Santa Cruz (or Santa Cruz de la Sierra) is the second most populous city in Bolivia, and is the capital of the department of Santa Cruz. It is considered the most economically prosperous city in the country.
In contrast to La Paz and the other major Bolivian cities located high in the Andes, Santa Cruz lies at an altitude of 416 meters, and its climate is distinctly tropical.
Santa Cruz de la Sierra was founded on February 26, 1561 by Ñuflo de Chávez who gave the new settlement its name, which means "Holy Cross of the Hills," in honor of his beloved native city in Extremadura, Spain. Ñuflo de Chávez was a Spanish captain whose biggest legacy was the expansion of colonization through virgin rainforest and savanna areas in southeastern South America. His campaign started in Buenos Aires - then Argentina's capital city - to the second biggest settlement, Asunción - then Paraguay's capital city - and finishing with the last of the larger settlements, Santa Cruz de la Sierra. Each of the three cities helped to consolidate the colonization of several indigenous populations through what was named as Audiencia de La Plata, or a type of administrative province during the colonial stage of Latin America history. The Audiencia de La Plata consolidated what today is Argentina, Uruguay, the three Southern states of Brazil, Paraguay, and the south, southeast, and north of Bolivia, inclusively the state of Acre which is currently part of the Brazilian Federation.
Within the specific area of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, several tribes were incorporated under Spaniard control and converted to the Catholic faith, as a result of the Jesuits' influence over this region; the Guaranies, Moxeños, Chiquitanos, Guarayos, and Chiriguanos were just a few of several ethnic groups who were the ancestors of the racially mixed population of the modern Santa Cruz, Beni, Pando, and Tarija departamentos (states) of Bolivia.
PLACE TO VISIT
Swiss Bolivian Adventures is a highly recommended tour operator based in La Paz Bolivia. They specialize in Culture and Adventure tourism and are currently running ‘La Ruta Del Che’ (The Che Guevara Route) tours to Vallegrande and La Higuera. Follow in the footsteps of a Revolutionary! They also offer great tours of the Jesuit Missions in Santa Cruz! Find them in Av. Mariscal Santa Cruz, esq. Socabaya No 240 (Handal Center) Planta baja Oficina 6. Tel: 591(2) 2406470 Po Box: 7184 La Paz Bolivia .
In Santa Cruz you can book some great excursions, like a trekking in Park Amboro, Noel Kempff, a river boat trip in the Amazon region, cultural excursions to the Jesuit Missions etc.
A good and reliable tour agency is Dutch owned Ruta Verde . They are located 3 blocks from the plaza, Calle 21 de Mayo 332.
Santa Cruz hosts one of the most famous soccer academy in the world. "Academia de Futbol Tahuichi Aguilera". Their unique and original way of training young soccer players to become professionals in the future. They train in rivers and ran through mountains of sand. Young players from all over the world come to this academy to experience its training method.
HOW TO REACH
If you arrive during carnival it is almost impossible to change money as everything except markets, restaurants and internet cafes are closed. Traders will accept U.S. dollars but at half the going rate. Also be prepared to be pelted with ink filled water balloons, soaked with water bombs and covered in string spray. Wear clothes you don`t mind having permanently stained.
The bus station listed in the Santa Cruz web site is no longer in use. The new one (half completed) is a 15 Bs taxi fare from the centre of town. Of the three hostels listed with 24 hour reception, the only one that does is on tres pasos, a couple of km out of the city center.
By train - The "death train" runs on some of the world's most bumby tracks from Quijarro, close to Corumbá on the Brazilian side. First class is about 50 Bs, Pullman with reclining seats is 100 Bs. The journey takes 16-22 hours. There is a faster more expensive "Ferrobus", but it has not been thoroughly researched why people would want to go faster on those horrible tracks. Biting insects are plentiful, so get repellent before you go. Departure/arrival is from the combined bus and train station, "Terminal Bimodal".
Apparently a "nicer" train (with air-conditioning and a restaurant-wagon) runs 2-3 times a week, and on other days you have the worse version of the Train of Death. The railway between Santa Cruz and Quijarro is operated by Ferroviaria Oriental S.A.
By plane - Viru Viru International Airport (Code: VVI) is Bolivia's largest and most modern airport, and a hub for national carrier LAB.
Major airlines have daily flights to Santa Cruz de la Sierra, mainly from La Paz (about 4 flights per day: early in the morning, in the afternoon, early in the evening and late in the night). From Cochabamba (about 2 flights per day). Flights to international cities is also daily (Sao Paulo, Brasil - Buenos Aires, Argentina - Lima, Peru - etc. there are daily flights).
Note February 2008: The text about LAB, Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano, needs an update. The airline suspended operations on April 1, 2007.
About Bolivian airlines and flying within Bolivia: Bolivia#Get_around
Aerosur airlines is another good option on getting to Santa Cruz. They offer direct flights from Miami to Santa Cruz a few times a week. They also offer flights from Madrid to Santa Cruz.
By Bus - There are many bus companies from another cities, like Cochabamba, La Paz, Sucre, Trinidad, that go to Santa Cruz de la Sierra. You can arrive from La Paz in about 18 hours, and it takes about 10 hours from Cochabamba. The Bolivia Vice-Ministry of Tourisum has a bus schedules on their website:. Look under Destinations and the area you are interested in traveling.
