12 Best Things to Do in Sucre: Casa de la Libertad, Rooftops & Dinosaur Tracks

From standing in the room where Simon Bolívar's republic was born to walking across eighteenth-century brick church domes and inspecting sixty-eight-million-year-old titanosaur tracks, Sucre rewards unhurried exploration. Here are the twelve essential experiences in Bolivia's White City.

1. Historic Landmarks, Rooftops & Indigenous Art in the UNESCO Centre

1. Tour the Casa de la Libertad on Plaza 25 de Mayo: Step inside the former 1621 Jesuit university chapel on Plaza 25 de Mayo where Bolivia's Declaration of Independence was signed on 6 August 1825, and see the earliest surviving 1813 blue-and-white Belgrano flag.
2. Walk the Terracotta Rooftops of the Oratorio de San Felipe de Neri (1795): Climb from the two-storey peristyle courtyard of San Felipe de Neri directly onto its wide, terraced brick roof and bell towers for a 360-degree panorama over Sucre's church spires.
3. Watch Sunset at Mirador de La Recoleta & Visit Museo ASUR: Ascend to the 1601 Franciscan monastery plaza of La Recoleta to see the carved cedar choir stalls, the millennium-old Cedro Milenario, and the world-class Yampara and Jalq'a weavings at the Museo de Arte Indígena ASUR.
4. Explore the Treasure Museum (Museo del Tesoro) & Metropolitan Cathedral: Tour the 1551 Cathedral and the Museo del Tesoro next to Casa de la Libertad to learn how Bolivian silver, gold, and high-altitude bolivianita (ametrine) gemstones are mined and crafted.
5. Visit Convento de Santa Clara (1639) & Basílica de San Francisco (1581): Admire sixteenth-century gilded Mudéjar coffered ceilings at San Francisco and Baroque paintings by Melchor Pérez de Holguín at Santa Clara.

2. Dinosaur Footprints, Parks, Castles & Chuquisaqueño Cuisine

6. See 12,000 Dinosaur Footprints at Parque Cretácico (Cal Orck'o): Ride the Dinosaur Bus five kilometres to Cal Orck'o to view the world's largest vertical palaeontological trackway wall (462 continuous trackways left 68 million years ago) on the guided midday floor walk.
7. Stroll Parque Simón Bolívar & the General Cemetery: Walk beneath the 1909 cast-iron Eiffel-school tower of Parque Bolívar and the serene whitewashed avenues of the Cementerio General.
8. Visit the 1893 Castillo de la Glorieta: Tour the eccentric pink-and-white castle of Prince Francisco Argandoña and Princess Clotilde five kilometres south of town.
9. Taste Chorizos, Salteñas & Artisan Chocolates at Mercado Central: Sample freshly squeezed tropical juices and chorizos chuquisaqueños at Mercado Central, and pick up quinoa-and-Singani chocolate bars at Para Ti.

3. Andean Day Trips: Tarabuco & the Maragua Crater

4. Crossing the 19th-Century Puente Sucre over the Río Pilcomayo

Drive or hike across the turreted suspension bridge spanning the Pilcomayo canyon between Chuquisaca and Potosí.

10. Visit the Tarabuco Sunday Yampara Market: Travel 65 kilometres east on Sunday morning to Tarabuco to meet Yampara villagers wearing traditional montera helmet hats and hand-woven axsu textiles.
11. Hike the Pre-Columbian Inca Trail to the Maragua Crater: Descend the stone-paved Chataquila-Chaunaca Inca Trail into the swirled purple and ochre syncline of the Maragua Crater and Niñu Mayu dinosaur tracks.
12. Photograph the Historic Puente Sucre (Puente Arce) at Yotala: Admire the 19th-century suspension bridge over the Río Pilcomayo toward Potosí.