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TenneilM484
My partner and I travelled Bolivia with the main intention of invisiting the Bolivian Jesuit Missions and we could not be happier with our trip. We did a 5 day tour covering all the UNESCO World Hertiage Churches and the Chiquitania's best attractions. Our English speaking guide was excellent and knew everything about the Churches and surrounding areas. We stayed in beautiful hotels, are at excellent restaurants and our mode of transport and driver was first class. We enjoyed our trip so much that we booked 2 other trips with Nicks Adventures Bolivia including Laa Iya National Park and Refugio Loz Volcanes. Thanks Nicks Adventures for Everything!
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L6826DWchrisb
We just returned from a 4-day, 3-night tour of the missions. We chose to use Rutaverde Tours in Santa Cruz, and are so glad that we did. Our guide Jaime spoke English fluently; he was a fount of knowledge about the sites and history more generally. Our hotels were beautiful and quite comfortable, we ate at the best available restaurants, our private transportation was quite comfortable, and the agency owner Gijs was always quick to respond to emails. It's more expensive than going it alone, but not that much...and so worth it! I would definitely use Rutaverde again for Uyuni, Titicaca and other tours in Bolivia.
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petercZ1418MM
There are six Jesuit missions in Eastern Bolivia that are UNESCO World Heritage sites, and all are well worth a visit. Starting from Santa Cruz, I did the circuit in late July - early August, and took 7 days, using public transport and taxis.San Javier - an easy 3 to 4 hour bus ride from Santa Cruz. A village - accommodation a little hard to find; I stayed at Hotel Patuju on the main road - very inexpensive. Ate at a roadside roast chicken stand, and had breakfast in the market.Concepcion - a one-hour collectivo ride from San Javier. Wonderful Gran Hotel on the main plaza (swimming pool, etc); restaurant on the main plazaSan Ignacio - mission was completely rebuilt, and is not a UNESCO site. Transport from Conception was difficult. I got a truffi to Santa Rosa and then another truffi to San Ignacio. Good hotels on the plaza. From San Ignacio it is easy to get a taxi to do the short loop to see the missions at San Miguel - San Rafael - Santa Ana and then back to San Ignacio the same day.San Jose - difficult to get to from San Ignacio. Rather than taking an overnight bus I hired a taxi, which was a little expensive (and dusty on the dirt roads). Adequate hotel and restaurant on the plaza.From San Jose I took a bus to Puerto Quijarro, on the border with Brazil.
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voyagesmundo
If you make it as far easy as Santa Cruz chances are you plan to make a visit of the Jesuit missionary churches.There's no question that they are stunning, however getting to them by pubic transport would try the patience of a saint & 3-4 day tours come in anywhere between €500-€1000! Churches close between 12-15 & also beware of Monday closingDon't be fooled by the distances either San Ignacio is only 200km from San Jose BUT its on a dirt road & could take 6 hours + to reach & then u have to figure onward travel times aghhhh!Getting round the circuit is probably easiest using the collective taxis known as Truffis as their departure times are more frequent than the busAll i can say is good luck … we were defeated, torrential rain stopped play!!
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RoisinH_11
This was our best experience in Bolivia. Amazing history, beautifully restored Churches, fantastic landscapes and wildlife. We hired a car for 9 days and visited the 7 mission towns on the usual "loop". 6 of the 7 churches are UNESCO World Heritage Sites and we were the only people there when we visited! We also visited Chochís (amazing) and Santiago de Chiquitos. There is loads of beautiful places to see near Santiago - waterfalls, caves, wildlife. Toucans frequently flew across the road in front of our jeep! Stunning place. Well worth the effort to visit.
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christiaanv528
We did the circuit clockwise (march 2012), on purpuse travelling during the day to enjoy the landscapes. There are busses every day, but one has to ask around for times and location of departure. Speaking Spanish makes your life a lot easier in this area. There are working ATM´s from Banco Union in Concepción and San José. Expect basic facilities, although in Concepción and San Ignacio there are 4-5 star hotels. San Javier: plenty of lodging and a restaurant at the plaza. No entrance fee to the church. Beautiful church, very rustic.Concepción: 25 bs entrance fee to see church, museum of the church and mission museum on the plaza.Eating: El buen gusto or Social Club Ñuflo de Chávez both on the plaza. On sunday evenings most restaurants are closed, we finally ended up in the ´Pollo a la broaster´ near the bus station. Staying: we heard some good stories about Hotel Colonial, half a block from the plaza, although we stayed in El Viajero (neighbours to Htl Tarija) which was really crap, but super cheap (bs30 for a double room).San Ignacio; Officially not one of the Mission churches, because it was completely destroyed and build up from scratch again. Beautiful coloured church though, worth a visit. In the Lake (Represe) near the village live pirañas, which are particularly in a biting mood in November when they lay their eggs, don{t go swimming then!.Eating: We had a good value lunch at the Social Club at the plaza. There are numerous other options, the tourist info has a map and if you ask, also some recommendations.Transport: There is a taxi service to San Rafael via San Miguel 3x a day and a busservice in the afternoon. Also once a day there´s a bus to San Rafael via Santa Ana (we didn´t visit Santa Ana).San Miguel: The church has a very fine mica-pulpit. Staying: Best place to stay is Alojamiento Middagh, half a block of the plaza, standing before the church the far street on your right (Calle Sucre). It´s clean, cosy and a breakfast included, bs 60 for a double room, clean shared bathroom. Tlf: 773-3504Eating: La Pascana on the plaza and Casona Vieja (no sign), 1 block from the plaza.Transport: Busses to San Rafael depart opposite the Kinder. Standing before the church, far left corner.San José: The only stone church. Eating: Best place to eat is Sabor y Artes, closed on Mondays.Transport: there is a new paved road between san José and Roboré. A taxi (collectivo) service runs 3 times a day from San J to Roboré, at 9.00, 14.00 and 18.00. A bus runs at 16.00, both 1,5 hours to Chochís and 2 hours to Roboré. Departure and office opposite the railway station. (20bs one way)Chochís: although not part of the official Jesuit Mission Circuit, it´s a shame not to go there when you´re so near! It has a beautifully situated Sanctuario with fantastic wood carvings. The sight of El Portón the big red stone rock (>1km height) is impressive. Transport: One can visit Chochís in a daytrip, taking the taxi in the morning and picking it up at the highway in the afternoon, either continuing to Roborë or going back to San José. The taxi drops you at the highway, take the dusty road to the village and go straight on when you can turn right for village/church/plaza. At the T-junction go left and you find the paved road to the Sanctuario Mariano.Train: only the regional train stops in Chochís, on mon-wed-fri 19.30h, 77bs pp to Santa Cruz, airconditioned train/Ferrobus doesn´t stop in Chochís, so to take that one you´ll have to go to Roboré.Staying: Eco albergue (140bs double room) 800m from the plaza, (street next to hospital, follow sign) turn left just before the railway. Contact: ecoturismo@probioma.org.bo 591-3-3431332 Eating: el Pollo Al Espiedo, run by a Brasilero in a caravan on the plaza. Tasty vegetarian pasta!(We have fantastis pictures, but this website won´t allow them, not enough pixels.)Transport (in bs pp):Sta Cruz - San Javier 35San Javier - Concepcion 10Concepcion - San ignacio 50San Ignacio - San Miguel 12San Miguel - San Rafael 10San Rafael - San Jose 40San Jose - Chochís 20Chochís - Santa Cruz train 77
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46erling46
I dag är kyrkan både användbar och ett museum-från Jesuittiden.Ett stort uppbyggt område mitt i staden vittnar om Jesuiternas byggnadskunnande !
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2mariefrance
Endroit assez perdu, il faut pas mal de temps pour y arriver mais quel calme et quel retour au 17-18ème. Nous avons vu seulement San Javier et Conception, les plus accessibles, mais vraiment cela vaut les deux jours de voyage!
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archyv
Una iglesia maravillosa pérdida en medio de Bolivia.Las misiones de los jesuitas sin duda que se merecen una visita,Bolivia no solo es el Salar.Estos sitios son únicos y auténticos y deberían tener mas atención por parte del gobierno y de las agencias,no os lo perdáis.
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GioK42
Para quien le interesa…… a mi me parece aburridoooo, si, las iglesias lindas pero las veo en 15 min. Despues q hago en ese pueblo lleno de tierra y murcielagos???? No gracias.
