diff --git a/config/config.go b/config/config.go
index ac43d0441..191f84359 100644
--- a/config/config.go
+++ b/config/config.go
@@ -234,6 +234,13 @@ type BaseConfig struct { //nolint: maligned
 	// Default: 0
 	DeadlockDetection time.Duration `mapstructure:"deadlock-detection"`
 
+	// SyncTimeout is the timeout for the initial sync process, before switching to consensus.
+	// If zero or empty, the default value is used.
+	//
+	// Default: 60s
+	SyncTimeout time.Duration `mapstructure:"sync-timeout"`
+
+	// Other options should be empty
 	Other map[string]interface{} `mapstructure:",remain"`
 }
 
@@ -250,6 +257,7 @@ func DefaultBaseConfig() BaseConfig {
 		DBBackend:         "goleveldb",
 		DBPath:            "data",
 		DeadlockDetection: 0,
+		SyncTimeout:       60 * time.Second,
 	}
 }
 
diff --git a/config/config_test.go b/config/config_test.go
index 03c70fe81..a667aabd3 100644
--- a/config/config_test.go
+++ b/config/config_test.go
@@ -24,6 +24,8 @@ func TestDefaultConfig(t *testing.T) {
 
 	assert.Equal(t, "/foo/bar", cfg.GenesisFile())
 	assert.Equal(t, "/opt/data", cfg.DBDir())
+
+	assert.Equal(t, 60*time.Second, cfg.BaseConfig.SyncTimeout)
 }
 
 func TestConfigValidateBasic(t *testing.T) {
diff --git a/config/toml.go b/config/toml.go
index b6be127b2..a7183369c 100644
--- a/config/toml.go
+++ b/config/toml.go
@@ -137,6 +137,12 @@ filter-peers = {{ .BaseConfig.FilterPeers }}
 # Default: 0
 deadlock-detection = "{{ .BaseConfig.DeadlockDetection }}"
 
+# Timeout for the initial sync process, before switching to consensus.
+# If zero or empty, the default value is used.
+#
+# Default: 60s
+sync-timeout = "{{ .BaseConfig.SyncTimeout }}"
+
 #######################################################
 ###       ABCI App Connection Options               ###
 #######################################################
diff --git a/internal/blocksync/reactor.go b/internal/blocksync/reactor.go
index 822550f16..3c83fe665 100644
--- a/internal/blocksync/reactor.go
+++ b/internal/blocksync/reactor.go
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ const (
 	switchToConsensusIntervalSeconds = 1
 
 	// switch to consensus after this duration of inactivity
-	syncTimeout = 60 * time.Second
+	defaultSyncTimeout = 60 * time.Second
 )
 
 type consensusReactor interface {
@@ -62,6 +62,8 @@ type Reactor struct {
 	eventBus *eventbus.EventBus
 
 	syncStartTime time.Time
+	// syncTimeout defines how much time we will try to start sync before switching to consensus
+	syncTimeout time.Duration
 
 	nodeProTxHash types.ProTxHash
 
@@ -94,6 +96,7 @@ func NewReactor(
 		metrics:       metrics,
 		eventBus:      eventBus,
 		nodeProTxHash: nodeProTxHash,
+		syncTimeout:   defaultSyncTimeout,
 		executor: newBlockApplier(
 			blockExec,
 			store,
@@ -106,6 +109,12 @@ func NewReactor(
 	return r
 }
 
+func (r *Reactor) WithSyncTimeout(timeout time.Duration) *Reactor {
+	r.syncTimeout = timeout
+
+	return r
+}
+
 // OnStart starts separate go routines for each p2p Channel and listens for
 // envelopes on each. In addition, it also listens for peer updates and handles
 // messages on that p2p channel accordingly. The caller must be sure to execute
@@ -130,7 +139,10 @@ func (r *Reactor) OnStart(ctx context.Context) error {
 		startHeight = state.InitialHeight
 	}
 
-	r.synchronizer = NewSynchronizer(startHeight, r.p2pClient, r.executor, WithLogger(r.logger))
+	r.synchronizer = NewSynchronizer(startHeight, r.p2pClient, r.executor,
+		WithLogger(r.logger),
+		WithSyncTimeout(r.syncTimeout),
+	)
 	if r.blockSyncFlag.Load() {
 		if err := r.synchronizer.Start(ctx); err != nil {
 			return err
diff --git a/internal/blocksync/synchronizer.go b/internal/blocksync/synchronizer.go
index d4812731c..aed6670ad 100644
--- a/internal/blocksync/synchronizer.go
+++ b/internal/blocksync/synchronizer.go
@@ -70,6 +70,8 @@ type (
 		logger log.Logger
 
 		lastAdvance time.Time
+		// syncTimeout defines how much time we will try to sync; defaults to 60 seconds
+		syncTimeout time.Duration
 
 		mtx sync.RWMutex
 
@@ -112,6 +114,12 @@ func WithClock(clock clockwork.Clock) OptionFunc {
 	}
 }
 
+func WithSyncTimeout(timeout time.Duration) OptionFunc {
+	return func(v *Synchronizer) {
+		v.syncTimeout = timeout
+	}
+}
+
 // NewSynchronizer returns a new Synchronizer with the height equal to start
 func NewSynchronizer(start int64, client client.BlockClient, blockExec *blockApplier, opts ...OptionFunc) *Synchronizer {
 	peerStore := NewInMemPeerStore()
@@ -127,6 +135,7 @@ func NewSynchronizer(start int64, client client.BlockClient, blockExec *blockApp
 		height:         start,
 		workerPool:     workerpool.New(poolWorkerSize, workerpool.WithLogger(logger)),
 		pendingToApply: map[int64]BlockResponse{},
+		syncTimeout:    defaultSyncTimeout,
 	}
 	for _, opt := range opts {
 		opt(bp)
@@ -239,14 +248,14 @@ func (s *Synchronizer) WaitForSync(ctx context.Context) {
 				lastAdvance = s.LastAdvance()
 				isCaughtUp  = s.IsCaughtUp()
 			)
-			if isCaughtUp || time.Since(lastAdvance) > syncTimeout {
+			if isCaughtUp || time.Since(lastAdvance) > s.syncTimeout {
 				return
 			}
 			s.logger.Info(
 				"not caught up yet",
 				"height", height,
 				"max_peer_height", s.MaxPeerHeight(),
-				"timeout_in", syncTimeout-time.Since(lastAdvance),
+				"timeout_in", s.syncTimeout-time.Since(lastAdvance),
 			)
 		}
 	}
diff --git a/node/node.go b/node/node.go
index f69b7d196..83ef4c8ba 100644
--- a/node/node.go
+++ b/node/node.go
@@ -367,7 +367,7 @@ func makeNode(
 		blockSync && !stateSync,
 		nodeMetrics.consensus,
 		eventBus,
-	)
+	).WithSyncTimeout(cfg.SyncTimeout)
 	node.services = append(node.services, bcReactor)
 	node.rpcEnv.BlockSyncReactor = bcReactor