Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
churches of Chiquitos, being closer in design to those of the Paraguayan missions, with an
elegant Baroque stone facade. The complex consists of four buildings linked by a 3m-high
wall that forms a defensive compound. From right to left, these four buildings are the
Casa
de los Muertos
, were bodies where once stored before being buried; the
church
itself; the
four-tiered stone
bell tower
that would also have served as a lookout post; and the
Jesuit col-
lege
. That these elegant structures have survived for over two and a half centuries is all the
more impressive given the fact that they were built by indigenous masons with no previous
experience of stonework. Behind this facade, however, the main body of the church is built
of wood, with a roof supported by tree-trunk pillars: this may have been completed by the
Chiquitanos after the Jesuits had departed. The interior itself is in a poor state of repair but is
currently undergoing restoration, and there are beautiful but dilapidated religious statues and
other ornaments.
Santa Cruz La Vieja
Other than the church there's nothing to see in San José, though if you've got an afternoon to
kill you could walk down to the site of
Santa Cruz La Vieja
, the original site of the city of
Santa Cruz, founded by conquistador Nuflo de Chavez in 1561 but abandoned in 1594 in the
face of persistent indigenous attack and moved to its current site 260km to the west. From the
plaza, turn right as you face the church and head south out of town for about 4km and you'll
reach a sign to the
Parque Nacional Hístorico Santa Cruz La Vieja
, a grandiose title for
what is in fact simply a series of overgrown mounds set amid dense scrub and giant cactus
trees.
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE: CHIQUITOS: THE JESUIT
MISSIONS
The missions can be visited in a five- to seven-day loop by road and rail from Santa Cruz.
From the city a rough road runs northeast to
San Javier
and
Concepción
, then continues to
San Ignacio
(from where the churches of San Miguel, San Rafael and Santa Ana can all be
visited by taxi in a day). From San Ignacio, the road heads south to San José de Chiquitos, the
easternmost of the surviving missions, which is on the railway line between Santa Cruz and
the Brazilian border at Quijarro.
Buses
connect all these mission towns as far as San José,
from where you can get the
train
back to Santa Cruz or continue east to the Brazilian border.
Alternatively, you could travel the loop counter-clockwise, starting from San José and return-
ing to Santa Cruz by road via the other mission towns - indeed, transport links are slightly
more convenient going in this direction.
SAN JAVIER
By bus
There are several bus services (around 7 daily; 4-5hr) between Santa Cruz and San
Javier; in addition, all buses between Santa Cruz and Concepción (1hr) also stop off in San
Javier to pick up or drop off passengers. If you just want to visit the church you could easily
