Restaurant
Verdeña
Fossil Forest Trail
The Fossil Forest Trail is a 3 km circular walk with 120 m of climbing from Verdeña, near Cervera de Pisuerga, to a rock face printed with the remains of a forest that grew 300 million years ago. It takes about an hour and the regional tourist board recommends it for families.
- Easy
- Circular
- Suitable for children
The reward
A sandstone wall, seen from a fenced viewing platform, bearing the imprints of stumps and roots from a coastal forest fossilised more than 300 million years ago.
The walk
The walk starts at the car park on the edge of Verdeña, a village reached from the road that climbs to the Piedrasluengas pass. You cross a little square by an old washhouse, go down some steps and through a passageway, and leave the village between vegetable plots walled in stone. Shortly afterwards, on your right, a track heads off towards the fossil forest.
The path climbs into oak woodland and passes the Peña Celada viewpoint before reaching the rock face. The site came to light when an opencast coal mine was dug, and today you look at it from a platform with information panels. In the rock you can pick out star-shaped patterns: the marks of tree stumps cut off suddenly by a surge of seawater, alongside the remains of trunks. The regional government ranks it among the most important sites of its kind in Spain.
You then carry on to the La Pernía viewpoint, looking over that valley and San Salvador de Cantamuda, and after the pass you head back to Verdeña through trees and meadows. The park leaflet recommends it all year round. Verdeña is also home to the Casa del Oso, the bear centre.
Places to eat nearby
- Restaurant
Restaurante Peñalabra
Cervera de Pisuerga
- Restaurant
Places to stay nearby
- Holiday cottage
- Holiday cottage
- Holiday cottage
Sights nearby
- Romanesque church
San Salvador de Cantamuda Collegiate Church
San Salvador de Cantamuda
- Viewpoint
Piedrasluengas Viewpoint
Piedrasluengas
- Romanesque church
Santa Eulalia Chapel (Barrio de Santa María)
Barrio de Santa María
On the blog
- Blog
Frequently asked questions
What can you see on the Fossil Forest Trail at Verdeña?
The Fossil Forest Trail at Verdeña leads to a sandstone wall bearing the imprints of a coastal forest more than 300 million years old, uncovered when an opencast coal mine was dug. It also takes in three viewpoints: Peña Celada, the Fossil Forest platform and La Pernía.
Can you do the Fossil Forest Trail with a pushchair?
Not really. The Fossil Forest Trail mixes track and footpath, and the official park description has you going down steps and through a narrow passage as you leave Verdeña. A baby carrier is a better bet for small children.
Where does the Fossil Forest Trail start?
The Fossil Forest Trail starts and finishes at the car park beside the village of Verdeña, in the municipality of Cervera de Pisuerga. You reach it from the road up to the Piedrasluengas pass.
By Pablo Aguado ·