Jesuit Mission Churches · Amboro National Park · Jaguar Wildlife Reserve · Lomas de Arena Sandboarding · Noel Kempff Mercado UNESCO Park
Overview
Santa Cruz de la Sierra sits at just 437 metres above sea level in Bolivia’s tropical lowlands, making it the country’s most accessible city for international visitors arriving directly from sea level — no acclimatisation required. Bolivia’s economic engine and largest city, Santa Cruz serves as the gateway to an extraordinary range of ecosystems: the cloud forests and sandstone canyons of Amboro National Park, the sweeping dunes and wildlife corridors of Lomas de Arena, the UNESCO-listed Jesuit Mission Churches of the Chiquitania, and some of the most productive jaguar habitat anywhere in South America.
From the city itself it is possible to see wild Three-toed Sloths and Capuchin Monkeys in the 187-hectare Botanical Gardens in a single morning. Drive two hours and you reach Refugio Los Volcanes inside Amboro National Park, surrounded by giant red sandstone cliffs draped in tropical jungle and threaded with waterfalls. Drive further and the landscape opens into the Chiquitania — a vast dry-forest region where 17th and 18th-century Jesuit missionaries built a chain of extraordinary Baroque churches that now form a UNESCO World Heritage Site, matched only by the remarkable culture of the indigenous Chiquitano people who maintain their traditions to this day.
Nick’s Adventures Bolivia has been operating expert-led tours throughout the Santa Cruz region since the 1990s, founding the company here and building deep local knowledge of every accessible ecosystem. Whether you have half a day in the city or two weeks to explore Bolivia’s wild east, Santa Cruz offers more genuine biodiversity encounters, cultural heritage, and photographic adventure per square kilometre than almost anywhere else in South America.
Destination Type
How to Get There
Best Time to Visit
Highlights
Our team replies within a few hours. We also speak Spanish and English.
tour plan
01
Cultural – Urban – Flexible
Santa Cruz is one of the fastest-growing cities in the world and one of the most underrated urban destinations in South America. Nick’s city tour is completely flexible — unlike the standard routes offered elsewhere, every itinerary is tailored to your interests. Options include the Pirai River corridor, the city’s thriving wildlife — sloths and monkeys live in the private gated neighbourhoods — the historic centre and colonial market areas, local food tasting, and the extraordinary Botanical Gardens, a 187-hectare forested reserve inside the city that still holds a remarkable variety of wildlife.
02
wildlife – Nature -family friendly
Ever wanted to see wild sloths, monkeys, and toucans without committing to a multi-day national park expedition? The Botanical Gardens reserve on the edge of Santa Cruz is the last remaining forested area within the city limits, and Nick’s expert guides specialise in finding the animals that most visitors walk straight past. Target species include the iconic Three-toed Sloth, Black-tailed Marmoset, Capuchin Monkeys, Howler Monkeys, Toco Toucans, Trogons, Coatis, and Spectacled Caiman. The tour runs early morning or late afternoon — the two best windows for animal activity — and includes hotel pickup, guide, and park entry.
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adventure – wildlife – photograohy
Just 25 km from the centre of Santa Cruz, Lomas de Arena is one of the most surprising landscapes in Bolivia: over 3,000 hectares of towering sand dunes rising from the edge of humid subtropical forest. This half-day tour combines sand tobogganing on Bolivia’s most impressive dunes with genuinely excellent wildlife watching — 286 bird species have been recorded here, including the Red-legged Seriema, Toco Toucan, and Roseate Spoonbill. The surrounding forest shelters Sloths, Capybaras, Caimans, and multiple monkey species. The tour includes a guided 4WD drive through the reserve, sand tobogganing on the dunes (boards provided), and wildlife scanning in the lagoons and forest margins.
04
Birdwatching – Wildlife – day tour
The forests and grasslands surrounding Santa Cruz hold some of the most productive birding in Bolivia, and this full-day tour covers two of the region’s best sites. The morning is spent at Lomas de Arena, birding the Chaco dry forests, pampas swamps, open savannahs, and reserve lagoons — 286 species recorded, with typical days producing 60–80 different species. After lunch in the city, the afternoon moves to the 187-hectare Botanical Gardens for forest birding targeting the Blue-crowned Motmot, Blue-crowned Trogon, Forked-tailed Flycatcher, and Greater Rhea. Both sites also offer regular sightings of sloths, marmosets, foxes, and capybara.
05
nature – photography – adventure
Just 70 km from Santa Cruz, hidden in the forests bordering Amboro National Park, Jardin de las Delicias is one of the most spectacular and least-visited waterfall systems in South America. The centrepiece is an 80-metre cascade plunging into a pristine pool, surrounded by subtropical forest alive with birds and the occasional monkey. The full-day tour includes guided treks through the forest, swimming, bird watching along the approach trail, and a picnic lunch in the forest. Available July–November during the dry season when the access roads and trails are at their best — ideal for photography and swimming.
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Cultural- heritage – photography
The Jesuit Missions of the Chiquitania are among the most extraordinary examples of Baroque architecture in the Americas — and among the least-known. This 2-day tour visits the two most beautiful and accessible mission churches: San Javier and Concepción, both UNESCO World Heritage listed. Along the route, look out for Greater Rheas and Toco Toucans in the roadside grasslands. The guided tour of each church reveals the remarkable history of the Jesuit-Guaraní musical tradition, the mission layout, and the Missional Museum collections. Overnight in Concepción allows a visit to the illuminated church at night — one of the most atmospheric views in eastern Bolivia.
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wildlife – hiking – cloud forest
Two hours from Santa Cruz, Refugio Los Volcanes sits at the southern edge of Amboro National Park surrounded by towering red sandstone cliffs, roaring waterfalls, and dense tropical forest — a setting that genuinely resembles the set of a Jurassic Park film. The lodge accommodates 12 guests in private double rooms with hot showers, solar power, and farm-fresh food. Multi-day treks into the park target Andean Condors, Military Macaws, the endemic Bolivian Recurvebill, and larger mammals including monkeys, tayras, and — with camera traps — evidence of puma. Available as a full-day visit, 2-day/1-night, or 3-day/2-night expedition.
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wildlife – conservation – photography
Three hours from Santa Cruz, the San Miguelito Cattle Station is the only property in Bolivia’s agricultural belt that has retained significant areas of natural forest — and the surrounding deforestation has driven remarkable wildlife into this refuge. A WCS camera trap survey estimated 11 jaguars per 100 km², making it one of the highest jaguar densities in Latin America. Six feline species are present: Jaguar, Puma, Ocelot, Geoffrey’s Cat, Jaguarundi, and Margay. By visiting, guests directly support a no-kill policy for problem jaguars, helping to sustain the only farmer in the region who has left his forests intact. Tours include wildlife treks, camera trap checking, night spotlight drives, and piranha fishing on the property river.
09
cultural – scenic – families
The Chiquitania region is, without question, one of the most underrated destinations in all of South America. This 4-day private tour covers its most spectacular landscapes and cultural highlights in a logical, comfortable circuit. Day 1 travels to San José de Chiquitos for the Jesuit Mission Church, the Valley de la Luna, and a secret mirador with macaw flocks. Day 2 visits the extraordinary Chochis rock sanctuary and the village of Santiago de Chiquitos. Day 3 explores the Valley de Tucavaca — ancient rock paintings, cave systems, and Chiquitania dry forests. Day 4 returns via the Aguas Calientes thermal river, Bolivia’s largest natural thermal bath.
10
wildlife safari – photography – exclusive
Five hours from Santa Cruz, Jaguar Land is Nick’s flagship private reserve for wildlife watching — a working property combining pampas grassland, tropical forest, lakes, and river corridors that make animal observation dramatically easier than in thick jungle. In 2019, every single tour recorded a Jaguar sighting. Beyond jaguars, the reserve delivers exceptional encounters with Ocelots, Tapirs, Pink River Dolphins, Three-toed Sloths, Giant Anteaters, Marsh Deer, and Spectacled Caiman. Over 270 bird species have been recorded, from King Vultures and Macaws to Sunbitterns and Spoonbills. All tours run in small groups of 1–4 people, fully private, with a wildlife specialist guide, chef, and satellite phone throughout.
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birdwatching – expert – multi-day expedition
Designed for serious birders, this 8-day expedition covers the full spectrum of eastern Bolivia’s birding environments. The route begins in Santa Cruz’s lowland savannahs and Chaco dry forests, moves into the cloud forest transition zone at Refugio Los Volcanes inside Amboro National Park for three nights, and concludes at the remote Red-fronted Macaw Lodge — a birder’s paradise where the endemic macaw is viewed in flocks against a backdrop of extraordinary canyon scenery. All stays include specialist bilingual birding guides and comfortable lodge accommodation. The tour targets over 500 species across the three ecosystems and supports the conservation of the endemic Red-fronted Macaw.
12
hespetology – specialist – custom
Bolivia has been one of the last frontiers for serious herping — and Nick’s Adventures is now the country’s specialist operator for reptile and amphibian focused tours across its most productive ecosystems. Four dedicated itineraries are available: a Bushmaster Viper Day Tour just 90 minutes from Santa Cruz; a 5-day Amazon Herping Tour targeting Rainbow Boa, Bushmaster, and Forest Pit Viper; a 5-day Bolivian Anaconda Tour in the Beni wetlands searching for the recently described endemic Bolivian Anaconda alongside Black Caimans; and the flagship 6-day Gran Chaco & Pantanal Herping expedition covering three world-class ecosystems with targets including Yellow Anaconda, Chaco Rainbow Boa, Budgett’s Frog, and Neotropical Rattlesnake.
13
wilderness – unesco – ultimate expedition
Remote, wild, and genuinely spectacular — Noel Kempff Mercado National Park covers 1.5 million hectares of pristine Amazon wilderness, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is widely considered one of the most biodiverse protected areas on earth. The park is reported to have inspired Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s novel The Lost World — and one visit makes it clear why. Access is by Cessna charter flight from Santa Cruz followed by boat journeys on the Pausana and Iténez rivers. Wildlife watching is extraordinary: 4-metre Black Caimans, Pink Dolphins, Green Anacondas, Giant Otters, Jaguars, and Tapirs are observed with regularity. Birdwatchers record over 600 species, including some of the last healthy Harpy Eagle populations in South America.
14
nature – culture – flexible duration
Just 120 km from Santa Cruz lies one of Bolivia’s most extraordinary day-trip destinations. The UNESCO World Heritage-listed El Fuerte Pre-Incan Ruins are carved into a single massive sandstone rock — one of the most impressive ancient monuments in the Americas. Combined with a swim at Las Cuevas Waterfalls, the bohemian town of Samaipata and the choice to extend into the Ancient Giant Fern Forests of Amboro or track Andean Condors in a canyon with up to 25+ birds per day, this tour scales from a perfect day trip to a rewarding 3-day expedition.
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nature – wildlife – lodge – package
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birdwwatching – conservation – edemic species
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wildlife – photography – conservation
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wildlife – birdwatching – conservation
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wildlife – adventure – photography
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culture – adventure – landscape
Santa Cruz is Bolivia’s best-connected hub for multi-destination travel. It connects efficiently to the Uyuni Salt Flats (flight or overland via Sucre and Potosí), Rurrenabaque and Madidi National Park in the Amazon (45-minute domestic flight), La Paz and Lake Titicaca (short flight), and the Beni Pampas for wildlife-rich Trinidad tours. For travellers focused on wildlife, a Santa Cruz base combined with Jaguar Land and Noel Kempff Mercado creates one of the most concentrated wildlife itineraries in South America. Nick’s Adventures Bolivia designs seamless multi-destination circuits handling all logistics — transport, accommodation, guides, and scheduling — tailored to your dates and interests.
Our team replies within a few hours. We also speak Spanish and English.