Préhi Daiza

The Lands of the Past - Dinosaur Zoo & Wildlife Park

A spectacular immersion into the prehistoric world

Welcome to Prehi Daiza, where time fades away to immerse you in a vanished world. A world where dinosaurs dominated the Earth, where immense creatures roamed the ground, and where the wild nature reigned unchallenged.

At Pairi Daiza, Europe’s most beautiful wildlife park, the Lands of the Past brings prehistoric creatures back to life alongside 7,500 living animals across 75 hectares. This is not just a dinosaur experience — it is a dinosaur zoo, where the world of extinct giants meets one of Europe’s greatest living animal collections.

Thanks to this unique exhibition, you will embark on a journey to discover the giants of the past and learn how they lived, evolved, and survived in environments that were both diverse and fascinating. From lush plains to icy poles, from dense forests to dry lands, each species knew how to adapt and thrive for millions of years.

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Whether you are passionate about paleontology, curious about nature, or looking for an unforgettable adventure, this exhibition opens the doors to a journey through time, bringing you closer to the secrets of the past.

Meet the creatures of the Lands of the Past

Over 60 prehistoric creatures brought to life across three distinct zones — from the open plains of the Cretaceous to the frozen polar regions and the Ice Age. Each creature tells a story spanning millions of years. Together, they form one of the most spectacular prehistoric journeys available anywhere in Europe — inside one of Europe’s most celebrated wildlife parks.

Before you begin, stop at the entrance to meet Vulcain — a real Apatosaurus skeleton, 150 million years old, with over 80% original bones. One of the most complete dinosaur skeletons ever displayed anywhere in the world.

The classics are all here, in life-size detail:

T. rex — the most famous predator in history, up to 12 metres long
Brachiosaurus — one of the largest animals ever to walk the Earth, with a neck reaching up to 9 metres high
Spinosaurus — larger than the T. rex, and now believed to have been semi-aquatic
Stegosaurus — the iconic plate-backed herbivore, moving in herds
Ankylosaurus — fully armoured, with a bone club for a tail
Velociraptor — smaller than the films suggest, and fully feathered
Parasaurolophus — the crested duck-billed dinosaur with a hollow, trumpet-like call
Carnotaurus — horned carnivore, built for speed
Compsognathus — one of the smallest dinosaurs ever discovered
Pelycosaurs — not dinosaurs at all, but ancient mammal ancestors who predate them by 30 million years
Pachycephalosaurus — recognised by its extraordinarily thick domed skull, used in head-to-head combat

Lesser-known but just as fascinating — dinosaurs that survived extreme cold, long winters, and polar darkness:

Pachyrhinosaurus — a horned dinosaur from the Arctic, star of the film Walking with Dinosaurs
Leaellynasaura — tiny, with enormous eyes adapted to hunt in the polar night
Timimus — an Australian ornithomimosaur, one of the very few polar theropods ever discovered
Edmontosaurus — a large duck-billed dinosaur that migrated seasonally between the Arctic and warmer regions
Wintonotitan — an Australian sauropod, one of the few cold-climate giants
Atlascopcosaurus — named after the company that funded the dig that discovered it
Nanuqsaurus — a polar cousin of T. rex, discovered only in 2006

The Ice Age, brought to life:

Woolly Mammoth — the icon of the Ice Age, up to 4 metres tall
Woolly Rhinoceros — heavily built, adapted to the frozen steppe
Short-faced bear (Arctodus simus) — the largest bear that ever lived, standing over 3 metres tall on its hind legs and built for speed rather than strength

Explore each world in detail by clicking on the links below.

Prehi Daiza

Vulcain, the giant of the Jurassic

Meet Vulcain, an Apatosaurus discovered in the United States and one of the most complete dinosaur skeletons ever displayed. With its 21-meter length, it stands as a testament to the grandeur of these creatures. Its story is marked by an impressive injury to its tail, showcasing the challenges of survival during the Jurassic period.

Vulcain

Prehi Daiza

Land of the Mammoths

After the age of the dinosaurs, our planet experienced an ice age where extraordinary creatures faced extreme conditions. Discover the woolly mammoths, prehistoric rhinoceroses, and other giants of the cold, perfectly adapted to a world covered in ice.

Land of the Mammoths

Prehi Daiza

Polar Zone

Contrary to popular belief, not all dinosaurs lived in a tropical climate. Some conquered the icy regions of the north and south, developing surprising adaptations such as an insulating down layer and large eyes to survive in the winter darkness.

Polar Zone

Prehi Daiza

Land of the Giants

The plains of the Cretaceous were populated by fascinating creatures, from giant herbivores to fearsome carnivores. These vast landscapes were the stage for a constant struggle for survival, where each species had to adapt in order to thrive.

Land of the Giants

Journey Through Five Prehistoric Eras

The Lands of the Past is not a single exhibit. It is a full trail through time, taking you from the ancient oceans of the Triassic to the frozen landscapes of the Ice Age — five distinct eras, each with its own atmosphere, its own giants, and its own chapter in the story of life on Earth.

The Triassic World (252–201 million years ago) — The dawn of the dinosaurs, emerging from Earth’s greatest mass extinction
The Jurassic Period (201–145 million years ago) — The age of the giants: Brachiosaurus, Stegosaurus and the fearsome Carnotaurus
The Cretaceous Era (145–66 million years ago) — The reign of T. rex, Ankylosaurus, Velociraptor, Spinosaurus and Parasaurolophus, ending in catastrophic extinction
The Age of Mammals (66–2.5 million years ago) — A new world rises: the Woolly rhinoceros, the Short-faced bear and the ancestors of today’s animals
The Ice Age (2.5 million–10,000 years ago) — Woolly Mammoths roaming the frozen tundra in a world on the brink of change

Beyond Dinosaurs — Real Fossils, Real History

Here is where Pairi Daiza sets itself apart from every other dinosaur zoo or wildlife park in Europe.

Alongside the life-size prehistoric creatures of the Lands of the Past, Pairi Daiza is home to an extraordinary collection of authentic geological treasures — real artefacts from the deep past, not reconstructions.

A 38-million-year-old petrified sequoia trunk — proof that forests of unimaginable scale once covered this Earth
Giant marine fossils from the Cretaceous period — the same era as the T. rex, preserved in extraordinary detail
Amethyst geodes from Uruguay, formed over 100 million years ago in ancient lava flows
Lapis lazuli, petrified wood, Shiva lingams, and mineral specimens from across the world — together telling the geological story of a planet 4.5 billion years in the making

No UK dinosaur park or wildlife attraction can offer this. At Pairi Daiza, the prehistoric past is not only recreated — it is genuinely present.

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The Lands of the Past - Dinosaur Zoo & Wildlife Park

A spectacular immersion into the prehistoric world