Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Central Asia yurt night stars
Uzbekistan • 15 days, 14 nights
Central Asia Road Trip: Backroads & Bazaars
from
A view of Brașov’s Old Town.
Romania • 12 days, 11 nights
Legends of Romania: Castles, Ruins & Culinary Delights
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
Side profile of the bomb prototype.
Petwood Hotel Bouncing Bomb
RAF Harrington
RAF Harrington
The Beaux-arts interior with Pool layout still visible.
Écomusée du fier monde
Village du Livre de Fontenoy-la-Joûte
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
Cacio e pepe lasagna combines two classics.
C'è pasta... E pasta!
Spaghetto taratatà is named for the sound of rattling sabers.
Giano Restaurant
The gnocchi here get blanketed in a sugo with braised oxtail.
Cesare al Pellegrino
Romans insist you should feel the cracked peppercorns and cheese grains on your tongue.
Flavio al Velavevodetto
Tripe is fried to a crisp.
L’Osteria della Trippa
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
Echo Park Time Travel Mart.
Atlas Obscura Presents: Traveling Back in Time for Coconut Cake With The Sporkful
about 8 hours ago
One of the PATH’s many entrances.
A Supposedly Boring Mall I Might Actually Visit Again
1 day ago
People paddling in their wooden canoes on one of the lakes near the Allagash Waterway in the north woods in Maine
The Allagash Abductions: This State Park’s Most Famous Visitors ... Are Aliens?
2 days ago
The rocky Revere Beach coast in Revere, Massachusetts, just outside Boston.
Which Places With Bad Raps Are Actually Worth Visiting?
3 days ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All Portugal Fátima Pegadas de Dinossáurios da Serra de Aire Natural Monument
AO Edited

Pegadas de Dinossáurios da Serra de Aire Natural Monument

The ancient sauropod tracks found in this former quarry are some of the largest in the world.

Fátima, Portugal

Added By
afonsoconefrey
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
A dinosaur sculpture at the site.   Vitor Oliveira / CC BY-SA 2.0
A dinosaur sculpture at the site.   Vitor Oliveira / CC BY-SA 2.0
Pegadas de Dinossáurios da Serra de Aire Natural Monument   afonsoconefrey / Atlas Obscura User
Pegadas de Dinossáurios da Serra de Aire Natural Monument   afonsoconefrey / Atlas Obscura User
Pegadas de Dinossáurios da Serra de Aire Natural Monument   afonsoconefrey / Atlas Obscura User
Pegadas de Dinossáurios da Serra de Aire Natural Monument   afonsoconefrey / Atlas Obscura User
Pegadas de Dinossáurios da Serra de Aire Natural Monument   afonsoconefrey / Atlas Obscura User
Pegadas de Dinossáurios da Serra de Aire Natural Monument   afonsoconefrey / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

In the north of Portugal's Serras de Aire e Candeeiros Natural Park is an amazing collection of dinosaur tracks, some of the longest in the world.

Before this site was a natural monument, it was a quarry. One day in July 1994, a young man discovered a set of footprints, then it was made a contract with the owner Rui Galinha. The site has been studied by scientists, and in 1997 it was turned into a natural monument.

The animals were walking on a great mudflat; you can clearly see the ripples in the rocks. Millions of years of geological interactions later, the footprints still remain in what is now the Serra de Aire mountain range. The footprints are around 175 million years old, and were created by sauropods, a type of dinosaur that lived during the Jurassic Period. Sauropods were large, powerful, quadrupeds with small heads, and long tails and necks. They were herbivores, feeding on massive amounts of tropical vegetation.

There are a number of footprint tracks preserved in the limestone, the longest of which measures 482 feet (147 meters) long, making this one of the places in the world with the longest dinosaur tracks. After walking a bit through the thicket and going down to the quarry itself, visitors can get a closer look. There is also an educational trail, where visitors can learn more about the history of the Earth by viewing informational panels. Large statues of sauropods were installed, so visitors can understand the scale of the creatures that once roamed the landscape.

Related Tags

Dinosaurs Prehistoric Natural History Fossils Animals

Know Before You Go

Around 120 kilometers and an hour and a half drive from the center of Lisbon.

Atlas Obscura Adventures

Portugal: A Culinary Adventure from Porto to Lisbon

Explore Portugal through food, from the cities to the seaside.

Book Now

Community Contributors

Added By

afonsoconefrey

Edited By

Osage, Michelle Cassidy

  • Osage
  • Michelle Cassidy

Published

April 28, 2021

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • portugal-em-pedra.blogspot.com/2018/04/pegadas-pedreira-do-galinha.html
  • pegadasdedinossaurios.org/html/mon_viatem_01.htm
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pegadas_de_Dinoss%C3%A1urios_da_Serra_de_Aire_Natural_Monument
Pegadas de Dinossáurios da Serra de Aire Natural Monument
Fátima, 2490-216
Portugal
39.572705, -8.588888
Visit Website

Nearby Places

Aldeia Artística (Artistic Village)

Barrenta, Portugal

miles away

Convento de Cristo

Tomar, Portugal

miles away

Museu dos Fosforos

Tomar, Portugal

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Portugal

Portugal

Europe

Places 166
Stories 11

Nearby Places

Aldeia Artística (Artistic Village)

Barrenta, Portugal

miles away

Convento de Cristo

Tomar, Portugal

miles away

Museu dos Fosforos

Tomar, Portugal

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Portugal

Portugal

Europe

Places 166
Stories 11

Related Places

  • Dinosaurs overlooking the valley.

    Cuenca, Spain

    Castilla-La Mancha Paleontological Museum

    This museum is known as the "Land of the Dinosaurs," but its full-scale dino models are just the start.

  • A statue of Hadrosaurus in downtown Haddonfield.

    Haddonfield, New Jersey

    Hadrosaurus Foulkii Leidy Site

    The first partially complete dinosaur skeleton was discovered here, forever changing the world's view of the ruling reptiles.

  • Human foot for scale

    Holyoke, Massachusetts

    Dinosaur Footprints of Holyoke

    A careful eye can find hundreds of dinosaur tracks running along the Connecticut River.

  • Dinosaur footprint at Valley of the Dinosaurs

    Sousa, Brazil

    Valley of the Dinosaurs

    One of the few places in the world where visitors can walk alongside fossilized tracks from 80 different dinosaur species.

  • Pachyrinosaurus

    Wembley, Alberta

    Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum

    Alberta's Pipestone Creek Bonebed is one of the densest fossil sites in the world. This nearby museum showcases some of the best finds from its "river of death."

  • Sebayashi Ripple Marks

    Kanna, Japan

    Sebayashi Ripple Marks

    Fifty-odd dinosaur footprints are preserved on this strip of mountain cliff along with ancient ripple marks.

  • Subeng River dinosaur footprints.

    Jonathans, Lesotho

    Subeng River Dinosaur Prints

    Take a step into the Cretaceous Period with these preserved dinosaur tracks.

  • Just as it came out of the ground

    Malta, Montana

    Great Plains Dinosaur Museum

    This small museum is home to some of the oldest and best-preserved dinosaur specimens found in Montana.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.