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!

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.

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.

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!!

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 Choch¨ªs (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.

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 Concepci¨®n and San Jos¨¦. Expect basic facilities, although in Concepci¨®n 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.Concepci¨®n: 25 bs entrance fee to see church, museum of the church and mission museum on the plaza.Eating: El buen gusto or Social Club ?uflo de Ch¨¢vez 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 pira?as, 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 Jos¨¦: 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 Jos¨¦ and Robor¨¦. A taxi (collectivo) service runs 3 times a day from San J to Robor¨¦, at 9.00, 14.00 and 18.00. A bus runs at 16.00, both 1,5 hours to Choch¨ªs and 2 hours to Robor¨¦. Departure and office opposite the railway station. (20bs one way)Choch¨ªs: 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 Port¨®n the big red stone rock (>1km height) is impressive. Transport: One can visit Choch¨ªs in a daytrip, taking the taxi in the morning and picking it up at the highway in the afternoon, either continuing to Robor? or going back to San Jos¨¦. 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 Choch¨ªs, on mon-wed-fri 19.30h, 77bs pp to Santa Cruz, airconditioned train/Ferrobus doesn?t stop in Choch¨ªs, so to take that one you?ll have to go to Robor¨¦.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 - Choch¨ªs 20Choch¨ªs - Santa Cruz train 77

I dag ?r kyrkan b?de anv?ndbar och ett museum-fr?n Jesuittiden.Ett stort uppbyggt omr?de mitt i staden vittnar om Jesuiternas byggnadskunnande !

Endroit assez perdu, il faut pas mal de temps pour y arriver mais quel calme et quel retour au 17-18¨¨me. Nous avons vu seulement San Javier et Conception, les plus accessibles, mais vraiment cela vaut les deux jours de voyage!

Una iglesia maravillosa p¨¦rdida 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 ¨²nicos y aut¨¦nticos y deber¨ªan tener mas atenci¨®n por parte del gobierno y de las agencias,no os lo perd¨¢is.

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.

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Para quien le interese el tema y entender algunas cosas de este comentario, le sugiero ver primero el comentario sobre el templo de San Javier, ubicado en Tripadvisor bajo el nombre de ¡°Templo Misional Jesuitico de San Javier¡±.Continuando con nuestro viaje desde San Javier, se recorre una zona de serran¨ªas en donde se puede apreciar una parte con inmensas rocas denominadas Piedras del Paqu¨ªo, luego de las cuales se llega a Concepci¨®n, poblaci¨®n de 21.000 habitantes.A diferencia de San Javier, Concepci¨®n s¨®lo mantiene la tradici¨®n constructiva misional y colonial en los alrededores del templo misional y de su plaza principal. Existen muchos lugares donde venden artesan¨ªas, incluso en la plaza encontramos un grupo de ind¨ªgenas de origen guaran¨ª que vend¨ªan sus propias artesan¨ªas hechas con sogas, ca?as y plumas. Sin embargo la artesan¨ªa que m¨¢s se destaca son los bell¨ªsimos ¨¢ngeles chiquitanos tallados en madera, mundialmente famosos, y que revelan las grandes dotes de los chiquitanos como talladores.Aparte del templo en s¨ª, es recomendable visitar el Museo de la Catedral, contiguo al templo, que tiene una exquisita colecci¨®n de objetos religiosos realizados en plata. Tambi¨¦n el Museo Misional, ubicado en diagonal al templo, que presenta elementos de la cultura local como m¨¢scaras, objetos religiosos como im¨¢genes, p¨²lpitos y altares originales de las iglesias jesu¨ªticas, y un sector del museo dedicado a Hans Roth, restaurador de las iglesias de la Chiquitan¨ªa, en donde se puede ver toda su obra e incluso interesant¨ªsimas maquetas de las misiones originales. El museo cuenta con un sector de venta de artesan¨ªas, en las que se destacan los tallados realizados en los Talleres Misionales. Estos talleres, ubicados a un par de cuadras de la plaza, tambi¨¦n pueden ser visitados y se aprecia en ellos la ense?anza de tallado en madera, pintura, tejidos y bordados.El templo de Concepci¨®n fue construido a continuaci¨®n del de San Javier, entre 1753 y 1756, por el arquitecto y sacerdote jesuita Mart¨ªn Schmid, de origen suizo, tambi¨¦n constructor de los templos de San Javier y San Rafael. La arquitectura del templo de Concepci¨®n es similar a la de San Javier: tiene un imponente atrio con techo a dos aguas de madera, cubierto por tejas coloniales, el cual es sostenido por monumentales columnas de madera talladas, pero al ser m¨¢s grande que aquel, las columnas son de mayor di¨¢metro. Las paredes se encuentran cubiertas por bellas molduras y pinturas en colores ocres realizadas con tierras naturales. El interior repite el esquema del atrio y presenta un bell¨ªsimo altar central y dos laterales de igual factura, con una imagen cada uno y rodeando a la imagen del altar central cinco hermosas pinturas. Todos los altares est¨¢n realizados en madera y enchapados en l¨¢minas de oro puro (no pintura sino chapas de oro). De esta misma forma se encuentra construido el confesionario ubicado a un costado del templo. Los muros presentan pinturas con motivos y colores similares a los de la fachada. En el exterior del templo se encuentra el campanario, de m¨¢s de 15 metros de altura, realizado ¨ªntegramente en madera. Est¨¢ sostenido por cuatro portentosas columnas talladas y el acceso a su parte superior es por una escalera caracol, tambi¨¦n realizada en madera con hermosos tallados.En el lateral de la iglesia, se encuentra un hermoso patio rodeado de construcciones, al igual que en San Javier. Todo el patio se encuentra bordeado por una galer¨ªa con columnas talladas de madera de importantes dimensiones. Las paredes tambi¨¦n presentan pinturas realizadas con tierras naturales, pero a diferencia del interior y atrio del templo, est¨¢n pinturas se localizan en el enmarcado de aberturas y columnas, y presenta una guarda continua con rombos y tri¨¢ngulos de color amarillo, negro y rosado, iguales que en la fachada lateral de la iglesia.Imposible describir tanta belleza. Las fotos pueden dar una aproximaci¨®n, pero hay que estar all¨ª para ver la magnificencia de la misi¨®n.Absolutamente imperdible!

Concepcion es el mejor lugar tur¨ªstico del Oriente Boliviano, uno de los lugares chiquitanos mas atractivos y tranquilos. la mejor zona que podemos disfrutar, un lugar de negocios, de turismo de gastronom¨ªa y mas que todo de la gente que te atiende de mil amores.

Llegu¨¦ a las misiones de chiquitos en un viaje de trabajo de mi pareja.Soy m¨²sica y por tanto ten¨ªa bastantes expectativas sobre el lugar si bien no viajamos en la fecha del festival barroco. El viaje desde Santa Cruz fue muy pintoresco.Me maravill¨® la vegetaci¨®n de la selva Boliviana.Saliendo despu¨¦s del mediod¨ªa llegamos a San Javier a la tardecita....la capilla incre¨ªble!! Las Misiones restauradas tal cual lo detallan en otras opiniones y todo el entorno de la Plaza decorado constituyen un destino con el merecido reconocimiento como Patrimonio de la Humanidad, digno de destacar la limpieza en todo el pueblo. Seguimos hacia Concepci¨®n donde pasamos la noche. Al d¨ªa siguiente amanecimos en otro mundo: un pueblo de ensue?o. Altamente recomendable almorzar en uno de los restaurantes de la plaza con comidas t¨ªpicas, guacamayos y frondosa vegetaci¨®n. Un destino poco promocionado que ofrece todos los atractivos naturales, culturales, religiosos y patrimoniales que un buen viajero quiere disfrutar!!!!

El Festival de musica barroca y renacentista en las Misiones Jesuitas de la Chiquitania es maravilloso. Se realiza en las iglesias de la zona y son patrimonio cultural de la humanidad. Se puede contratar un tour en Santa Cruz por 4-6 d¨ªas que te facilita el traslado de una Mision a la otra. Se realiza cada 2 a?os. Yo estoy llegando de la IX Versi¨®n y ha estado incre¨ªble!