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How to visit Cal Orck’o to see 5,000 Dinosaurs Footprints

  • 7 min read

Have you ever seen dinosaur footprints? Only 5 km from Sucre, Bolivia, the largest collection of dinosaurs’ footprints in the world was discovered by a local cement company in 1985. At the Sucre dinosaur park or Cal Orck’o, there are more than 5,000 footprints visible, which includes the worlds longest recorded baby T-Rex tracks, measuring 350 meters.

The Cretacico park, which opened to the public in 2006, offers an opportunity to learn more about these giants and runs daily tours into the quarry to approach the huge limestone wall covered in footprints.

Here is an article about all the things you need to know before visiting Cal Orck’o in Sucre, Bolivia.

Bolivia-Sucre-Dinosaurs-CalOckro-wall-quarry

Why are there so many Dinosaurs footprints?

68 million years ago, dinosaurs were living in South America along a vast ocean entering from the Atlantic in what are now the countries of Argentina and Bolivia.

During the Mesozoic Era, dinosaurs walked on the shore of this ocean, leaving footprints that once dried, were covered by sediment.

As the tectonic plates shifted, creating the Andes, the once flat beach where dinosaurs set foot, rose to 2,600 masl and compressed into a now near-vertical limestone wall.

As the Francesa cement company drilled and mined the area for concrete production, the layers of sediments appeared, revealing thousands of footprints belonging to about 15 species of dinosaurs; from Tyrannosaurus Rex to Sauropods and Titanosaurus.

The mining of this wall in Cal Orck’o halted and after years of excavation and studies, a museum was built and guided tours into the quarry were organised.

Entering the quarry with the tour group. Such a spectacular place

Going into the Cal Orck’o quarry

Being able to approach these footprints will probably be the closest you will ever be. It is such a unique place… The wall is more than 80° inclined, which makes the whole experience even more spectacular.

The tours into the quarry are only at noon and 1 pm. You cannot enter on your own, as the quarry is still in use.

We recommend going at these times for two reasons. Firstly, they coincide with the best time of day to see the footprints, as the sun is at its highest and there are no bad shadows. Secondly, in our honest opinion, it is not really worth going to the park if you don’t enter the quarry.

This is the highlight of the visit as you can approach the footprints from very close and get a sense of their sizes – but don’t touch the wall that is very friable and fragile.

The Cal Orck’o tours last about 45 min and require a little bit of fitness as you will need to climb down and back up, which at this altitude can get tiring.

> Make sure to also visit a good pair of shoes and not a pair of flip-flop… The path is rocky and you can easily slip.

If you can’t make it for the quarry visit, there is a viewpoint from the museum which will give you a good sense of the impressive size of the site and the footprint tracks.

The tour of the museum

Tours of the dinosaur-themed park are organised in English and Spanish every day of the week (except Mondays) at 10 am, 11:30 am, 12:30 pm, 2 pm and 3 pm. During the tour, you learn about the drifting plates and the creation of the Andes.

There is also a lot of information about the formation of the wall and the 15 types of dinosaurs which have been identified here.

In the museum, you can see life-size reconstitutions of the dinosaurs that once lived on these lands. It is very impressive, mainly when reaching Titanosaurus.

How to get to Cal Orck’o Park from Sucre

The Parque Cretacico of Sucre is located about 5 km North of the city centre. To get there you can either take a local bus or the park’s shuttle.

The public bus #4 goes from town to the Francesa Cement Factory (last stop). From there you need to walk for a few minutes up to the entrance of the park. Buses in Sucre as are not reliable and traffic can get really crazy at times, so if you want to take a local bus, make sure to leave early enough to arrive on time for your quarry tour – at least at 9:30 am.

One of the bus stops can be found 1 block from the Main Square at the corner of Junin and Arenales streets – Bs 2 one-way.

The best option is to take the “shuttle bus” from Sucre’s main square, generally parked in from of the cathedral. It’s impossible to miss this double-decker red bus. 

The bus drives tourists to the park just on time for the quarry tours. Usually we try to avoid tourist shuttles and take the local, cheaper, buses, but in this case, it is worth spending a couple of Euro extra to make sure you make it on time for the tour.

The “Dino bus” leaves at 11 am and 3 pm (Tuesday to Sunday) and cost Bs15 return.
Take the 11 am bus to be able to do the Cal Orck’o Quarry tour at 12pm.

| Opening hours: 9 am to 5 pm – The park is closed on Mondays
| Entrance fee: 30 Bs + 5 Bs to have the right to take pictures

Frequently Asked Questions about Cal Orck’o

Pin It - In Sucre, Bolivia, the largest collection of dinosaur footprints In the world are found. Here there are more than 5,000 prints left by 15 different dinosaurs. With a tour you can get right up to this piece of history. https://talesfromthelens.com/2018/01/18/cal-orcko-dinosaur-footprints-sucre-bolivia/

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Jenny

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jen – Owner, writer & photographer – has lived for the past 10 years across Oceania and Ireland while also travelling long-term in Latin America, North America and Europe. She has visited more than 60 countries and set foot on every continent in the world!

>> Favourite countries: New Zealand, Bolivia, Iceland.
>> Wishlist: Svalbard, Japan, Botswana, Alaska.
>> Philosophy: “We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us.

Jen is a coffee nerd, passionate about photographywildlife and outdoor activities. Her organisation and curiosity make her a great travel companion always looking for DIY and off-the-grid adventures. For more info, check out the About page.

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