Praia Grande

45 km NWest of Lisbon, mid September.
The Grande Beach, ( Praia Grande ) deposit has multiple points of geological and palaeontological interest. The existing dinosaur footprints (theropods, sauropods and ornithopods) contribute with information about the dinosaur fauna from the early Cretaceous in Europe. These footprints are preserved in a nearly vertical layer, with about 125 million years, which bears witness to the passage of these animals when the Sintra mountain ridge still didn't exist. Here we can find a track composed by markings of hands and feet of a sauropod, as well as tridactyl footprints (three toes) of theropods and ornithopods. The Grande beach is a site declared with major geological - palaeontological relevance and other than its scientific significance, it has a potential educational value as well as cultural, aesthetic, ecological and tourist value.