Tucked away in a North Eastern corner of Argentina are three Jesuit missions. The Jesuits were granted the rights to operate independantly from the local government by the Spanish crown. Their goal was to spread Christianity to the locals. But they also protected the natives from the frequent incursions of slavers and brought some progress to the area.

Unfortunately, the right once granted to the Jesuits was eventually revoked as the king came to fear their independence. This was a trend across the whole of Europe. In the Spanish case the suppression came when the Spanish rulers tried to take more control of their possessions in the Americas.

With the Jesuits gone the whole system quickly fell apart as the economic system failed and the towns were raided frequently by slavers. Eventually, the cities were abandoned and the natives returned to their previous lifesystle. These sites turned into ruins and were absorbed by the jungle.

On my way to Iguazu from Posadas I managed to visit the three sites lined along Highway 12. They offer plenty of variety when it comes to the remains, the reconstruction and excavation..

Loreto: Nowadays covered in jungle this gives off a real Indiana Jones vibe. Some excavations were done, but they didn't do big restorations or clear the forrest. Loreto was also one of the largest Jesuit Mission, so I would definitively encourage you to make the trip here if you visit the missions.

Santa Ana: In Santa Ana they cleared plenty of the forests covering the area, so it's not as original as Loreto. But it's not as reconstructed as San Ignacio Mini either. If you want to skip one mission this would probably be my candidate as it doesn't represent either extreme. On the other hand it's easier to reach by bus than Loreto as Santa Ana is the larger town.

San Ignacio Mini: The most accessible and most reconstructed of the three sites on the Arginitian side. Placed directly in the town center there is no jungle covering the area. As I understand it some parts were also reconstructed. As such this is probably the most prominent example of the three. The most similar site is in nearby Paraguay, the Jesuit Mission of Trinidad.

For anyone travelling the area, these sites may get washed away by the grandiosity of the Iguazu waterfalls, but you would be missing out on a fine site.

In the meantime I have seen one more, San Javier in Bolivia, a Jesuit Mission of the Chiquitos. As mentioned in the review the Bolivian mission was in substantially better shape than anything in saw in Paraguay or Argentina with the original church and town planning still intact.

Getting There and Around

San Ignacio Mini can be accessed from two sides. You have airports in Foz de Iguacu (Brazil) to the North and in Posadas (Argentina) to the South. There are plenty of busses running between Puerto Iguazu (Argentina) and Posadas. Make sure to get an express bus if possible as you will stop in every town along the road otherwise.

Travelling to Santa Ana from San Ignacio Mini is fairly straightforward as Santa Ana is one of those stops along the highway from Posadas to Puerto Iguazu. Getting to Loreto, meanwhile, was a bit harder, as it's not a regular stop along the highway. There is a local bus that runs rather infrequently that you can take. Winking down a bus on the highway meanwhile (as indicated by some travel guides) is not possible. I failed for an hour so to get any bus to stop for me.

While You Are There

Obviously, if you have made it to the Jesuit Missions you need to visit Iguacu/Iguazu. It's a pretty straightforward trip from San Ignacio Mini. And due to some quirks in the Unesco process it counts twice, once for the Brazilian side and once for the Argentinian one.

I would encourage you to also travel to the nearby Jesuit Missions in Paraguay. Due to some more quirks in the inscription process it counts as a separate site. You should be able to cross the border (and river) near San Ignacio Mini saving yourself the trip back to Encarcion and Posadas, but I could't figure it out at the time.