Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Stretching from the last Andean foothills to Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina, Bolivia's
Eastern Lowlands - the Llanos Orientales - form a vast and sparsely populated plain.
The areas varied ecosystems range from Amazonian rainforest in the north, through
broad savannahs and tropical dry forest in the centre, to the immense wetlands of the
Pantanal in the far east and the arid Chaco to the south. Rich in natural resources, the
region's economy has in recent years become the most important in the country, fuelled
by oil and gas reserves, cattle-ranching and massive agricultural development. Its at-
tractions are diverse, from the vibrant city of Santa Cruz to wildlife-rich Parque Na-
cional Amboró and the fascinating former Jesuit missions of Chiquitos.
At the centre of the Lowlands' economic boom is
Santa Cruz
, the lively tropical regional
capital, which in just a few decades has been transformed from an isolated provincial back-
water into a booming modern metropolis with a brash commercial outlook utterly distinct
from the reserved cities of the Bolivian highlands. The city has few conventional tourist at-
tractions, but is a crucial transport hub and the ideal base for exploring the surrounding area,
where much of the beautiful natural environment survives, despite the ravages of deforesta-
tion and development.
About 40km west, the exceptionally biodiverse rainforests that cover the easternmost foot-
hills of the Andes are protected by the
Parque Nacional Amboró
. The beautiful cloudforest
that covers the upper regions of Amboró can be visited from
Samaipata
, an idyllic resort
town and home to the intriguing pre-Inca archeological site El Fuerte. From Samaipata, you
can also head further southwest through the Andean foothills to the town of
Vallegrande
and the hamlet of
La Higuera
, which witnessed the last desperate guerrilla campaign of Che
Guevara, who was killed here in 1967.
East of Santa Cruz the railway to Brazil passes through the broad forested plains of
Chiqui-
tos
, whose beautiful Jesuit mission churches played a crucial role in Spanish colonial history,
when a handful of priests established a semi-autonomous theocratic state in the midst of the
wilderness. In the remote far north of the region, accessible only by air or an extremely ardu-
ous overland journey,
Parque Nacional Noel Kempff Mercado
is perhaps the most beauti-
ful and pristine of Bolivia's protected rainforest areas, combining dramatic scenery with un-
paralleled wildlife-spotting opportunities. Finally, south of Santa Cruz stretches the vast and
inhospitable
Chaco
, an arid wilderness of dense thorn and scrub, reaching south to Argentina
and Paraguay.
