Sucre

A world away from La Paz, Sucre, Bolivia’s constitutional capital is laid out in a neat grid structure emanating from the Plaza 25 de Mayo. The city is often called the city of four names as it has been named and renamed several times, being called first Charcas, then La Plata, later Chuquisaca and finally Sucre. Though it is also nicknamed La Ciudad Blanca (the white city) for the color of its colonial architecture. This architecture is the legacy of the Spanish royalty and artistocratic families involved in Bolivia’s active silver trade based in Potosí. They chose to live in Sucre because of its agreeable climate, and have left behind many riches for travelers to explore.

Architecture

Many well-preserved examples of 18th and 19th century neo classical
architecture is what attracts visitors to this small city of only 300,000, which is Bolivia’s constitutional capital. These are based in the civic center, which itself is based around the main plaza of the city, Plaza 25 de Mayo. On this plaza are two of the most important buildings in the city, which are the Casa de La Libertad, where Bolivia’s Declaration of Independence was signed. The Catedral Metropolitana, an ornate, colonial church is also on the square. But visitors can travel back in time to many other examples of colonial and religious architecture, with more than a dozen churches to choose from, most of them gleaming white. Or check out La Glorieta Castle, a mansion built in an eclectic European style.

Museums

There are many museums located in Sucre, more than you will likely have a chance to visit. There’s one for indigenous art, an ethnographic museum, a lovely convent, a military museum and many more. All of these make learning more about both the secular and religious history of this city quite straight-forward. Sucre is the seat of the Roman Catholic Church in Bolivia, and its famous San Lazaro church is the oldest in the country (and formerly Sucre’s cathedral).

Dinosaur Tracks

In 1994, the construction of a cement plant about 5 km from Sucre led to the discovery of about 5000 footprints of eight different species of dinosaurs, imprinted some 65 million years ago on what is now a near vertical wall (but was once a lake bed). The tracks can best be seen from Parque Cretácico (Cal Orck’o), which was built up around it. It’s got some kitchy fiberglass dino replicas, but the true prize is the 300-foot slab that is considered to be one of the largest collections of dinosaur tracks in the world.

Village Life

There are many small villages near Sucre that have existed since before colonial times. Several of these, such as Tarabuco are home to local Yampara people who wear traditional dress as part of their cultural identity. In this particular town, there is an important festival called Pulljay every year in March, and most Sundays they hold a market at which they sell their quality hand-woven items.