Roaming South America

UNESCO Heritage Sites - Part 1 - The Jesuit Missions

June 6, 2026

A Big City with Little of Interest

Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia. Population, a lot. Actually, it's around two-and-a-half million. The city was founded in 1561, about 200 kilometers (124 miles) east of where it sits now. After being moved several times, the city finally settled here in this place by the Pirai River in the late 16th century. The city sits at the base of the foothills of the Andes and in the greater Amazon basin. It didn't really start to grow until the early to mid-20th century, when agriculture, livestock, and farming really took off. Then, the city grew big and in a hurry. The problem is that the city is not well-maintained. It grew faster than the government can keep up with.

The city is loaded with old architecture as one would expect in such an old place, but most of it simply looks old. There are some very old churches, many buildings going back 100-200 years. It's not that nobody cares to take care of the city; it's that the city outgrew its ability to care for itself. Urban sprawl has been too fast. And it shows. It's not a city you fall in love with by walking through the streets. Don't get me wrong, there are a few neighborhoods that look quite nice, where the rich congregate, where modern times live. But those are few and far between.

I didn't much care for Santa Cruz, so I headed east.

A series of towns that get better going eastward

Pailón

Outside of Santa Cruz is the town of Pailón. I got out of the trufi (collectivo/shared taxi) here, and I thought about spending the night in this town. I changed my mind after walking around a few blocks. I got another trufi going east and landed in San José de Chiquitos.

San José de Chiquitos

San José de Chiquitos is east of Pailón, and has a population of around 10,000, maybe. It was much better. And compared to the previous few towns, much better than all of them. San José de Chiquitos is probably the biggest town east of the Santa Cruz metropolitan area. I spent two nights here and then continued east. This town boasts a UNESCO Heritage site right in the center of town at the main plaza - the Jesuit Church of San José de Chiquitos. There are multiple old Jesuit churches throughout eastern Bolivia, and all are wood/adobe structures except this one in San José, which is entirely stone. And quite a building. There are pics in the photo album. This town has multiple ATMs, banks, and everything you could need. I stopped in Roboré.

Roboré

Roboré is very small. I'm in this town as I'm writing this blog. The town has nothing for tourists, but outside of town is the Iglesia de Santiago de Chiquitos. It's an old Jesuit church, founded in 1754. It sits in an even smaller town, the population is maybe 2000, with the same name. There are trufis from Roboré out to Santiago in the morning from the Roboré plaza. They return from Santiago to Roboré in the afternoons. Or do as I did - haul your stuff to Santiago and spend the night there. Further east is farmland, very small communities, and eventually the border with Brazil.

As far as services go, in Roboré, you'll find two banks, and each has an ATM (Google maps show no ATMs). You'll find plenty of restaurants, but very little variety in what's being offered. There's no supermarket, but there is a minimarket next to the mercado, and lots of small tiendas. There's one panadería, but it's really a miscellaneous store with a very small selection of bread items. There's no postrería (dessert shop) and no coffee shop. There are heladerías (ice cream shops), and most tiendas also sell ice cream bars. The bus terminal serves the route to the Brazilian border and west to Santa Cruz. If you want to go north, you return to San José and change buses.

Santiago de Chiquitos

Santiago de Chiquitos is very small, maybe 2,000 people. But it has one big thing going for it - a Jesuit Mission that was built in 1754. It is one of six Jesuit sites in eastern Bolivia that are UNESCO Heritage sites. This "site" is the church at the plaza. The six sites mentioned were the few that survived the last couple of centuries and were restored in the 1990s. This village has a few streets that are made of paving stones; those are the streets around the plaza. All the rest of the streets are sand or sand/rock, and some are not drivable without a high clearance vehicle, due to the ruts caused by storm run-off. Everybody here greets everybody else, whether you live here or not. I was out walking through the neighborhood and came to an intersection of sandy roads, and in the middle of it was a little boy, playing with his plastic trucks. This kid couldn't have been more than 4 years old. He greeted me, then started chatting away in his 4-year-old Spanish. I understand "Buenos dias" and nothing else. The kids from the school, walking through the streets, all individually greeted me. Soldiers from the military base greeted me in a restaurant. It's just a really pleasant place. While here, I was doing a lot of work on one of my latest books. So much so that I stayed two nights.

Santiago is very small; it has no bank, hardware store, pharmacy, ice cream shop, coffee shop, or supermarket. What does it have? Two tiendas, one by the plaza, the other a couple of blocks away, and that one was closed when I went to it. It has two churches. It has a handful of home restaurants and a handful of hosterias. Don't believe what you see on the Google map - it is very wrong. The restaurants do not have menus; they all offer one or two dishes, and that's it. Some are open for breakfast & lunch only, or dinner only, or a mix of the three. This village is very quiet. You'll hear the breeze blowing through the trees. You'll hear the birds chirping along the roads. You'll hear an occasional dog bark, often a couple of blocks away. I love the tranquility, but not the lack of services. Oh, and no ATM, so bring enough cash, small bills, to cover your time here. This is a place to visit and return to Roboré or San José.

The Jesuit Missions

Throughout eastern Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina are many Jesuit missions. In Bolivia, there are six in particular that have survived the ages. In 1990, UNESCO recognized them as a group of World Heritage Sites. They date to the 17th and 18th centuries. The Jesuits originally founded eleven settlements for the purpose of converting the locals to Christianity. But in 1767, the Jesuits were expelled from Spanish territories, and the missions were abandoned and fell into ruins. Six missions survived the centuries mostly intact and are now small towns. In 1972, Hans Roth started a restoration program. He was a Swiss Jesuit and architect, and wanted to see these remaining six missions restored. In the last few decades, these missions have become minor tourist destinations.

These are the missions-

• San Xavier. This was first established in 1691 but went through multiple moves before finally settling in one location in 1708. The church was completed in 1752.
• San Rafael de Velasco - founded in 1695, but also saw several relocations. The existing church was completed in 1749.
• San José de Chiquitos - this was built by an unknown architect. The mission is one of four that remain in their original location. A mortuary chapel was built in 1740, the church was completed in 1747, a bell tower in 1748, a house for the priests (colegio) and workshops, both completed in 1754, and all still exist.
• Concepción - was founded in 1699, but was relocated multiple times. The church was finally completed in 1756.
• San Miguel de Velasco - established in 1721. The church was completed in 1759.
• Santa Ana de Velasco - founded in 1755. This complex, consisting of the church, bell tower, sacristy, and a grassy plaza lined by houses, is considered to have the most fidelity to the original plan of the Jesuit reductions. The church was completed in 1780.

To Summarize

Eastern Bolivia is a strange and fascinating place. The further east I traveled from Santa Cruz, the smaller and quieter the towns became. The roads narrowed, the traffic faded away, and the noise of the city slowly disappeared behind me. What remained were villages where people still greet strangers in passing, where the loudest sounds are birds in the trees and dogs barking somewhere down the road, and where centuries-old Jesuit churches still stand at the center of daily life. These are not places for people seeking nightlife, shopping malls, or convenience. They are places for slowing down, breathing deeply, and remembering what silence sounds like. But, as peaceful as these towns are, they also remind you how much modern life depends on little things like banks, pharmacies, supermarkets, and even a simple cash machine. I enjoyed my time in this region very much, especially Santiago de Chiquitos, but for me, these are places to visit, admire, and experience for a while before returning to somewhere with at least a few more services.