Sucre

Introduction

Beautiful Sucre is the constitutional capital of Bolivia. The historic city was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991 because of its wonderfully well-preserved colonial centre with many 16th century religious buildings. With a fifth of the number of inhabitants compared to the administrative capital La Paz, Sucre has a very cosy feel to it. Wandering around the cobbled streets at mid-day or reading a newspaper at an abandoned square, you would almost think you're back in the 1920s in this charming city.

Sights and Activities

• Cal Orkco - A collection of dinosaur footprints imprinted on a 70 degree sloping wall of a limestone quarry, which used to be a lake floor. To visit it take the Dino Truck at 09:30, 12:00, or 14:30 from the front of the cathedral at Plaza 25 de Mayo (BOB20 round-trip). The guided visit takes about 1.5 hr and costs BOB30 + BOB5 for camera (Jun 2013).
• Casa de la Libertad, Aniceto Arce (Central Plaza), ☎ +591 4 6454200 - This museum is in a well-restored and maintained convent from the colonial era. The chapel was the meeting hall where Bolivian independence was declared on 25 May 1825. The museum includes a number of paintings and objects related to Bolivian history, especially to the independence movement, and the struggles breaking away from Spanish domination. BOB15 + BOB10 for camera.
• Plaza 25 de Mayo - The heart of Sucre, surrounded by the cathedral, the office of prefecture, the town hall, the historic Casa de la Libertad, as well as a swag of restaurants and bars. Get a shoe shine (don't think that wearing flip-flops you will deter the shoe shine kids), use the free Wi-Fi, grab some snacks, or just watch the world go by. The lion-flanked statue is of Mariscal Jose Antonio Sucre, Simon Bolivar's right hand man and the first president of Bolivia.
• Military Historical Museum of the Nation, Ravelo Street 1. Ma-Fr 09:00-11:30 & 15:00-17:00; Sa 09:00-12:00. The military museum has a big collection of Bolivian and international weaponry. It is really interesting if you know a thing or two about weapens and if you can understand some Spanish. They do not offer guided tours. In their collection they have a jet engine, airplanes, miniatures, typewriters, a parachute, engines, all sorts of artillery. They also have a room dedicated to their combat history. During the Pacific war, Bolivia lost its access to the Pacific Ocean. In the last room, you will find a roll with thousands of letters from children asking their sea back.

Weather

Sucre has a subtropical highland climate (Köppen: Cwb), with mild temperatures year round.

The highest record temperature was 34.7 °C while the lowest record temperature was -6 °C.

Getting There

By Plane

Sucre has no international airport. The national airport Juana Azurduy de Padilla International Airport (IATA: SRE) offers connections to La Paz, Cochabamba, Tarija, Yacuiba and Santa Cruz de la Sierra.

By Train

Although it used to in the past, Sucre is not connected to the Bolivian railroad network any longer.

By Bus

Various daily buses serve Sucre from La Paz and Cochabamba (via Oruro) and Potosi. Buses also go to Santa Cruz de la Sierra.

Getting Around

Sucre is a small town with regular hop-on buses and plentiful taxis. A tourist bus or private transport is needed to visit some of the attractions outside of Sucre, such as Tarabuco market and the dinosaur footprints. Mostly you will not move more than five blocks from Plaza 25 de Mayo, the main square.

Eat

Sucre offers a wide range of eateries from street vendors and stalls in the markets to elegant restaurants. The large numbers of students mean there are many interesting but inexpensive places to get a filling meal. Probably the cheapest lunches are had upstairs in the market (from 8 BOL).

Drink

Most places on the main square, and down the first block of Calle Nicolas Ortiz, are heavily gringofied, for better or worse. Sunday is by far the slowest night.

Sleep

Upscale

Keep Connected

Internet

There are internet cafés practically everywhere, they typically cost about 3Bs/hour, or about $0.50 per hour. Wifi is not as common as in many other Latin American countries, but more and more places offer it now, either free (sometimes for a limited amount of time) or at a cost. Avoid using your cellphone (with your home SIM card) when there is no wifi, as that's extremely expensive.

Phone

See also International Telephone Calls

The country calling code to Bolivia is: 591. To make an international call from Bolivia, the code is: 0010. Emergency numbers include 110 (police), 118 (ambulance) and 119 (fire). Note that 911 forwards to the police (110).

Bolivia has three cellphone companies, Entel, Tigo, and Viva. If you are staying for a while, consider buying SIM cards for your cellphone. They are quite cheap and you get good network coverage in all main cities and towns. Entel sells good-priced international call possibilities for their SIMs. For example, you can buy 10 minutes for Bs20 (to be used in one day, disconnects automatically after expiration). You will need to register the SIM card at a local office of the telecom. You will need a photocopy of your passport and the mobile phone that you will use.

Practically every single town in Bolivia has an Entel office (almost always located in the main plaza). From here, you can make local, long-distance, and international calls. It's actually much more economical to make your international calls from an Entel office than to use an international calling card. To make local calls from a public phone, you need a phone card. You can buy them at any Entel office or any kiosk on the street. The average local call costs about Bs2 for 3 minutes.

Post

Correos Bolivia is the national postal service of the country. It offers a wide range of services at very reasonable prices. Services, speed and reliability are not up to the level it should be though and it can take several weeks for a simple card to arrive in Europe or North America. Most post offices in Bolivia are open Monday through Friday from 8:30am to 8:00pm, Saturday from 8:30am to 6:00pm, and Sunday from 9:00am to noon. It costs Bs5 to mail a letter to the United States, Bs7 to Australia, and Bs6 to Europe. From time to time, you can buy stamps at kiosks and newspaper stands. There are no public mailboxes, so you'll have to mail your letter from the post office. If you want to send packages overseas it's best to use an international courier company like DHL, TNT, FedEx or UPS, as they offer fast and reliable services at competitive prices.

External Links

• Official Governmental Website