Nan

Germany \ Member since April 2014

#34 646 162 38

It's up to you how you want to spend your holiday, whether that's lazing on the beach at a Caribbean club hotel sipping Mai Tais. Or tending to the garden.

Standing on the shorelines of the Pacific Ocean at Rialto Beach.

While I do enjoy the occasional Mai Tai on the beach, I prefer to see new things and travel to faraway places. I've read my fair share of travel guides to find out where to go and what to see. And I was often disappointed.

While many guidebooks spend an entire chapter extolling the virtues of a particular destination (e.g. a capital city), World Heritage Sites are different. They're as objective as it gets, and often take you off the beaten track. For example, I have fond memories of my taxi ride through a Czech winter landscape to visit Holasovice, a site that only World Heritage connoisseurs would appreciate. More often than not, WHS are great places.

Initially, I concentrated on visiting as many WHS as possible, which gave me a good overview. However, since I've reached the magic 300 (almost 600 now), I've shifted my focus to visiting the really great sites: quality over quantity.

Ultimately, I recommend that you travel as you please. However, if you find yourself in a country (even if it's just for a beach holiday), take a look at the map of World Heritage Sites on this site to see if any are nearby. You may have to travel a little off the beaten track, but I assure you it will be worth it.

My most impressive sites (the usual):

  • Petra
  • Machu Picchu
  • Angkor

From the tentative sites I have seen I feel strongly for:

  • Okefenokee NP, USA - Riding canoe in the swamp with snakes and crocodiles.
  • Unjusa temple, South Korea (my title picture) - Korea's best temple.
  • Desert Castles in Uzbekistan.

Several aspiring sites in Sri Lanka also come to mind Bawa's modernism and the painted buddhist temples are something to behold.

Recent Visits
  • 24
    6
    Oct. 1, 2025
    China and Thailand: Archaeological Sites of the Ancient Shu State, Ayutthaya, Beijing Central Axis ...
  • 1
    0
    June 7, 2025
    Weekend in Warsaw: Warsaw
  • 6
    0
    June 1, 2025
    Brückentag in Baden-Württemberg: Abbey and Altenmünster of Lorsch, Great Spa Towns of Europe, Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt …
Completed Countries

About nan

Member since
April 2014
Country of Origin
Germany
Visits
Rank
#34
WHS
646
Tentative Sites
162
Website Participation
Reviews
326
Ratings

Ratings

World Heritage Sites
Tentative Sites
646 184
Locations
360
Zones
2
Reserved for members.

Reviews by nan

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Pools at Huanglong

Huanglong (Inscribed)

Following the flow at Huanglong

Our initial glimpses of Huanglong were, truth be told, a touch anticlimactic. We'd ascended via the cable car and found ourselves on the first viewing platform. Compared to the turquoise …

Turquoise Pools of Jiuzhaigou

Jiuzhaigou Valley (Inscribed)

Jiuzhaigou: A Turquoise Wonderland

Jiuzhaigou is a water-and-mountain wonderland, bursting with turquoise pools, breathtaking mountain vistas, and spectacular waterfalls. It's not without reason that it ranks as China's top Natural World Heritage Site and …

Beishan, Dazu

Dazu Rock Carvings (Inscribed)

Stone Stories at Dazu

On a day trip from Chengdu, we visited both Baodingshan and Beishan. We started our visit at Baodingshan. As it was our first full day in China, we still needed …

Museum exhibit at Camp Hialeah

Sites of the Busan Wartime Ca… (On tentative list)

Exploring Busan

When the Korean War started, the North Koreans quickly conquered the northern parts of South Korea. Seoul being very close to the border fell in 3 days (June 28, 1950, …

Suncheon Wetlands

Getbol, Korean Tidal Flats (Inscribed)

Wadden Sea Lover in Korea

As a Wadden Sea fan and a native of Schleswig-Holstein, I do have a soft spot for tidal mud flats. It was on my first visit to Korea more than …

Streets in Meknes Royal Town

Meknes (Inscribed)

Rainy Meknes

Meknes was the last of the four royal cities of Morocco we visited. Unfortunately, we had really bad luck on multiple levels. It turns out it does rain in Morocco …

The ruins of Altenmünster, the first monastery built in the area.

Abbey and Altenmünster of Lor… (Inscribed)

Ruins of Lorsch

Visiting Lorsch today, you might find it to be a rather quiet and uneventful town. However, it's fascinating to imagine that during Carolingian and medieval times, Lorsch was a bustling …

Berlin Modernism Housing Estates by Nan

Berlin Modernism Housing Esta… (Inscribed)

A decade to see it all

In 2012, while visiting Berlin for a job interview, I took the opportunity to visit three locations of the Modernism Housing Estates before my interview. The interview was at lunchtime, …

Seowon, Neo-Confucian Academies by Nan

Seowon, Neo-Confucian Academi… (Inscribed)

Seowon, Neo-Confucian Academies by Nan

If you play Civilization VI, you know what a Seowon is: the Korean variant of the blue Campus District. A Seowon generates a lot of science, is cheap to build, …

Baekje Historic Areas by Nan

Baekje Historic Areas (Inscribed)

Baekje Historic Areas by Nan

Being only able to visit one cluster of sites, we focused on Iksan and Wanggung-ri, following Philipp's recommendation. Both mark the final bout of the Baekje Kingdom around 600-700 CE, …

Gochang, Hwasun, and Ganghwa Dolmen by Nan

Gochang, Hwasun, and Ganghwa … (Inscribed)

Gochang, Hwasun, and Ganghwa Dolmen by Nan

A decade ago, on my last day in Seoul before flying home, I ventured to Ganghwa to tick the Dolmens. I waited near a metro station in Seoul, trying to …

Stone Buddhas and Pagodas at Hwasun Unjusa Temple  by Nan

Stone Buddhas and Pagodas at … (On tentative list)

Stone Buddhas and Pagodas at Hwasun Unjusa Temple by Nan

Every once in a while, a little-known, off-the-beaten-path site manages to outshine the already inscribed sites of a country. It's rare; most of the newly inscribed sites are below average …

Capital Fortifications of Hanyang by Nan

Capital Fortifications of Han… (Nominated)

Capital Fortifications of Hanyang by Nan

The first time I visited Korea in 2004, I recall that the beautiful Dongdaemun Gate stood at the centre of a large and unattractive roundabout with heavy traffic. Today, the …

Göbekli Tepe by Nan

Göbekli Tepe (Inscribed)

Göbekli Tepe by Nan

Göbekli Tepe, located on a hill east of Urfa, is considered one of the earliest sites of human worship and settlement. Excavations began in the 1960s and continue to this …

Ephesus by Nan

Ephesus (Inscribed)

Ephesus by Nan

In his review, Jay highlights the high quality of the Turkish tentative list, being surprised that Ephesos, one of the most iconic Greco-Roman archaeological sites, was only inscribed in 2015. …

Echmiatsin and Zvartnots by Nan

Echmiatsin and Zvartnots (Inscribed)

Echmiatsin and Zvartnots by Nan

In the summer of 2023, we visited Yerevan, Armenia, coming from Georgia. Yerevan, being the most westernized part of the country, served as our base for a few days to …

Paphos by Nan

Paphos (Inscribed)

Paphos by Nan

During our visit to Paphos, we focused on two key components, beginning with the tombs. Although these structures are referred to as “tombs for kings,” they actually served as burial …

Choirokoitia by Nan

Choirokoitia (Inscribed)

Choirokoitia by Nan

Choirokoitia, by virtue of being a Palaeolithic site, doesn’t draw hordes of visitors. Recent efforts by the Cypriots have enhanced the visitor experience with updated amenities like parking, toilets, signs, …

Painted Churches in the Troödos Region by Nan

Painted Churches in the Troöd… (Inscribed)

Painted Churches in the Troödos Region by Nan

In the Troödos region, you’ll find historic, medieval Painted Churches. Exploring these requires a car or multi-day hikes and luck to get the keys. We limited our exploration to Ayios …

Monastery of Geghard by Nan

Monastery of Geghard (Inscribed)

Monastery of Geghard by Nan

Our half-day excursion from Yerevan led us to Garni and the Geghard Monastery. Like most visitors, we began at the reconstructed Garni Temple, which offers panoramic views of the Azat …

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