Monumento Natural das Pegadas de Dinossáurios da Serra de Aire

Models are fun, but these are the real thing. In the Middle Jurassic, about 175 million years ago, sauropods walked across a stretch of soft, muddy ground here. Sauropods were the long-necked, long-tailed plant-eaters, among the biggest animals ever to walk on land. The mud hardened, was buried under layers of sediment and turned to limestone, and quarrying much later brought the surface back into the open. (Sources differ a little on the age: Ourém council and Turismo Centro say 175 million years, Pumpkin’s guide 168 million.)

The site is on the eastern edge of the Serra de Aire, inside the Parque Natural das Serras de Aire e Candeeiros, near the village of Bairro in the Ourém council area. It’s about 10 km from Fátima, and in Portuguese it’s usually just called the Pegadas da Serra de Aire, or by the name of the old quarry, the Pedreira do Galinha.

On 2 July 1994, three men, Ricardo Matos da Silva, João Pedro Falcão and João Carvalho, spotted strange, regular hollows on the floor of the working quarry. They turned out to be footprints, repeated in clear lines of hands and feet. Quarrying stopped, the site was protected as a natural monument in 1996, and it opened to visitors in 1997.

It’s a good story to tell a child on the drive: an ordinary quarry floor, walked on by workers for years, hiding the tracks of giant dinosaurs.

There are about 20 trackways and more than 1,000 prints. One trackway runs for 147 metres, which Turismo Centro describes as the longest sauropod trackway known anywhere in the world; another runs for 142 metres. Ourém council’s tourism page describes these as among the oldest and best-preserved sauropod tracks known.

Seeing a line of footprints that long lets a child picture the animal walking, step after step, in a way a single bone rarely does. Footprints are a record of behaviour: how fast an animal moved, whether it walked alone or in company, and how its front and back feet landed. A family blogger quoted in Pumpkin’s guide was told that the ground was swampy when the tracks were made, which is why they held their shape. Earth movements have since tilted the whole slab, so today it slopes.

A Jurassic garden, added in 2002, grows living relatives of plant groups from the Mesozoic, the age of the dinosaurs. It helps answer the obvious question of what the sauropods were eating.

A visit starts indoors with a short film and a small exhibition, then follows a circular outdoor trail of about 2 km with information panels and viewpoints, out to the footprint slab and back. Allow about an hour for a self-guided visit.

Guided visits are in Portuguese and take about 90 minutes, with a guide walking you out to the footprints. According to Turismo Centro, they run by booking, or hourly on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays when there are at least 10 adults. Pumpkin’s guide gives start times of 10:00, 11:00, 14:00, 15:00 and 16:00, a minimum charge equivalent to six tickets, a maximum of 50 people, and recommends booking about 15 days ahead. For a homeschool group this is the better option; for a single family the self-guided visit works fine.

The monument doesn’t publish its prices online. Pumpkin’s guide lists self-guided entry at €4 for adults, €3.50 for ages 13 to 17 and €3 for ages 6 to 12, with guided visits at €3.50 to €6 and under-6s free. Phone to check before you go.

It opens Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 12:30 and 14:00 to 18:00, and stays open until 20:00 on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays from 21 March to 22 September. It’s closed on Mondays except in August and on public holidays, and on 1 January and 25 December. Note the lunch closure from 12:30 to 14:00.

The trail goes up and down, with steps and dirt sections, so leave the buggy in the car and bring a carrier for a toddler. There’s little shade and not much in the way of facilities, so bring water and snacks, and avoid the middle of a hot summer day, since the old quarry floor is exposed. The family blogger quoted by Pumpkin found parts of the site looking a little neglected, which is worth knowing so expectations are right.

The monument’s old website address now redirects to an unrelated gambling site, so don’t follow links to it from older guides. Phone the monument on 249 530 160, email dinossaurios@hotmail.com or ask the Ourém tourism office instead.

The Grutas de Mira de Aire show cave is in the same Serra de Aire hills, and the Grutas de Santo António are nearby too. Pair them for a day of rocks, fossils and life underground. Dinosaur fans who want to see what sauropods looked like can visit Dino Parque Lourinhã on the Silver Coast, and there are more tracks on the cliffs at Pedra da Mua near Cabo Espichel.

Are the dinosaur footprints near Fátima real?

Yes. They’re real sauropod footprints pressed into Jurassic mud that later turned to limestone, uncovered by quarrying and found in 1994.

How long does the visit take?

About an hour for the film, exhibition and 2 km trail on your own, or about 90 minutes on a guided visit.

Can you take a buggy?

Not really. The trail has climbs, steps and dirt paths. Bring a baby carrier instead.

Is it open on Mondays?

Only in August and on public holidays. It’s also closed for lunch between 12:30 and 14:00.

What age is it best for?

Children of about five and up who can walk 2 km get the most from it. Younger dinosaur fans will enjoy it from a carrier.