Archaeological Site of Atapuerca
Yacimientos de la Sierra de Atapuerca
A World Heritage Site where the earliest human remains in Western Europe were discovered. You can follow a guided tour into cross-sections of rock layers exposed by railway construction and see a million years of human history.
The site lies about 15 km east of Burgos. In the 19th century, railway construction cut through a valley and exposed several cave layers. The Trench of the Bones and the Gran Dolina yielded human fossils dating from about 1.2 million years ago to the present. The site was listed as a World Heritage Site in 2000. A guided tour is mandatory. You can take a bus from the Museum of Human Evolution, or drive to the reception center in Ibeas de Juarros. The nearby Experimental Archaeology Center offers hands-on experiences such as knapping stone tools and making fire. The excavation season is July, so it is advisable to book in advance.
Opening hours
Guided tours by reservation (times per official website)
Nearby sights
- Monastery of San Pedro de Cardeña
- Cartuja de Miraflores
- Monastery of San Juan
- Museum of Human Evolution
- Casa del Cordón
- Puente de San Pablo
- Equestrian Statue of El Cid
- Museum of Burgos