Amboro Tours

Noel Kempff M. South Side– Jesuit Missions of Chiquitos

• Itinerary of 10 Days 9 Nights

From the city of Santa Cruz - By Land
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San Javier, Concepcion, Florida, Los Fierros, San Ignacio, Santa Ana, San Rafael, San jose de Chiquitos.

10 Days 9 Nights

1st Day

At 08:30 hours we will start the first part of the trip to the park, aboard a private vehicle heading to the town of Concepcion located 295 kilometers away from the city of Santa Cruz.

This trip will be done on a paved road, passing by several towns and villages of migrants people from the high lands of Bolivia and Mennonites colonies. It is crossing an agricultural area, which grows soybean, sunflower, and several types of other grains.

There, we can also realize the relentless advance of the agricultural frontier from 30 Kilometers (48.38 Miles) off the city of Santa Cruz.

On the way we are going to stop at the town of San Javier, where most people are or have large native background.

This town was founded in 1691 by the Jesuits. In this town the visitors may go inside the missionary church and museum .

The guide and the entrance fees are not included for San Javier. Cost of admission to the museum couldbe bs 25 per person

After visiting these places we keep driving to Concepcion. It is located about 60 km more on the way. Its elevation is 534 meters. And has about 15,000 inhabitants most of whom also descendants of the Zamucos or others trbes that were brought here against their will, to found this jesuit reduction

Concepcion was founded in 1708, with the Zamucos and ten others different tribes. Each one of these tribes used to worship different gods all of them represented in the nature of the forest.

This first part of the trip to Concepcion takes approximately 5 hours.

We will arrive to the town of Concepcion at about 17:00 hours.

After accommodation in the hotel or hostal the vistors may go to the church of the town.

Overnight and Dinner in Concepcion

2nd Day

Around 09:30 a.m. we will leave the town of Concepcion. At the previous night the coordinator of tour would have to confirmed to you the exact time of departure. This trip will be in a 4x4 express vehicle and will last approximately 9 hours until the community of Florida located on the border of Noel Kempff Mercado Park.

UNESCO declared this magnificent park as a patrimony of the humanity in the year 2000.

In the trip from Concepcion to the village on the border of the park, we will have the opportunity to live a different trip, perhaps to which most of those attracted to parks are accustomed to, since the roads are unpaved, very dusty in the dry season and muddy in the raining season, sometimes with great difficulty to transit by vehicle. Also sometimes we will also find fallen trees on the way or trailer trucks stuck in the mud of the road.

We will stop on the way a few minutes for pictures or others reasons. But doing this when it is very hot and when we are close to the park it is not recommendable to do this longer than approximately 20 minutes, because we can fall prey to an amount of bees that becomes unbearable and of course the mosquitoes will be inevitable guests at night.

As we approach the park, the vegetation becomes greener and the forests improve; therefore, the opportunities to encounter wild life also increase, although the depredation by timber companies in areas of forest concessions is quite noticeable, with great grief for those of us who appreciate nature without human destruction.

We will arrive at the village at the end of the day or in the evening.

This village is a nice place surrounded by the forest and by a bay of the Paragua River. It has nearly 20 families or less because the population is decreasing due to the immigration of the youth people to San Ignacio or to Santa Cruz city.

About one year ago, the mayoralty of San Ignacio has provided a diesel engine for the generation of electricity, so this engine works almost every night approximately from 19:00 to 22:00. The engine is also good to recharge you cameras or other electrical item´s battery

The service of pipe water at home is not working yet. The huts that serve as lodging have palm or grass as roof. Some of the lodgings places have toilet, but the water system does not work yet, so it is necessary use a backet with water to flush toilets.

The showers may still do not work, but a bay of Paragua river is about 50 or 100 meters away although with some crocodiles, caimans and piranhas it is the place where people of the community wash their clothes and take a bath in the water of the bay, so we can do the same.

In Florida you may find Brazilian and Bolivian (the bolivan beer is more expensive but better) beer to buy, but it is very hard if not impossible to find some things from outside to eat or for personal use.

Supper and spend the night in the village.

3er Day
After breakfast, we will visit the park ranger site to register our names. Later, we will head towards the raft that crosses the Paraguá river and once on the other side of the river we will be inside the territory of Noel Kempff park. We will then continue our trip by vehicle, crossing wooden bridges in not so good conditions, although some or most of them have been repaired in august 2009.

This is the only road for vehicles actually opened that leads further into the park. These roads are also semi-abandoned with the vegetation on both sides almost closing the way in some parts; the visitors must beware of the thorns and tips of the branches in many sections of the paths within the park.

On the road it is also very probable to find some animals crossing or walking the path; these animals can be peccaries, coatis, “tayras” or deers, or even a jaguar or a puma, who like to freshen up by lying on the way. The turkeys and macaws or “guacamayos” are other animals that we will have the opportunity to see in these paths through the park.

We will also pass by the cabins of “Los Fierros” where we will possibly have lunch and later we will continue our trip to the plateau

At night there is a possibility of a short nocturnal Safari with lanterns, it depends where we have the tents set up.

Spend the night at bottom of the plateau.

4th Day

This day may be spend trekking up on top of the flat maintain and visiting the natural pools or the trail in the jungle near the camp site

If the visitors do not want to stay overnight on top of the plateau, after trekking on top of the mountain for a while, they may start descending from it towards the place we left the vehicle.

But in the case we had decided to stay one night on the plateau is also possible and of course it will be in tents next to a stream in a jungle spot

Overnight on top of the plateau

5th Day

After trekking down to the vehicle, the visitors have the option of fallowing the way to El Encanto waterfall.

This hike would take at least 2 or 3 days if the road for vehicles is not yet operable (which is more likely). The distance from the point where the vehicle has to drop us off to El Encanto Waterfall may vary from 25 to 20 km

The area of Los Fierros is also a good option to spend the day trekking around it trying to observe some mammals.

In case we decided

This day we are going to spend it hiking with all the camping gear (each one carry its own camping gear, water to hike to El Encanto, we will spend the night in some place on the road near a stream with running water, that by the way there are not many. Unless we had enough time to reach the camp site 5 Kms way from the waterfall

Overnight somewhere in the park

6th Day

and personal items) and the necessary food (visitors will have to help with some weight) to reach our goal and to get back to the vehicle.

Overnight in tents some where down the road or down the trails

7^th Day

Having reach El Encanto the day before, we are supposed to get back to the vehicle today in the morning to have enough time to have lunch and to reach the community of Florida.

Also we have to keep in mind that we have to cross Paragua River before darkness or before the 17:00 hours

Overnight in tents in Florida

8^th Day

Very early in the morning, about 5:00 or earlier we head to the town of San Ignacio de Velasco. On the road we may stop at Caparu Ranch where the chances of observing wild life are over 60 %

Arriving at San Ignacio about 19:00 hours or later

Overnight in San Ignacio de Velasco

9^th Day

After breakfast we start our trip towards San Jose de Chiquitos.

On the way we are going to stop at Santa Ana another town founded by the Jesuits.

Santa Ana is the smalls town of all the missions of Chiquitos

Also down the road to San Jose de Chiquitos we will visit the mission of San Rafael.

After having lunch in one small and may be not very clean restaurant we will get to San Jose de Chiquitos at about 16:00 hours.

After accommodation in the hotel or hostal the vistors may go to the church of the town which was built during the missional era.

Like in the others missions the entrance fee and or the guide is not included in our service

Dinner and overnight in San Jose of Chiquitos

10^th Day

Early in the morning we start the trip back to the city of Santa Cruz.

Almost all the driving will be on pavement or on asphalt.

We will arrive to the city of Santa Cruz about 16:00 hours

End of our services. Thanks

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Amboró Tours is the only original source of this itinerary

Amboró Tours also offers longer tours to this destination.

Adverse climatologic conditions or social unrest can change the original itinerary.

Remember that this itinerary can vary or not be fulfilled in its entirety by climate factors or the conditions of the roads and of the rivers or water streams.

Also is our duty to inform you that during the Dry Season parts of the Plateau get on fire. The fire could expands kilometers according to the wind. This fire usually that not penetrates more that a few meters the jungle on the Plateau.

Likewise, remember that this tour can become an adventure where mishaps can happen, which is why it is necessary to have an exploring and adventurous spirit.

Be prepared to protect yourself against the sun (sun lotion, sunglasses, hat or cap, long-sleeved shirt, long trousers and others) and rain (impermeable clothes).

Remember that nothing should be removed from the park (plants or seeds)

“Take only photographs and leave only footprints”