Igea and Cornago route
We can see fossil tracks over 120 million years old
We start our trip in Cervera del Río Alhama in the southern part of Logroño province. Two fossil track sites are found here, Las Navillas and Valdebrajes.
Continuing along regional road LR 123, we turn off at the exit for LR 283 towards Igea.
There are several dinosaur fossil sites extending over a wide area in the Igea area. The most interesting ones are La Cañada, Las Navas, Santa Ana, La Torre, and especially Era del Peladillo. It is also worthwhile to stop and view the remains of the enormous fossilized trunk of a coniferous tree at the Árbol de Igea site. However, we can see the most interesting site Igea has to offer without leaving town in the Era del Peladillo area, where fossil tracks of theropods and iguanodontids can be observed.
The La Cañada site is just two kilometers from Igea, where several trails can be seen. The nine theropod tracks are particularly noteworthy.
Still very close to the village of Igea, we can see the Santa Ana site, close to the chapel of the same name. The impressions that produced these fossilized tracks were not very deep, but we can tell they were made by ornithopods by the size and width of the toes.
After leaving Igea, we head northwest towards the town limits of La Torre to observe the site there. These tracks were made by theropod dinosaurs.
Cornago is just 10 kilometers from Igea on the LR 283 regional road.
The beautiful town of Cornago is home to great number of fossil sites. Los Cayos is the most striking, where we can see fossil tracks over 120 million years old in its hills.
A lane branches off on the road connecting Cornago and Igea, with signs two kilometers in advance. Taking it brings us to Barranco de Los Cayos, where we can view the trails left by dinosaurs in this part of La Rioja. These tracks were made by carnivorous dinosaurs, as well as turtles, birds and pterosaurs (flying reptiles). The replicas of dinosaurs enable us to understand a little better what these fabulous animals who inhabited the land of La Rioja were like.
Close to the bed of the Acrijos Zanzano ravine, we can view the Barranco de Acrijos site. The Cabezuelos site is close to the farmland that gave the site its name. The Chorrón del Saltadero is found in the ravine of the Muro de Aguas River and we can visit another rock surface of the same name in Valdenocerillo.
