Located  at  437 masl (1 370 ft.) This city, which corresponds to the capital of the region with the same name, is characterised by its tropical climate, due to the fact that it occupies an extensive area of flat land in eastern Bolivia, between the rainforests of the Amazon and the highlands of Chaco. The rain is not abundant, but during the summer the hot weather can last for several days. The area is home to what is considered the best airport in the country, making Santa Cruz the main doorway into Bolivia. Covering an area of 320,000 Km 2 (79,000acres) of which only a third is mountainous, the rest extends to the Amazon plains, with some 1,364,389 inhabitants. (Census 1992)
Santa Cruz of the Sierra was founded in 1561, by the Spanish Capitan Ñuflo de Chavez and from that time period what is considered the older area of the city has been preserved with a landscape now modified by modern buildings and the heavy traffic that is the result of the economic development the city has faced in recent years.

*MUSEUM OF SACRED ART,  Sculptures, paintings, silver jewels and the religious objects that the Jesuit used in their evangelising missions are exhibited in this museum, that is one of the most complete of Bolivia.

*MISIONES JESUITICAS, located  at 229 km and four hours from the city of Santa Cruz, the missions were built in the main settlement of the Jesuit to the New World. They introduced the indigenous people to a civil lifestyle, religion and their music starting in the year 1961 to the year 1760.  The temple’s architecture has a singular baroque mestize structure which is complemented with the artistic equipment of the mural painting and its wooden carvings.

*NATIONAL PARK OF  AMBORO, In this park the Andean, amazonic and chaqueño ecosystems are abundant. It is constituted of a great diversity of migratory birds. The  biodiversity of the park is so abundant that without having finished the bird counting and there have already been 830 species of birds identified already, situation which turns the National Park Of Amboró into an observation centre of international relevance. It is also useful for the scientific studies of the flora and fauna.

* THE CATHEDRAL MUSEUM OF SACRED ART, where one can find a collection of religious art divided into four rooms: cut out in wood, liturgies ornaments, silver ware and picture gallery (besides jewellery and medals). The museum is located inside the Cathedral.

*THE ARENAL ETHNOGRAPHIC MUSEUM, located on the Island of the Murals. It has a collection of utensils and decoration handicraft of the Guarayos, Chiquitanos, Ayoreos, Izoseños, Tupi-Guarani and the half-caste of the valleys.

*THE NOEL KEMPFF MERCADO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM, that depends on the Rene Moreno Autonomous University. It is a valuable collection of botanical samples, animals, fossils, rocks and minerals. The fossils of the some dinosaurs found not far from the city are outstanding.

*CASA DE LA CULTURA, which is in activity since 1978 an offers lectures, theater  works, concerts, movies, videos, courses and workshops, paint exhibits, photographs, sculpture and others. Besides, it has a library specialized in regional publications.

*PANTANAL,  Marsh,  is one of the world's greatest floodplains. It is located in the Department of Santa Cruz, in the east of the country; although most of its is shared by Brazil and Paraguay, the smallest part of it (10% of its total area), but in many ways the most important one, lies within Bolivia. Part of the Bolivian "Pantanal" is included in Otuquis National Park and the San Matias National Protected Area. The "Pantanal" is located exactly on the border of the natural areas of Chaco, Cerrado and the Amazonian Basin.  The Bolivian part of the "Pantanal" is on the east of the Department of Santa Cruz. Despite world attention being centered around Brazilian conservation efforts, the Bolivian "Pantanal" may have greater biological importance due to the existence of major areas of unexplored territory as well as dry forests that have never been studied, forming the western edge of this region. Notwithstanding the above, the area comprised by Otuquis and San Matias, which had been seriously damaged by human activity, became part of the National Protected Areas System in 1997.