceroyalty of Peru, but its current form dates from 1767. When the Jesuits…
Zoológico Municipal Fauna Sudamericana
Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz zoo has a collection of native birds, mammals and reptiles kept in pleasingly humane conditions, although the llamas are a bit overdressed for…
Santa Cruz & Gran Chiquitania
These three lovely waterfalls are 20km east of Samaipata on the road to Santa Cruz. Walk upstream on a clear path away from the road to reach two of the…
Santa Cruz
This cultural center is in the impeccably restored family home of Dr Melchor Pinto Parada, a wealthy and influential cruceño who died in 1982. There are…
Santa Cruz
In the former home of the Gutiérrez Jiménez family, completed in 1920, this museum has four rooms with displays covering regional history. The first is…
Santa Cruz
Inside the cathedral, the Museum of Sacred Art displays a collection of religious icons, vestments and medallions. Most interesting are the gold and…
Santa Cruz & Gran Chiquitania
This charming and responsible little zoo is a refuge for rescued animals. The zoo accepts volunteers (one month minimum) who can lodge for free in…
Santa Cruz & Gran Chiquitania
This is the one-time home of the former president and Chaco War hero German Busch, who died in mysterious circumstances aged 35. There is a bit of clutter…
Santa Cruz
A small but interesting and professionally presented exhibition of Guaraní culture, located close to the zoo. The curator is happy to explain the…
Santa Cruz & Gran Chiquitania
This museum is a re-creation of the school room where Che was held prisoner and executed on October 9, 1967. It's covered with photographs, letters and…
Santa Cruz & Gran Chiquitania
Adjacent to the church is this interesting little museum outlining the history of the Chiquitos people and the missions. There is also a small gift shop…
Santa Cruz & Gran Chiquitania
Río Surutú is a popular excursion for locals, and there’s a pleasant sandy beach ideal for picnics, swimming and camping during the dry season. From Buena…
Santa Cruz
Locals relax around the lagoon at Parque El Arenal, but it's best not to dawdle in the area at night. On an island in the lagoon, a bas-relief mural by…
Museo Misional de Ignacio de Velasco
Santa Cruz & Gran Chiquitania
Inside the Casa de Cultura is a small museum with photographs of all the churches on the circuit and background information on the missions. The tourist…
Santa Cruz
In an appealing 1920s building with a breezy central patio, this small gallery displaying temporary exhibitions is worth a look for its thought-provoking…
Santa Cruz & Gran Chiquitania
Architecture aficionados should visit the restoration workshops behind the church, where many of the fine replicas and restored artworks are crafted.
Santa Cruz & Gran Chiquitania
Next to the church is a small museum with information about all 10 Jesuit missions in the area. The admission fee includes entrance to the church.
Santa Cruz & Gran Chiquitania
The town's church overlooks the plaza. It's usually closed outside mass times.
Santa Cruz
Named after the Jesuit San Roque González, this rather plain church is most notable for its single bell tower. The church is open for 15 minutes before…
