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San Ignacio - Kadacaaman |
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In a small fertile valley, surrounded by mountain ranges and desert,
resides this beautiful village, where the underground river comes to life in a commotion, and which, having dammed its own course, has converted itself into a small, still lagoon, bordered by tulares and giant reeds.
Passing along its banks is the highway which provides access to the main square, adorned with giant trees from India. Opposite, is the imposing structure of the San Ignacio de Loyola mission church, with its splendidly ornate facade of carved stone, a construction which incorporates large volcanic stone slabs - measuring up to 1.2 meters thick - which have no doubt contributed to the fact that the building has remained almost unchanged over the passage of time.
This mission was founded in 1728 by the Mexican Jesuit Juan Bautista Luyando. The construction of this temple was initiated by another Jesuit, Fernando Consag, and Father Juan Crisostono Gómez was the Dominican missionary who concluded the work around the year 1786.
This mission houses a beautifully carved wooden alter, covered in gold leaf, with seven oil paintings and an image of San Ignacio de Loyola, which truly are gems.
San Ignacio has great importance regarding tourism, as it is the closest point of access to get to the grottoes and caves that house the pre-historic paintings in the San Francisco mountain range, where there are over 500 painted sites in an area covering 12 sq. kms.
The vast majority of these paintings contain enormous murals located on rocks, cliffs and the interior walls of caves, heirlooms of our ancestors that constitute an enigma and continue to challenge the experts.
San Ignacio has a good offering of tourist services, including three-star hotels and others of a more economically accessible type, as well as camping grounds for trailers and caravans. There is also a range of restaurants and excursions for the intrepid traveler.
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