Why this ride
It goes by way of Mission of San Miguel, Mission of Santa Ana, Jesuit Missions of the Chiquitos and back through Mission of Santa Ana. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Mission of San Rafael and Jesuit Missions of the Chiquitos
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 464 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 12 h 52
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Mission of San Rafael
The Jesuits who came to the lowlands of eastern Bolivia in the late seventeenth century did something remarkable with the forest, the heat and the people they found, the Chiquitano. Between 1691 and 1760 they founded a string of mission towns, and six of them survive, with churches built of wood and adobe, painted inside and out with floral patterns and trompe-l'oeil columns. San Rafael de Velasco, with its church finished in the 1740s, is one of the prettiest, a white and ochre building with a deep porch and an open bell tower, set in a village square with red earth and big shade trees. The missions were listed by UNESCO in 1990.
Read the complete Mission of San Rafael write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Mission of San Rafael is where the day begins. Next is Mission of San Miguel.
2. Mission of San Miguel
Deep in the Bolivian lowlands, the Chiquitania is a land of dry tropical forest, red earth and granite outcrops, a long way from the Andes. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries Jesuit missionaries gathered the Chiquitano people into settlements here that blended European Baroque with local craft, and six of those mission towns survive. San Rafael and San Miguel, a short distance apart in the east, are among them, and UNESCO listed the group in 1990.
Read the complete Mission of San Miguel write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Mission of San Miguel comes up about 39 km into the recorded legs. Next is Mission of Santa Ana.
3. Mission of Santa Ana
Santa Ana is a tiny village in the lowlands of eastern Bolivia, in the Chiquitania region, and its church is considered by many to be the most authentic of the Jesuit missions of Chiquitos. The missions were founded by Jesuit priests in the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries among the indigenous peoples of the region, the Chiquitanos, and became thriving communities centred on large churches built of wood and adobe, with vast roofs supported by carved wooden columns. Six of them were listed by UNESCO in 1990.
Read the complete Mission of Santa Ana write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 101 km into the recorded legs you reach Mission of Santa Ana. Next is Jesuit Missions of the Chiquitos.
4. Jesuit Missions of the Chiquitos
The plains of eastern Bolivia look wholly unlike the Andes people picture. This is the Chiquitania, a gently rolling country of dry forest, red earth and granite outcrops, where in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries Jesuit priests founded a string of mission towns for the Chiquitano and other peoples. Six of the surviving churches are listed by UNESCO as the Jesuit Missions of Chiquitos, with San Francisco Javier, Concepción, Santa Ana, San Miguel, San Rafael and San José among them. They are working churches, and the wooden columns, painted ceilings and carved pulpits still serve their communities.
Read the complete Jesuit Missions of the Chiquitos write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Jesuit Missions of the Chiquitos, about halfway. Next is back through Mission of Santa Ana.
5. back through Mission of Santa Ana
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Mission of Santa Ana write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Mission of Santa Ana sits at 240 km, about halfway. Next is back through Mission of San Miguel.
6. back through Mission of San Miguel
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Mission of San Miguel write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Mission of San Miguel comes up about 425 km into the recorded legs. Next is Mission of San Rafael.
7. Mission of San Rafael
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Mission of San Rafael write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Mission of San Rafael closes the day.
Leg by leg
Mission of San Rafael to Mission of San Miguel
Mission of San Rafael → Mission of San Miguel is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Mission of San Miguel to Mission of Santa Ana
Mission of San Miguel → Mission of Santa Ana is 62 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Mission of Santa Ana to Jesuit Missions of the Chiquitos
Mission of Santa Ana → Jesuit Missions of the Chiquitos is 143 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Jesuit Missions of the Chiquitos to back through Mission of Santa Ana
Jesuit Missions of the Chiquitos → back through Mission of Santa Ana is 119 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Mission of Santa Ana to back through Mission of San Miguel
back through Mission of Santa Ana → back through Mission of San Miguel is 62 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Mission of San Miguel to Mission of San Rafael
back through Mission of San Miguel → Mission of San Rafael is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.