Country
Fossil hunting in Spain
Spain holds Europe's richest early-hominin record at the Sierra de Atapuerca, plus internationally important Cretaceous dinosaur tracksites in Teruel and La Rioja, and the Cretaceous wetland Lagerstätte of Las Hoyas in Cuenca.
Fossil collection in Spain requires authorisation from the relevant autonomous community heritage authority; at protected sites like Atapuerca, collection is restricted to research teams. Visitors access marquee sites through guided in-situ tours.
Atapuerca is the must-visit for any paleo traveller — a guided tour walks visitors past the working excavation in the Trinchera del Ferrocarril where Homo antecessor was discovered. Pair with the Museum of Human Evolution in central Burgos.
Top picks: Atapuerca, Burgos (UNESCO early-hominin caves, guided in-situ tour of the Railway Trench excavation).
4 fossil sites
Updated 4 June 2026
Atapuerca Archaeological Site Fossil Guide
Castile and León, Spain
Hominin remains, Homo antecessor, Cave bears, Lithic tools
Galve Dinosaur Trail Fossil Hunting Guide
Teruel, Aragón, Spain
Sauropod trackways, Theropod footprints, Ornithopod footprints, Aragosaurus ischiaticus body fossils
Las Hoyas Lagerstätte Fossil Hunting Guide
Cuenca, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain
Concavenator corcovatus (carcharodontosaurid), Iberomesornis romerali (early bird), Spinolestes xenarthrosus (mammal), Pelecanimimus polyodon (ornithomimid)
Salas de los Infantes Dinosaur Sites Fossil Hunting Guide
Burgos, Castile and León, Spain
Demandasaurus darwini (sauropod), Europatitan eastwoodi, Iniestapodus burgensis (theropod track), Stegosaurid spines and plates