Jesuit Missions of the Guaranis: San Ignacio Mini, Santa Ana, Nuestra Señora de Loreto and Santa Maria Mayor (Argentina), Ruins of Sao Miguel das Missoes (Brazil)

Deep in the forests where Argentina meets Brazil, red sandstone ruins mark the settlements that Jesuit priests and Guarani communities built together during the 17th and 18th centuries. Four of the five missions in this World Heritage group — Santa María la Mayor, Nuestra Señora de Loreto, Santa Ana and San Ignacio Miní — stand on the Argentine side; the fifth, São Miguel das Missões, lies across the border in Brazil. UNESCO inscribed the ensemble in 1983, each ruin keeping its own distinct plan and degree of survival.