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Jesuit Missions

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$1185

$80 single supplement

Starts and ends in Santa Cruz

Travel Highlights

Jesuit Missions
San Javier
Concepcion
San Ignacio de Velasco
San Miguel de Velasco
San Rafael de Velasco
Santa Ana de Velasco
Santa Cruz
Samaipata

Thought to be "forgotten" for more than two centuries, the region of the restored Jesuit Missions is a UNESCO-listed World Heritage site for its cultural accomplishments and history. Follow the circuit and visit the magnificent, centuries-old churches that have been restored in the towns of San Javier, Concepcion, San Ignacio, San Miguel, San Rafael, and Santa Ana.

Day 1 Arrive Santa Cruz
Day 2 Samaipata
Day 3 San Javier and Concepcion Jesuit Missions
Day 4 Jesuit Missions of San Miguel, San Rafael, Santa Ana, and San Ignacio
Day 5 Return to Santa Cruz

Cultural ActivitiesIncludes cultural activities such as a visit to a traditional village or a local market to give a unique perspective.
HistoryVisit ancient ruins and historical sites.

Day 1 Arrive Santa Cruz

Arrive to Santa Cruz. Transfer on your own to the hotel or arrange a private transfer.

Day 2 Samaipata (B,L)

Travel southwest from Santa Cruz into the Cordillera Oriental and pass the volcanic crater lakes as you make your way with your guide to Samaipata for a full day excursion. Samaipata's Quechua name means "rest in the Highlands" and is home to El Fuerte, a hilltop pre-Inca site that inspires much-debated theories. With its giant, carved rock slabs, it is considered to have once been a ceremonial center for an ancient urban settlement, and there have been New Age claims that it was a landing zone for ancient, alien spacecraft.

Day 3 San Javier and Concepcion Jesuit Missions (B,L,D)

This morning, depart with your guide on a four hour drive to San Javier, the oldest mission town in the region. After visiting the city and enjoying lunch, continue for one hour to Concepcion, center for the mission restoration projects. Visit the restored Catedral de Concepcion and the museum that highlights the restoration of the various churches in the region.

Day 4 Jesuit Missions of San Miguel, San Rafael, Santa Ana, and San Ignacio (B,L,D)

After breakfast, transfer for three hours to San Ignacio, the current "capital" of the Jesuit missions of the region. Learn the story of how the largest and most elaborate of the original mission churches was demolished and replaced by a modern structure that was destroyed after some hindsight and replaced with a reproduction of the original structure.

After lunch, continue to San Miguel to visit one of the most beautiful of Bolivia's Jesuit missions before going to San Rafael, home of the first mission church to be completed among the villages in the circuit.

On the way back to San Ignacio where you will overnight and have dinner, stop in Santa Ana. The church in this village is more rustic than the others and provides a good depiction of the original missions with its earthen floor and palm-frond roof.

Day 5 Return to Santa Cruz (B,L)

Return to Santa Cruz with a stop en route in Concepcion for lunch. Connect to an evening international flight, spend extra time in Santa Cruz, visit Noel Kempff Mercado Park, or fly to La Paz to explore the highlands and Lake Titicaca.