Bolivia travel blog by Mark Berman -
October 2011
Feb-Nov 2019
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Sucre is the official capital of Bolivia, it's a lovely city full of white colonial arquitecture. For this reason it also known as the white city
and is a photographers dream. 8yrs after I first visited Sucre I've come back to live here with my family for the year, that's this year - 2019.
Throughout 2019 many new photos and much more information about Sucre will be added! Bus from Potosi
The first time I visited Sucre I came
here from
Potosi, 3hrs 30mins by bus. I looked forward to exploring the streets, parks, colonial arquitecture and monuments
for which there are plenty. I found a cheap room in the center of Sucre's historical area, $5USD per person and set out on foot from here.
White City Tour
Firstly the church / convent El Convento y Basilica de San Francisco de Asis which was built in 1538, it is one of the most well-attended churches
in the city and its interior has great artistic value. (All churches and buildings talked about in this blog are white unless otherwise stated).
Across the road is a plaza with tall trees and gardens - Plazuela Santa Cruz. A monument to the founder of the university Juan de Frias-Herran (1624-1969)
stands in the middle. Just a few minutes walk is the central plaza - Plaza 25 de Mayo. It has lovely gardens, flowers, trees and monuments and is
surrounded by interesting structures like the cathedral and municipal buildings. The monument in the middle is that of
Jaime de Zudanez de la Torre (1772-1832),
a politician and hero of the independence. The other monument is of Jose Bernardo Monteagudo (1786-1825), an Argentinian lawyer, politician,
journalist and revolutionary. One side of the park is dominated by 2 buildings, the Capilla Virgen de Guadalupe (cathedral) and the Palacio de
Gobierno (Government Palace). The great clock tower with its many bells and statues that stands on the corner was reconstructed in 1972. A short
walk from Plaza 25 de Mayo is Plaza Cochabamba, it has some nice flower gardens and is on the opposite side of the road to the church Templo de la
Merced. 2 blocks north / west of here is Plaza Zudanez with its tall palm trees on the opposite side of the road to the church Santuario de Maria
Auxiliadora, which was constructed in 1592. It's a beautiful building and is not stark white in color, more like an off-white. Sucre is home of some
15 museums and I plan to visit every single one of them during 2019.
Walking to Parque Simon Bolivar (Park)
Park Parque Simon Bolivar is 4 blocks from Plaza 25 de Mayo. Along the way
you'll see a church, Capilla de Santa Barbara which seems to have turned into a hospital now, but the building is that of a church. Next to this is the Plaza
Libertad with its bright colored flower beds and monument to Joaquin Gantier Valda (1900-1994), a playwright, biographer and poet. A tall white
column (the Obelisco) stands in the gardens as a gift in May 1968 from the people of Buenos Aires (Argentina) to the people of Sucre. The cities theatre
Teatro Gran Mariscal is on one side of the plaza and the supreme court, Corte Suprema de Justicia also nearby. Across the road from all this is Bolivar Park
with its big arched entranceway. Just through the arches people sell pieces of yummy cake and other goodies. The park is fantastic, lots of space,
lots of monuments including a replica of the Eiffel Tower of Paris that you can climb up. The park has many little areas that are all different
from each other including a water fountain at the north / western end across the road from the old train station, Estacion Presidente Arce. A
monument to
Aniceto Arce (1824-1906) stands nearby, he was an ex-president
of Bolivia and the founder of the city Uyuni. Beside Bolivar Park is a large childrens park with a dinosaur theme, it's fantastic!
Central Market
The Central Market (Mercado Central) is fantastic with so many things for sale and lots of activity! Buy fruit, vegetables, baked sweet cakes, breads, flowers,
household products, clothes, everything and anything. The Central Market is located just 1 block from Plaza 25 de Mayo.
The Dinosaur Park
In Sucre there is also the
park - Parque Cretacico, this is a park that used to be a quarry. The tracks of dinosaurs were discovered in 1994, tracks of many species. You
pay $30 Bolivianos ($4.30USD) to go in (locals pay $10). Inside there are a whole bunch of models of dinosaurs looking scary, the dinosaur tracks
are on the opposite side of the quarry on the limestone wall Cal Orck'o and can be viewed from the park. I appreciate the dinosaur tracks but
really this place is terrible, it's for kids. I felt really stupid walking around the gardens looking at plastic dinosaurs. I can't recommend
it, don't bother unless you have children. Parque Cretacico is a 5-10min drive from the center of Sucre, there is a small museum here also.
Many Churches
Sucre has many more churches - San Pablo, San Pedro, Santa Rita, Taracajoncito, San Lazaro, San Miguel, San Roque, San Sebastian, Santa Monica and
San Felipe de Neri.
Bus to Potosi, then Tupiza
After my first visit to Sucre I travelled 3hrs 30mins back to
Potosi bus terminal and a further 6hrs through the night to
Tupiza.
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A giant frog made of plants in the gardens at Bolivar Park in Sucre.
The tower of La Merced church in Sucre, 16th century building in the white city.
Upstairs at Freedom House in Sucre is this outstanding and very long mural featuring mainly women.
Santa Monica church in Sucre, view through an archway at Freedom House.
