SANTA CRUZ
Santa Cruz is located at 437 masl, has a subtropical climate with an average temperature of 24 degrees centigrade and an exuberant nature.
The main square is the center of the social and political life of the city. In the Plaza 24 de Septiembre there is the Municipal House of Culture, it offers concerts, plays, films, videos, exhibitions of paintings, sculptures, photographs, etc.
Other tourist attractions in the city, the South American Fauna Zoo, founded by Professor Noel Kempff Mercado. It offers tourists a collection of Neotropical animals that have gained international notoriety for the diversity that shows and shelter some species that are in danger of extinction.
ATTRACTIONS OF THE CITY
Church of Jesus of Nazareth - Minor Basilica of San Lorenzo - San Roque Church.
At 25 Kilometers to the east, the town of Cotoca, shelters the Sanctuary of the Virgin of Cotoca, patroness of the East, whose reputation of miraculous congregates every 8th of December to thousands of faithful. Other sites such as: Porongo, Lomas de Arena Regional Park, Espejillos, caves, etc.
RUINS OF SAMAIPATA
"Samaipata" was founded in pre-Inca times, a fact proven by the archaeological vestige found in the area. Today it is considered the archaeological capital of eastern Bolivia and was declared by UNESCO as a Cultural Heritage of Humanity; It is located 120 Kilometers from Santa Cruz, on the road to Cochabamba in the Florida Province at an average height of 1,640 meters above sea level. The original name of the ruins is not known, it was the Incas when they were in the place that baptized it as Samaipata whose translation of Quechua is "height of rest", is also known by the name of "the fort", but in reality it would be a ceremonial site venerated and used by ancient cultures of the East and reused by the Inca army.
The geomorphological environment of the place is constituted by a beautiful mesotermo valley located in the last foothills of the eastern mountain range, in terms of its natural beauty surprised by a large presence of waterfalls that come off the mountainous hills of the region, which when coming together with the rivulets give rise to the Pirai River. The archaeological ruins of Samaipata are located 8 kilometers from the town of the same name and its surface of sandstone worked and worked covers approximately 30 hectares.
This colossal ceremonial Rock, I call the attention of wise and European travelers since the nineteenth century, there were personalities such as; the wise French naturalist Alcides D'Orbigny who studied the site, as well as the Argentine wise Leo Pucher during the first half of the 20th century who made a complete plan of the ruins. Starting in 1973, the National Institute of Archeology began work on the site and built a regional museum in the town.
The great ceremonial rock sculpted in high relief, presents interesting iconographic figures such as the puma, the snake, the rhea and a series of species of seats or thrones that fill with water and intercommunicate with each other as communicating vessels possibly for ceremonial acts dedicated to the water deities also astonish a kind of perfect large serpentine double footprint, in addition to several large niches located on its side walls for pre-Hispanic idols.
It has also been discovered that the next hill or in front of this serrated rock, is also sculpted, but covered with weeds; Surrounding these impressive ruins are vestiges of approximately 500 houses not yet excavated. Missions of North American and German universities have realized several studies and archaeological prospections to determine their antiquity and to carry out a plan of conservation of the stone of this important national monument of remarkable beauty and cultural meaning, which is in clear deterioration, It should be noted that the town of Samaipata has recently become a national site of great importance for the region and for foreign visitors.
THE GREAT CHIQUITANIA AND ITS TEMPLES BAROQUE STYLE "CHIQUITOS JESUIT MISSIONS"
In the Bolivian full forest, the Jesuit missions of Chiquitos last for more than three centuries. They remain an extraordinary legacy, because they are the only Jesuit missions in South America that were not destroyed. Between the years 1691 and 1760 the impressive architectural religious monuments of the mestizo baroque legacy of the history of humanity were built, leaving the extraordinary example "alive".
This unique region that preserves its living peoples with their ancestral customs and traditions, is the site of the Renaissance and Baroque American Music Festival, its particular craftsmanship painstakingly carved in wood.
San Xavier
Founded in 1691 it is the oldest, its temple is of the mestizo Baroque style.
San Ignacio de Velasco
Founded in 1748, it is the most populated and developed town on the missionary route and the main gateway to the Noel Kempff Mercado park.
San Miguel
Founded in 1721, under the name of San Miguel Arcángel. The population is rich in popular traditions and legends.
Saint Ana
Founded in 1755, it is the mission that authentically preserves the elements of local tradition. His temple was built after the expulsion of the Je- susuites.
San Rafael
It was the second mission founded in 1696 on the banks of the Gaubys River. Inside the sacristy temple, you can see canvas paintings of the colonial period.
Conception
The Concepción Mission founded in 1706m is the capital of the Ñuflo de Chávez province, and has the most imposing regional temple considered the missionary jewel.
San Jose de Chiquitos
Founded in 1698 at the foot of the Serrania de Riquió and very close to Santa Cruz. The old site where the Santa Cruz capital was originally founded in 1561.
Amboró National Park
It has an area of ​​63,000 hectares located in the foothills of the Andean mountain range and south of the Amazon. Considered vital for humanity by its diverse ecosystems and biodiversity, it constitutes a true paradise for bird watching with more than 830 species and more than 1659 species of plants.
Noel Kempff Market Park
The Noel Kempff Mercado National Park, located in the Bolivian Amazon, on the northwest border with Brazil, is an area privileged by its impressive landscapes, the diversity of its habitat and abundant fauna.
The park has areas for special excursions such as: The Samaipata fort, the Ché route, the Chiquitano dry forest.
THE PANTANAL
The Pantanal located in the Southwest of Bolivia, includes the republics of Brazil, Paraguay and Bolivia, covering a total area of ​​165,000 km2, its average height is 350 m.s. and its temperature varies from 12º to 24º, with stationary changes. The Bolivian Pantanal is a region suitable for fishing, navigating and observing mammals, birds and reptiles of many species.