Country
Fossil hunting in Uruguay
Uruguay's geopark in Flores department spans every major eon from the Proterozoic to the Cenozoic. Dinosaur eggs date its sandstones and fossil bee nests date their hardening, and the site has a thematic museum and specialist guides.
Grutas del Palacio became the first geopark in Uruguay and the second in South America. It joined the Global Geoparks Network in 2013 and took the UNESCO label in 2015. It covers 3,641 square kilometers about 200 kilometers north of Montevideo, and it is a founding member of the Latin American and Caribbean geopark network.
The cave that names the geopark has a roof about 70 centimeters thick. Dozens of ferruginous sandstone columns around 2 meters high hold it up. Water erosion shaped it.
Palaeontology here is mostly in the museum and the research record rather than in a face you can walk up to. Analysis of dinosaur eggs, bee nests and beetle traces dated the sands to about 70 million years, with hardening around 55 million years ago.
1 fossil site
Updated 12 September 2026
Frequently asked questions
- What fossils are found at Grutas del Palacio?
- Dinosaur eggs, fossil bee nests and beetle traces, which together dated the sandstones to about 70 million years old. Most of the material is in the thematic museum rather than on display in the field.
- Where is the Grutas del Palacio geopark?
- In Flores department in south-central Uruguay, about 200 kilometers north of Montevideo. It covers 3,641 square kilometers and has an interpretation center and a thematic museum.