Santa Cruz de la Sierra, the largest city of Bolivia, is warm and green. Nevertheless, it maintains the fast pace of big cities, and people want to slow down and relax from time to time.
The region has several national parks and protected areas, just a few hours away from the city; there is no need to make a long trip to enjoy nature. Only 30 minutes away from Santa Cruz de la Sierra downtown, we find La Rinconada, a place where nature fills us up with energy.
Welcome to La Rinconada
La Rinconada is an eco-park created as if it was a piece of art, with a great sense of harmony and an enormous love towards our natural environment. It presents the natural diversity from different areas of the tropical lands of Bolivia.
Entering the eco-park, we face straight a welcoming phrase that could not be more appropriate:
The colors are the smiles of nature
That is precisely what we will find in La Rinconada: Nature blooming and beautifully smiling through all its shades of colors.
La Rinconada, Santa Cruz
6Q83+RJ Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia
A place designed for everyone
Families, couples, groups of friends, or solo visitors will enjoy this eco-park in equal doses as it is an ideal spot for everyone. Let us take a look!
First of all, there are many gorgeous places to relax in a hammock and forget about the world, surrounded by a peaceful environment. On the other hand, the water lovers have several pools at their disposal for both adults and kids. Super swings, a zip line, and other fun games allow the adventurous ones to release a little bit of adrenaline. In contrast, the smallest ones of the families will not want to leave the playground and "the corner of the green giants," another piece of art made in nature, this time thought for kids.
The ones who love the animal world will be delighted by the colors of the bird species that freely come to enjoy this place. At the same time, the aquarium of La Rinconada exhibits several regional aquatic species. The koy fish which inhabit the main lagoon of the eco-park, called Las Victorias, love to swim towards the dock, to greet the visitors. This same lagoon owes its name to the Victoria Amazonica plants growing there. Those are Amazonian aquatic plants, with circular floating leaves that can reach more than one meter of diameter and bear tens of kilograms on top of them. Not only that, but La Rinconada has been home to the largest Victoria Amazonica ever measured in the world, with 3.2 meters of diameter.
Finally, there is no need to say that it is a paradise for photographers, who will find colors, beauty, and harmony wherever they place their sight.
Several microclimates in one place
If you are visiting Santa Cruz, but you were not able to get out of the city to discover the diverse climates and landscapes of the region, La Rinconada has recreated some of them for you. By using endemic vegetation, brought from different points of the tropical lands of Bolivia, the microclimates of a rainy forest, a jungle, and a marshland have been simulated in different spots of the eco-park.
Local gastronomy
When it comes to food, La Rinconada Restaurant has choices that include a variety of local dishes: from barbecues where you can try the excellent Bolivian meat, to more exotic options, such as lizard tail - meat commonly used in the northern tropical lands of the country. Anyhow, if you prefer to remain in familiar flavors, there are several options of international dishes, including vegetarian choices.
La Rinconada eco-park in Santa Cruz is a piece of art expressed through nature, made with love and patience. One day spent there will surely fill you up with energy, while you enjoy little pieces of the immense natural beauty of Bolivia.
The author
Vanesa Zegada
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