Villar Del Río: Ichnites and Local Customs

Villar del Río lies at an altitude of 1,040 metres in a valley between the Cidacos and Rinaragra rivers and along the Dinosaur Route. The town is also the central starting point for the Ruta de las Icnitas. Palaeontological themes therefore shape part of a visit, while local festivals and customs offer another perspective on Villar del Río.

Ichnites and their sites

The Aula Paleontológica de Villar del Río is an exhibition and educational space that explains the importance of ichnite sites in the Tierras Altas de Soria district. Visitors can also get information there about where to see real ichnites. Its engaging learning activities cover dinosaurs as well as the animals and plants that lived alongside them. In this way, the Aula combines guidance on the sites with a broader introduction to the life that left the traces.

The Ruta de las Icnitas is divided into four routes. Along them, visitors can seek out ichnites made by dinosaurs, birds and flying reptiles. The different groups of tracks are thus all part of the route’s theme. The Aula provides information about the sites and routes to help visitors prepare; Villar del Río is their central starting point.

Fuentesalvo, La Dehesa and Serrantes

The Fuentesalvo dinosaur ichnite site is included in the BIC declaration as an archaeological zone for dinosaur ichnite sites in Castile and León. The declaration dates from 5 May 2005. At Fuentesalvo, 89 fossil footprints are distributed across 19 trackways and nine isolated prints. The tracks point to a group of at least eleven dinosaurs moving together. The figures describe the finds; the interpretation that they were moving together is a scientific reading of the tracks.

Another site is La Dehesa, located beneath the bridge over the Río Cidacos on the road to San Pedro Manrique. Footprints of a large carnivorous theropod are preserved there. Conditions in the riverbed can vary seasonally, so check its condition before your visit.

Serrantes also has particular scientific significance: it is the type locality of the avian ichnogenus and ichnospecies Archaeornithipus meijidei. Anyone interested in the scientific classification of fossil tracks will find another aspect of Villar del Río’s palaeontological theme here.

A mountain biking route in the municipality

The BTT Ruta de las Icnitas is a mountain biking route along roads and trails in the municipality of Villar del Río. It adds a cycling element to exploring the sites.

Festivals and local customs

Villar del Río’s festival in honour of Santa Filomena and San Juan takes place from 28 to 31 August. If you would like to plan your trip around the festival, confirm the specific programme for your travel year locally.

During Holy Week, after the night between Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday, young men attach a piece of cloth to the houses where an unmarried girl lives. This custom is called “la aleluyas”. In the local “rosco” custom, two or three people run hand in hand across the square while another person chases them with a poplar branch. Rosco and Zurracapote are then served to those present. The two customs differ both in timing and in how they unfold: “la aleluyas” is tied to Holy Week, while chasing across the square is part of the “rosco”.

Discover more destinations: La Cuesta, La Laguna, Cortos, Rejas de San Esteban, Almazán, Santa María De Las Hoyas, Aldehuela del Rincón, San Esteban De Gormaz

For the broader travel overview: Soria.