San Ignacio de Velasco

San Ignacio de Velasco is a town in the eastern Bolivia, Santa Cruz department.

Understand
San Ignacio is the communication and infrastructure hub of the region. It is one of the Jesuit Missions of the Chiquitos towns, but the church is not UNESCO-protected. You can easily reach three other nearby missions from there: San Miguel, San Rafael and Santa Ana.

By bus
From Concepción (the bus leaves from there at around 17) there are 5 bumpy hours, Bs50.

By foot
San Ignacio is small enough to walk on foot.

By moto
A lot of mototaxis are available.

Buy
Wooden artwork from some of the workshops (i.e. Taller Hermanos Guasase, av. Rosenhammer between calle Chiquitos and calle Cochabamba) in town.

Eat
You can have breakfast (empanadas are very tasty) and dinner at eateries at the marketplace.

Go next
Visit the missions of San Miguel, San Rafael and Santa Ana. Take a day trip by taxi (~Bs400) or go by bus (there is one daily that goes to San Rafael through Santa Ana), but with later option you'd have to sleep in Santa Ana or San Rafael.

Head south for San Jose de Chiquitos. There are one or two daily buses going there, that pass through San Miguel and San Rafael. Cost Bs50.

Head north to the wild and magnificent Noel Kempff Mercado national park. Getting there may be tough, as there may be no buses going there. Talk with locals to find how best to get there.