The 7 Best Jesuit Missions & Wanda Mines Tours from Puerto Iguazú

1.San Ignacio Ruins and Wanda Mines Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.2 · 110 reviews · 12h 30m · from $45Our pick

Spend about 12.5 hours traveling from Puerto Iguazú to San Ignacio Miní and Wanda Mines in Misiones Province. A Spanish-speaking guide explains the Jesuit mission and Guarani life, then takes you into gemstone caves to see amethyst, quartz, and intact geodes. Hotel pickup is included from selected central locations.

“I really enjoyed the trip. But the fact that the pick-up time was never confirmed and so I had to wait from 6:30 (which is when the pick-up begins) in front of a hotel 15 minutes away from mine until 7:45 alone and without knowing if I am acutally gonna be picked-up left a bitter note. The lack of communication made me cancel other trips I had planned with this agency.”

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2.Wanda Mines and San Ignacio Ruins Day Trip

★★★★★★★★★★4.2 · 32 reviews · 12 hours · from $76

Travel from Foz do Iguaçu or Puerto Iguazú to Argentina’s Wanda Mines and UNESCO-listed San Ignacio Ruins. Expect a 12-hour day, a small group of up to 15, hotel pickup, a mine tour, carved Jesuit ruins, and a light-and-sound show. Guides may speak Portuguese, Spanish, or English, but language arrangements deserve careful confirmation.

“Angol nyelven foglaltuk, de senki nem tudott angolul. A sofőr megpróbált, amit csak tudott. Az étterem rémes volt, ahol ettünk. A bánya 5*. Nagyon későn értünk vissza a szállásra, ez gond, mert hamarosan indult a járatunk, megkértük, hogy rakjon minket ki elsőnek, rábólintott és mégis mi voltunk az utolsók.”

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3.Visit to the Jesuit Ruins of San Ignacio and the Wanda Mines

★★★★★★★★★★3.4 · 19 reviews · 11 - 12 hours · from $58

Travel from Puerto Iguazú to the Wanda Mines and San Ignacio Miní with an English and Spanish guide. Enter mine caves, see quartz and amethysts in natural rock, pass yerba mate and tea plantations, then explore 1632 Jesuit ruins and a light and sound show. Plan for entrance fees and a long day.

“We really enjoyed our day to San Ignacio and the Wanda mines. However, we booked the tour in English, but almost nothing actually was in English. This wasn’t a huge problem for us, as we have a decent enough basic understanding of Spanish, but it wasn’t what we had booked and no real effort was put in, for example, translating. Additionally, the tour is advertised as being 11 hours, but with picking everyone up and dropping everyone off (we were the first to be picked up, and the last to be dropped off) the tour lasted 14 hours for us. This wasn’t a huge problem for us, but if you…”

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4.San Ignacio Mission and Wanda Mines Tour

★★★★★★★★★★3.9 · 18 reviews · 12 hours · from $74

Spend about 12 hours visiting San Ignacio’s pink-sandstone Jesuit ruins, the open-air Wanda Mines, and a yerba mate producer from Puerto Iguazú. Pickup and drop-off are included, but the 230-kilometer drive each way is long. The main guide speaks Spanish, with English assistance and English-speaking guides at some stops.

“Trip was extremely long (13 hours in total) to visit two attractions worth 1 hour 30 min. the rest of the time are breaks and travelling.”

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5.Wanda Mines and San Ignácio Ruins (Foz/Puerto Iguazu)

★★★★★★★★★★3.4 · 8 reviews · 10 hours · from $60

Travel from Foz do Iguaçu or Puerto Iguazú to Argentina’s Wanda Mines and San Ignacio Jesuit ruins. A live guide speaks Portuguese, Spanish, or English. Explore mine tunnels, workshops, a Stone Museum, and a UNESCO site with a sound-and-light presentation. Transport is included, but entrance tickets, lunch, and the ecotourism fee cost extra.

“This was the absolute worst tour company I have had to deal with. They messed up our reservation and ended up not providing the tour as posted. No guide, no visit to the ruins and horrible follow-up. This ended up ruining our whole day while providing no time to try and find an alternative activity. if you are looking to visit these sites I would absolutely recommend to not book this one.”

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6.Minas de Wanda – Foz do Iguaçu/Puerto Iguazú

★★★★★★★★★★4.6 · 8 reviews · 4 hours · from $52

Travel from central Puerto Iguazú or Foz do Iguaçu to the active Mines of Wanda with a live guide in English, Portuguese, or Spanish. Walk through five mines, view open-cast and cave extraction, visit the Stone Museum, and browse shops selling raw and polished stones. The four-hour outing includes shared transport, but mine admission and the ecotourism fee cost extra.

“El tour es muy interesante y el guía tenía buenos conocimientos de las minas y la zona. Muy entretenido, aunque me queda un poco corto el tour, entiendo que aún está en proceso de crecimiento. En resumen, muy recomendado ir a conocer las Minas, su historia y sobre la mineria de piedras semi preciosas.”

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7.Wanda Mines and San Ignacio Ruins Tour from Puerto Iguazu

★★★★★★★★★★3.3 · 3 reviews · from $66

Travel from Puerto Iguazu to San Ignacio Miní and Wanda Mines in a small group of up to 15. See carved Jesuit ruins, a sound-and-light show, 300 meters of mine tunnels, local stones, workshops, and the Stone Museum. Gianni may lead the trip, but confirm English guiding at San Ignacio before booking.

“I paid a total of 127,63 euros as it was mentioned that there will be a guide who speaks English. In San Ignacio, I did the visit alone with no guide at all. I ask for a partial refund!”

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