The 52-meter cross, the Jesuit ruins of Santa Ana, and a domed hotel in a former tannery

The red earth of Misiones coats the pavement of Route 12 with a phosphorescent patina that extends eastward from Posadas. Above the vegetation, 20 kilometers from Santa Ana, rises the silvery glow of a 52-meter-high cross —perched on a 30-meter-high building—installed since 2011 on the highest elevation in the province.

To climb the 1,300-meter slope, you can choose the comfort of a minibus, a tractor-drawn cart, or climb on foot , with the opportunity to stop in front of several panoramic views of the green-covered mountains.

It seems that only there, from the perspective of that perched seat above the reddish ground, for a magical moment, the jungle cedes a portion of its authority and reveals the folds, the tiny cracks, and the changing nuances of its chromatic display.

The natural spectacle shakes the senses and invites you to face the two main paths of the Parque de la Cruz , which lead first to the festival of colors of the Butterfly House , the Orchid House and the three greenhouses of the Nursery , the protective mantle of organic native plants.

Further on, each of these pedestrian paths leads to the species interpretation and identification area and the seven stations of the Way of the Cross .

Already at the foot of the metal tower and its 29-meter-long arms, where the vegetation offers its first shady tunnels, the walk is filled with the fragrances of lapachos, bromeliads, carnations, caraguatás, federal stars fluttered by hummingbirds and butterflies, specimens of guembé occupied by parrots, guayubirá that support nests of toucans and woodpeckers, the yellow fruits of the caicaratiá and the sweet fruits - the bane of squirrels and monkeys - that hang from pindó palm trees.

Very close to the Ruins of San Ignacio, Santa Ana also preserves the remains of a Jesuit reduction , founded in 1633 and abandoned in 1767, when the religious order was expelled from all the domains of the Spanish Crown.

That first settlement had first been established in Brazilian territory, but had to be moved to this area—which was then somewhat less hostile—threatened by Portuguese attacks led by the São Paulo bandeirantes.

The definitive founding of Santa Ana took place a century later. It emerged as a promising agricultural colony in 1883 , driven by the activity of the San Juan sugar mill, whose splendor finally faded in 1904.

In those prosperous times, Santa Ana was an important port for deep-draft ships transporting lumber and yerba mate to Posadas, Corrientes, Santa Fe, and Buenos Aires.

Also during that luminous period, the fame of the rural town had skyrocketed due to the quality of its chipá (prepared with cassava starch) and rapadura, an exquisite sugarcane nougat.

The industrial tradition of Santa Ana is revived in the foundations of an old tannery, converted into the Momorá Distrito Selva lodge , an ambitious family venture.

While the leather processing plant used vegetable tanning with tannins, the current complex heats its water and pools with solar energy and powers its biomass boilers with wood waste. This is an ambitious eco-sustainability initiative to attract guests.

Closer to the Paraná River domains, the last standing facilities and the park covered with stylized urunday and grasslands of the sugar mill that became part of Otto Bemberg's fortune are now part of the Campo San Juan Federal Park Wild Nature Reserve .

The protected area is the best refuge for species threatened by predatory projects, such as the burrito acelado (a variety of bird from the coot and gallinule family), roe deer, honey bear, capybara, gray fox, lapacho, pindó palm, ibirá pitá, red anchovy, and missionary cedar.

Nine trails lead to viewpoints overlooking points of interest —the Paraguay River and coast, the historic center, and a waterfall, among others—in this protected area, a concise summary of all the natural and historical attractions that explain the growing interest in Santa Ana.