Santa Cruz is situated among the peaks and valleys of the Andes with lush tropical vegetation and a somewhat oppressive hot and humid climate so don't expect cool nights or balmy weather. It is a great jumping off spot for several day trips to places like Samaipata, which is famous for El Fuerte, a mostly unexcavated Inca ruins, and Amboró National Park, which has seven-hundred species of birds and takes visitors from subtropical forests to the mountainous terrain of the Andes. Also of interest are several Jesuit missions, the closest being Concepción and San Javier and Noel Kempff Mercado National Park, which contains a billion-year history and over four-thousand species of flora as well as birds and several vertebra species.
