San Matías

At a staggering 2,918,500 ha, San Matías is Bolivia's second-largest park, yet one of its least known, owing to its remoteness. San Matías is only just beginning to see a trickle of visitors lured to the northern reaches of the Pantanal region and its world-renown wildlife.

The flora and fauna of San Matías largely resemble that of Otuquis, as well as that of Noel Kempff Mercado to the north. Visitors will find the climate slightly drier than that of the southern Pantanal, but the primary attractions are definitely aquatic fowl and sub-Amazonian animals, including the increasingly rare jaguar. San Matías's three big lakes - Mandiore, La Gaiba, and Liberaba - and its Río Curiche Grande are favourites for fishermen.

Ins and outs

Access to the park is problematic at best: there are no roads, and only one dirt airstrip at Santo Corazón. Tours may be arranged from Puerto Suárez, and a few visitors have made the trip in a 4WD vehicle from Santiago de Chiquitos (near Roboré) during the dry season, but the main attraction of visiting is to see it in the wet season when everything springs to life. An alternate route is a vague path that heads south from the border town of San Matías (17 hours by bus from Santa Cruz) for approximately 120 km. There are no signs, official entrance posts nor services of any kind.

This is edited copy from Footprint Handbooks. For comprehensive details (incl address, tel no, directions, opening times and prices) please refer to book or individual chapter PDF
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