Jesuit Missions of the Chiquitos

The Jesuit Missions of the Chiquitos are a series of mission towns in eastern Bolivia that retain distinctive colonial-era mission churches and town planning. They were established by Jesuit missionaries in the late 17th and 18th centuries and form a cultural landscape.

These towns contain timber and adobe churches with baroque and neoclassical elements, articulated town squares and a living tradition of choral and instrumental music. Visitors explore restored churches, small museums and attend festivals where possible.

Jesuit missionaries founded these settlements as part of mission networks to evangelize and reorganize indigenous communities during the 17th and 18th centuries. After the Jesuit expulsion in the late 18th century, many mission towns persisted and retain architectural and cultural legacies.

The mission towns are located across the Santa Cruz Department in eastern Bolivia, clustered in a broad inland plain and served by regional roads connecting them to larger towns in the department.

• Cultural life: Several mission towns continue to stage traditional religious festivals and maintain musical ensembles that reflect the Jesuit-era cultural synthesis.

What to See #

• Mission towns: A group of mission towns founded by Jesuit missionaries between the late 17th and 18th centuries that preserve baroque church architecture and town layouts.
• Concepción: Concepción is one of the best-preserved mission towns, with an 18th-century church and active musical traditions.
• San Ignacio de Velasco: San Ignacio de Velasco features a large timber-and-adobe mission church and remains an active cultural center in the region.