What Is It?

With "exotic" travel in vogue, formerly infrequently visited spots like the Galápagos Islands, Patagonia, and even the deepest recesses of the Amazon are now common destinations. Unfortunately, many of these places have seen much of their original beauty destroyed by relentless development or thoughtless travellers, and have become merely travel spots du jour. Do you really want that?

On the mass market end, the hoi polloi continue their yearly peregrinations to the same, tired, gringo-only spots. But do you really want to be just a number on a Club Med or Sandals list? For those with more money, once-pristine environments like Bariloche, Punta del Este, and coastal Belize essentially have become gated communities, catering to the favoured few...and no need to speak to the locals. But really, why bother to travel for that?

Gateway to the Chiquitania: Santa Rosa de la Mina at sunset

Perhaps you should consider the Chiquitania instead. It is a region with a unique culture, history, people, and environment. It's safe, peaceful, won't cost you an arm and a leg (it's ridiculously cheap, in fact), and you'll take away much more than memories. The product of a remarkable fusion of two civilizations, its fascinating legacy remains intact to this day.

Its world-famous Jesuit mission churches - six of which were designated World Heritage Sites by UNESCO in 1990 (you can read why here) - are only the best-known of many expressions of this rich synthesis of cultures. Others include its music - the famous Festival de Música Barroca y Renacentista Americana "Misiones de Chiquitos" - and theatre - the lesser known Festival Internacional de Teatro de Santa Cruz de la Sierra - both celebrated in world-famous festivals held every other year throughout the region's major towns; an astounding heritage of sacred art and architecture; abandoned colonial ruins slumbering in pristine settings; and a wealth of centuries-old customs and folklore handed down from one generation to the next that still play a dominant role in the daily life of the Chiquitania.

Visitors usually come to marvel at its unique ten Jesuit mission settlements, and especially their churches, seven of which survive in their original glory, lovingly restored in every detail - each a breathtakingly beautiful architectural wonder and spiritual monument set in the midst of an idyllic wilderness. Others come for the colonial ambience, still evident in the towns' spacious plazas and slow pace of life. Some come for the colourful folklore and traditions maintained here and nowhere else. Still others come for the beautiful, hand-wrought art that has fascinated collectors and scholars for centuries.

Yet there is more than cultural attractions. Nature rules here, and the inhabitants live in harmony with it. The options are limitless, from luxurious cabañas and the tranquil lifestyle in towns like San Xavier and Concepción, to charming frontier settlements like Santa Ana de Velasco and San Matías; from the honeymoon villages of Santiago de Chiquitos and Roboré to empty, eerie landscapes and petrified forests of the pathless Serranía Santiago and Serranía Sunsás; from prehistoric drawings in long-forgotten caves and rock faces in the remote outposts of Quimome and Motacusito to primeval forests larger than entire countries; from the northern edges of the trackless Gran Chaco to the watery wonderland of the Pantanal; from the amazing "tree of life" carvings and the energy-radiating El Torre in Chochís to secluded balnearios and wide-open plazas; and of course, the astounding flora and fauna of no less than five of Bolivia's ecological crown jewels: Noel Kempff Mercado; Otuquis; San Matías; Santa Cruz la Vieja; and the mammoth Kaa-Iya national parks and reserves.

If you're not deterred by the challenges this marvellous region offers - the Chiquitania is not for the average tourist - and wondering if this could be the adventure most people only dream of, you've come to the right place. There isn't much in cyberspace on the Chiquitania (and what little of it there is is often inaccurate and overwhelmingly in Spanish), but absolutely everything that is factual and useful you'll find right here. If you're considering the journey, you may have some questions. How to get there? Where and when to go? Where to stay? What to do? Are there any cool things to bring back?

It's all here....

Courtyard of the mission complex of Concepción