Santa Cruz
Bolivia · Country profile
Santa Cruz de la Sierra is the hustling, modern capital of the east of the Bolivian lowlands, the huge business city of the tropics that has been the engine of the national economy through its soybean, its cattle and its commercial fortunes, and now spreads its towers, its malls, its ring roads and its fast-growing neighbourhoods across the flat, humid plain. Founded at the end of the sixteenth century and long a frontier town, it rose in the late twentieth century into the largest city of the country, an open, entrepreneurial place with a famously warm climate and an even warmer local culture. Its baroque mission road, its palm-lined squares, the huge statues at the entrance of the city and its lively culinary scene, from the picana and the locro of the local tables to the ceviche of its Peruvian communities, define the essential visits, while the jungle missions and the pantanal gates of the region wait beyond the urban sprawl. Hot, energetic and relentlessly growing, Santa Cruz is the beating modern heart of the orient of Bolivia.
About Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz is a city in Bolivia. The city's documented population is around 1,919,683 people. For visitors from abroad, the local currency is the Bolivian Boliviano (BOB) and Spanish is spoken; the dialling code is +591. It is served by 1 airport in our guide: Viru Viru International Airport.
The Cathedral of the Twin and the Plaza of the 24th
The city is a grid of vast ring avenues and long boulevards where the daily life runs through the malls, the plazas, the food streets and the sports stadiums, with the historic core of the old town gathered around the cathedral and its giant square. The essential visits move between the old centre with its church towers and its shaded plazas, the huge illuminated monuments on the main boulevards, the zoo and the botanical garden with its macaws, and the markets of the city with their tropical fruits and their local dishes. The Jesuit missions of the region with their baroque churches and the wetlands, the ranches and the lowland rivers of the east fill the excursions, while the bustling nightlife and the shawarma and the parrillada stalls feed the famously sociable evenings.
The Missions of the Jesuits and the Forest of the Amboro
The climate is firmly tropical and pleasantly varied for the height, with the warm, humid summers and their rainy evenings, the drier and barely cooler months of the southern winter, and frequent, brief downpours through the wet season. The peso of the country is the currency, the Spanish the language and the heat constant, so light natural fibres, sunscreen and a habit of slow, air-conditioned days make sense. The historic core, the zoo, the missions and at least one day in the surrounding lowlands complete the shape of the visit. The city is also the main hub for the flights to the rest of the east of the country, so it often works as the base or the connection point for the whole region.
The Zoo of the Lowlands and the Garden of the Botanical
The old town holds the cathedral with its twin towers and the palm-shaded square of the 24th, the anniversary of the great uprising of the east of the country, and the streets around it carry the classic architecture, the museums and the cafes of the colonial city. The missions of the Jesuits, the extraordinary baroque churches of the Guarani communities of the mid-eighteenth century, lie along the road to the east and make one of the great heritage excursions of the continent, while the entrance monuments of the city, the monumental statues that greet arrivals on the great avenues, have become the quirky symbols of the local pride. The zoo with its macaws, its giant river otters and the park with its botanical collections show the wildlife of the lowlands, and the mojojojo and the other dishes of the region give the point of pride of the local table. Hot, friendly, entrepreneurial and endlessly moving, Santa Cruz is the vibrant modern face of the great lowland east of Bolivia.
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- Country
- Bolivia
- Population
- 1,919,683
- Coordinates
- -17.6448, -63.1354
- Capital
- Sucre
- Region
- South America
- Currency
- Bolivian Boliviano (BOB)
- Languages
- Spanish
- Calling code
- +591
- Country code
- BO
Getting to Santa Cruz
Airports we list for Santa Cruz:
Other airports in the area:
Cities in Bolivia
Other cities we cover in Bolivia:
Frequently asked questions
Is Santa Cruz the capital of Bolivia?
No — the capital of Bolivia is Sucre.
What currency do I need in Santa Cruz?
The local currency is the Bolivian Boliviano (BOB). Languages spoken in Bolivia include Spanish.
What is the dialling code for Bolivia?
The international dialling code for Bolivia is +591.
Which airport should I fly into for Santa Cruz?
Viru Viru International Airport (VVI) is the airport we list for Santa Cruz.
How far is Santa Cruz from the nearest airport?
Santa Cruz is about 552 km from El Alto International Airport.
Flying out of Santa Cruz? Check the entry requirements for your destination in our entry requirements tool before you fly.