Blog WHS Visits

WHS #956: Cidade Velha

Cidade Velha is an easy, short excursion from Santiago’s (and Cabo Verde’s) capital Praia. A bay, a few cobbled streets, remains of Portuguese fortifications and churches – you know what it looks like even before you have seen it. I tried a different approach for my visit and went for a guided hike through the Ribeira Grande Valley. This way I also ticked one of the other activity boxes I had for Cabo Verde: “Do a hike in the countryside” (as the archipelago is known as a hiker's paradise).

When you look at the official map of Cidade Velha WHS, you’ll notice that not only the seaside town is included but also a much larger area inland. The boundaries of the core zone follow the canyon that was carved out by the river Ribeira Grande. This area is linked to a specific part of the site’s OUV: the “acclimatisation and dissemination of numerous plant species between the temperate and tropical zones”. The Portuguese colonists experimented with various crops here in the 16th and 17th centuries, starting unsuccessfully with cereals but later finding out that plants from Africa’s mainland (coconut) and Latin America (maize) did well.

We started our hike in the village of Calabaceira. From there, a marked trail leads down into the valley. The guided hike is labelled as “an easy and accessible path for every hiker” by the tour company, but the volcanic soil is rocky all the time and especially going down you have to stay concentrated so as not to slip. 

Already at the start, we saw a troop of Green monkeys (mammal migrants from West Africa); the guide said that they always run away to a higher spot on the cliffs when they see humans on the path – and that is what they did when we passed as well. The views here at the beginning of the trail are stunning as you look into the evergreen valley with a great variation of trees. This is in stark contrast to the rest of the island, which is pretty barren in the dry months of winter. There’s a natural spring here that provides water all year for irrigation.

Halfway down the ridge, we came across the first farms. Nowadays most farmers live in Praia and only come during the season to work the land (and return home in the evening). There’s a good variation in crops: two kinds of bananas, mangoes, papaya, tamarind, figs, and berries. The most popular plant however seems to be sugarcane, as it forms the main ingredient of the highly alcoholic drink grogue. 

In the valley, we followed the dry river bed (flat, but still a lot of stones!). Here we stopped at a single huge baobab, said to be over 400 years old. Cabo Verde’s baobabs are linked to the visit of Charles Darwin to the island in 1873: his first real “taste” of tropical vegetation, and the longevity of baobabs got him thinking about the age of the earth. The specimen he saw apparently is no longer there, but this one must have been mature at the time and quite a sight as well. Like Darwin, we also saw several Grey-headed kingfishers – it’s funny to encounter a species of this globally common bird family not near water, but behaving the same as always: sit still on a branch and wait until an insect crawls by.

After 4km of walking, which took us 2 hours, we arrived on the outskirts of the town of Cidade Velha. We found a simple distillery squeezing the juice out of the sugarcane to prepare it for being turned into grogue. Sugarcane stalks also comprise the traditional material for the roofs of houses, as can be seen in the old street Rua da Banana. 

Els - 16 February 2025

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Blog WH Travellers

Tours to WHS

My recent trip to all 10 WHS of Mauritania, Senegal and Gambia was a mix of 3 styles: a Group Tour for Mauritania, independent travel in North Senegal and a Private Tour for Gambia and East Senegal. I do not regret these choices. The downsides of organized travel were mitigated by not having to endure them for a long time. Let’s look at what Tours to WHS can bring you.

Pros and cons of tours

1.      Convenience versus lack of first-hand experience

Although I always first try to cover places individually, sometimes the infrastructure just isn’t there (or very complicated/expensive) to do it on your own. Desert trips like Mauritania and Chad require 4WD driving skills and travelling in a convoy. Manu NP requires a boat and camping in the jungle. Without a tour, you would not even get there. 

The downside is that when I don’t organize it all myself, I feel less prepared and the memories don’t stay with me as long.

2.      Local perspective versus cost of adding a guide

A good guide can be your key to unlocking the country, adding local perspective without the guide having to be a scholar on the Almohad Caliphate or Saloum Delta ecology.

But it is always a gamble whether they deliver on this. A minimum tour leader standard (good English, decent communication and organization skills – qualities you will only start to appreciate when they are absent) is usually aimed for, but most cannot go beyond that level. This is especially true in countries with few tourists, the only kind of countries you take a tour for anyway. Photo 1 shows our Mauritanian guide dancing - an activity both we and he could have done without.

Often you are better off hiring a driver with good language skills. 

3.      Seeing all points of interest versus missing the point

Tours often are all-day affairs, to keep you busy for 12 hours or so. They follow a set itinerary and often use minor, ‘filler’ attractions in the area to offer their guests a varied menu as they cater to an audience of different interests. 

When I travel individually, I make the WHS the center of the day. I spend there as much time as needed. Often I don’t go anywhere else on that day. But I’ve been on tours where I have sat all day waiting for a WHS visit to happen after a kitschy modern palace, a village visit and a belated lunch, reaching the WHS just in time before sunset (I am describing my Moenjodaro visit, during the Pakistan-tour-from-hell). 

So go for a private tour if you can afford it – this way you can make sure, both beforehand and on the day itself, that your interests are prioritized.

Best guided site tours

A special kind of tour is the ‘guided site visit’: sometimes obligatory (you have to join a group to shuffle with 30 others through a palace), but at other times a more in-depth visit of multiple hours up til a day with a knowledgeable guide in a private or small group setting. 

If I can find a good one of the latter, I am always prepared to pay for a tour to enhance my WH site visit. I scanned my reviews of visits to WHS for the ones I remember most fondly, and these came out best:

  • Xochimilco (private tour): a very relaxed day tour centered around the produce of the floating gardens (photo above), an essential part of the Mexico City WHS. We visited farmers, ate with them, looked at their produce in the field and at the market. A peek into a lifestyle I could never have organized myself.
  • Lake Baikal (private tour): a full day in Baikalsky Nature Reserve, taking in the views, hiking through a Siberian pine forest and observing the ringing of birds (not an activity I would have chosen myself considering my slight ornithophobia, but it was enlightening).
  • Matobo Hills (small group tour): seeing varied aspects of this hard-to-grasp site, including a wild chase of a baby rhino with the unforgettable Andy.
  • Both Brazilian Atlantic Forest sites, South East and Discovery Coast (private tour): exploring them in the company of passionate Brazilian guides (the best company overall you can have; the photo below was taken in Guarau) who were well-educated ecologists.

Other good bets are sites where there isn’t much to see above ground such as Fort Ancient (Hopewell), where I got a deep dive into the subject on a tour conducted by the Site Manager talking about the complex history of this specific site, or Vredefort Dome.

Do you have any memorable guided day tours to (T)WHS that improved the experience?

Els - 9 February 2025

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Elena Y 9 February 2025

I've never done a full tour, but I think the "Wawel: The Most Precious" guided tour in Wawel Castle was my key to enjoying the site. They have a very odd ticketing system where you can either choose single areas of the castle to go to or spend a premium for an all-access pass. The Most Precious tour was a nice in-between and though it's a highlights thing (still two-and-a-half hours!), I felt pretty satisfied that I had seen everything worth seeing.

Els Slots 9 February 2025

My guides in Brazil only spoke Brazilian Portuguese. But I studied really hard on Duolingo beforehand! Definitely worth it. I would be wary of an English-speaking guide in Brazil.

Kyle Magnuson 9 February 2025

My tour of the Ermitage (Hermitage), or Royal Hunting Lodge (Par Force Hunting Landscape) was memorable since it was only conducted in Danish. English tours were limited and not on my travel dates, so . . . My spouse was accommodating, but indeed her patience was tested as it was a long-ish tour.

Blog WH Travellers

TWHS Masters

I have added a new page in the Community Statistics section. It’s called ‘TWHS Masters’ and shows results based on Tentative Site visits as logged by our community members. I have written about TWHS before in the post “The Value of a TWHS”, where I argued that visiting TWHS is a waste of time with a success rate of 14% ever being promoted to WHS. But of course, you can visit them based on their own merits or use them to spice up your itinerary in a country.

Most TWHS visited

We start with the simple math of who has ‘ticked’ the highest number of TWHS. For this ranking it’s important to keep in mind that a considerable number of members have not logged their TWHS count: 5 from the Top 10 and 3 more from the Top 20.

Roman is the winner here. He clearly beat #2 with 80 sites. It’s the result of his long-term goal to revisit all countries one by one, covering all provinces and all WHS and TWHS as far as possible. 

Some do significantly better on TWHS than on WHS, which can be seen in the overall WHS ranking displayed after their name: Christoph is 9th on TWHS and 81st on WHS, while Tony0001 is 12th on TWHS and 95th on WHS. Asked for an explanation, Tony replied that he focuses on the highlights of the region he is about to visit first and does not do trips to only cover a single WHS. Christoph points out the European countries such as Romania, Malta and Cyprus which have much more TWHS than WHS, causing the disbalance when you continue (re)visiting places in Europe. Neither of them has a specific focus on TWHS though.

Some others do significantly worse regarding TWHS than WHS, notably I do! For me, it has been a strategic choice in the past years to put my time and money first towards WHS. Other factors are my relatively low country count and maybe being more conservative in ticking because I know more about the individual TWHS having updated their pages for years.

The photo below shows New York's Central Park - the most visited TWHS (331 out of 657 members have been there).

Most TWHS across countries

Thomas holds the #1 spot, having visited TWHS in 132 countries (versus WHS in 151). It shows the width of his travels and the role (T)WHS have played in it for a long time.

The names in this list are fairly similar to those in Visited WHS in Most Countries, except those who haven’t logged their TWHS visits. What does stand out is that, overall, people have visited TWHS in some 30 countries less than where they have visited WHS, although there are 181 "countries" with a Tentative List and only 168 with inscribed sites. 

So the pattern seems to be:

  1. visited country but not a WHS (the top-ranked all have visited 160 - 193 countries)
  2. visited country and at least 1 WHS (-40 countries)
  3. visited country and at least 1 TWHS (-30 countries)

I consider myself more of a specialist (WHS focus only), and the decline is less steep (137 visited countries, 133 with a WHS, 104 with a TWHS). I expect that Atila and Zoë will have similar, gradual patterns.

Ratio

The ratio ranking shows the number of TWHS visited divided by the number of WHS visited. These members come close to having visited as many TWHS as WHS. This can be due to a strong regional focus where not many WHS are available (I am thinking of North America), so they spend their weekends visiting TWHS whereas in Europe they'd visit WHS. 

Only members with over 100 WHS visited are included due to anomalies in the lower regions. It turned out for example that Schnitzel has visited 114 times more WHS than TWHS. He really can’t be bothered!

Combi 

We can also add the TWHS totals to the WHS totals, though that feels weird to me as this implies that they are worth the same (which portrays them as random 'things to tick' and strays too far from what WHS are all about). So I have included a ranking where WHS visits versus TWHS visits are weighed 3:1.

Rarely visited

Roman also stands out among the obscure TWHS, another result of his methodical approach. He has been to 166 out of the 801 TWHS that have been visited by 6 members or less. Recently he was the first to have been to the Cekeen Tumulus in Senegal, for example (Photo 3).

The number 2 has ‘only’ 62. Good scorers beyond the usual names here are Afshin Iranpour (a master of Iran's extensive Tentative List) and Christravelblog (he really did his best in the UAE and Djibouti).

Upcoming nominations

Here I present a similar prognosis to the 'armchair ticks' that may be expected in 2025, 2026 and 2027 combined. However, it also includes TWHS that are on the radar beyond 2027. 

I also checked whether a difference can be found among visits to recent TWHS (since 2010) versus older TWHS (which may have less chance of getting ever inscribed). But there is no real difference, if people visit TWHS they cover both old and new.

Are there any other data points you’d like to see about TWHS visits? Or do you have any additional observations looking at this stats page?

Els - 2 February 2025

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Can SARICA 9 February 2025

Very nice stats. I guess there is a positive correlation between TWHS count and being a Nomadmania member. Many NM regions just have one or more TWHS but not any WHS. It may worth checking how many of the top TWHS visitors have NM accounts. Another positive correlation is, for sure, living in high TWHS count countries such as Turkey.

Wojciech Fedoruk 3 February 2025

Solivagant - your count improved that much because you were earlier version of Roman, visiting so many sites that are difficult even now (some actually even more difficult). Chapeau bas to your travel achievements done without Internet, GPS or credit cards .
Els - can we also see the list of essential TWHS?

Wojciech Fedoruk 2 February 2025

A bunch of new nice stats! I would love to see similar ranking of top travellers to obscure WHS. Threshold should be a bit higher, like 25 maybe.

Jay T 2 February 2025

Good topic! I take a look at TWHS whenever I'm traveling to a new region to see if there are any worth visiting, but I don't always go out of my way to visit unless they are ones that might help me better understand a region, or if they are ones that may be inscribed in upcoming years.

One of the challenges with keeping up with TWHS is that the list is constantly in flux as countries add to or retire entries. I review the list periodically throughout the year, but not regularly, to see if there are new entries for sites I've visited in the past.

Kyle Magnuson 2 February 2025

I believe about 40-50% of my visits to TWHS will be inscribed some day. I will visit the occasional TWHS only out of convenience, but others that are clearly significant with potential OUV? I will make the effort.

Additionally, I have found visits before and after inscription to be rewarding, kind of an evolution of what world heritage status can offer regarding presentation, funds, and narrative. These 2 WHS particularly come to mind as I visited multiple components before and after inscription.

- Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty
- 20th Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright

Els Slots 2 February 2025

In reply to Solivagant's remarks about the high quality TWHS, I have added a ranking 'Essential' which lists the members by visits to all TWHS that have a 100% recommendation score (including Masai Mara, Carnac, Svalbard etc).

Meltwaterfalls 2 February 2025

I’m very disappointed in Schnitzel far too focused on the big sites only.
Pull your paw out mate

Solivagant 2 February 2025

In my case - "thank goodness" for those early TWHS visits (or, in many cases, even before they became TWHS)! In Jan 2019 I had visited 797 WHS......Now 854.
BUT across those 6 years, I have only visited 6 new WHS - so my count has "benefited" by 47 from TWHS! Many of these have been "world class". And there are another 40 potentially coming up it seems. I might even get to 900 if I live long enough!

We each have our own objectives and priorities when travelling. It may sound "pompous" but i prefer to use "Significance" in preference to "WHS count" if and when a clash occurs as to what should be "fitted in". We know of course that, for a range of reasons, many inscribed WHS are of far less "significance" for their values than some T List (or even non T List) sites. I have recently been discussing with Els whether she intends visiting the Mara in her upcoming Kenya trip. For reasons I fully understand (not contributing an immediate tick, cost, time etc) she has decided not to fit it in. Personally, IMO, the Mara trumps every other Kenyan WHS - even if it is not inscribed!

CugelVance 2 February 2025

Very interesting article 👍
I for my part try to visit every tentative site which is within m reach while abroad.Some ate worthy of a whs title(for example "Veliky Rostov in Russia) and some are a joke (sabka near Abu Dhabi). Nevertheless,most of them are interesting.

Blog Countries

Top Tips for Senegal and The Gambia

I just returned from 2 weeks in Senegal and The Gambia. The countries are fairly similar, logistically entwined and both are friendly and safe. I didn’t have high expectations, but I found enough to enjoy and the WHS of Djoudj, the Saloum Delta and the Bassari Country will appeal to anyone. Herewith are some tips for travelling to Senegambia as a WH Traveller.

Don't be put off by the scarce resources in English

There is frustrating little info in English available for an individual traveller to get around these countries. Recommended sources like the iOverlander app or the West-Africa Facebook group will only make you sad and I have deleted them already. The people active there seem only interested in road conditions and the peculiarities of border crossings, not in the countries themselves, and often display very questionable travel ethics. At least visiting the 8 WHS will give you a good overview of Senegal and The Gambia as they are nicely spread out and touch upon different topics.

No need to prebook

There is no need to book any transport or activities in advance (except for The Difficult Two, see below) – everything can be arranged on the spot by just asking around. The only issue is that the cost level of tours/transport will be the same as your accommodation – so as I choose upper-midbudget hotels (around 70 EUR), you will pay more for tours etc than at the budget places of course. 

Be satisfied with a short visit

One of the reasons that Senegambia did not appeal to me much is that there aren’t tons of things to see and do. It certainly lacks traditional sights, but it is worth it to visit a market (such as those at Farafenni or Serrekunda in The Gambia) or do a village walk with a guide or go fishing or any other activity close to the daily life of the local people. So rather make it a short visit (2 weeks max for both countries combined) than no visit at all. 

Choose a strategy for The Difficult Two

Niokolo Koba and Bassari Country lie in East Senegal, far from anywhere else. Whatever approach you use, it’s a long way there, it will be hot and dusty and amenities aren’t at the same level as in the North of Senegal. Options are:

  • Outsource the problem by letting a Gambian tour company organize the trip for you. This is the one I choose, see my itinerary for more info.
  • Contact the luxury NiokoLodge inside the park and arrange a stay, private transfers from/to Dakar and a 1 or 2-day tour to Bassari Country from there.
  • Self-drive from Dakar. The roads are good, and the traffic behaviour isn’t crazy (goats and donkeys may cross the road though), but you have to be prepared for numerous checkpoints (some will demand money if you’re a toubab) and the possibility of a breakdown of the car, so I’d advise being with 2 people at least. Also, driving inside the park is tough and needs high clearance (and a full fuel tank).
  • Public transport from Dakar. Cities in the East such as Tambacounda and Kedougou are easily reached by bus, but both WHS need additional private transport to reach & explore, and especially Niokolo Koba is expensive.

You need basic French for Senegal

At my hotels, they usually spoke some English and you will get from A to B. The main issue you’ll have without basic French will be enjoying the tours (and you will have many boat tours!), as the local guides anywhere in Senegal only can speak French (which already is the second or third language for them).

Els - 26 January 2025

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Clyde 31 January 2025

Thanks for the tips! Glad there are interesting sites too apart from great birdwatching.

Meltwaterfalls 29 January 2025

Jay T, The Gambia traditionally has been a UK winter sun destination.
So November - March you may be able to find some package deals with cheap flights to Banjul, they might even be cheap enough that you can foregoe some or all of the 7/14 nights in the hotel.

Jay T 27 January 2025

Thanks for the tips! Senegal and the Gambia both remain on my radar for a trip, and I appreciate the recommendations for how best to see some of the sites further afield.

Blog WHS Visits

WHS #951: Saloum Delta

Like the Omo Valley, people visit the Saloum Delta mostly for A (birding) while it is inscribed for B (the tradition of shellfish gathering and the historical shell mounds). Fortunately, unlike Omo, Saloum is well-documented, with clear maps. The place to start your boat journey is the laidback town of Toubakouta, which lies conveniently close to the Gambian border if you have plans for an onward journey. The town can also be reached from Dakar or even Saint-Louis within a day.

My B&B offered a ‘menu’ of no less than 24 tours and other activities, but my eyes already stopped at #2: a late afternoon boat trip to L’île aux coquillages. So at 4.30 pm, boat guy Ibu and I stepped into the large wooden, motored pirogue and went out. The waters of the Saloum River tributaries are calm (though the Delta is tidal). It is a good area for fishing: one of the other guests had caught two large barracudas the other day, which we had for a delicious dinner in the evening!  

Close to the town, you can see wooden racks standing in the water. These hold nets for the artificial production of oysters. But the oysters also grow naturally on the roots of the mangroves, which are the predominant type of vegetation along the river banks. We saw several women collecting these molluscs during low tide. The mangroves also provide honey, which is sold by the locals to tourists.

After a short interlude at a particularly dense mangrove forest, where we surprised a marsh mongoose, we finally approached the Shellfish Mound Island of Dioron Boumak. It has an eroded shellfish beach where you can anchor, which we did, and then we stepped on land. The beach is fully comprised of heaps of tiny, empty cockles. But that’s not all: the top of the island lies at 12m, all consisting of layers of shellfish. There is a path that takes you uphill and across the island, with some steep climbs.

These shell mounds were long believed to be natural, but they were accumulated by ancient shell gatherers possibly to create some additional dry land in an area that is prone to flooding. Dioron Boumak is now thought to be at least 1500 years old and is one of the largest and best preserved archaeological shell middens of the Saloum Delta. It has several large and old baobabs on top, a symbol of its age. It has funerary mounds as well, although these are not marked. The guide pointed out the holy status of one of the oldest baobabs on top of the hill. Some findings from the island, such as a shell necklace, can be seen at the History Museum of Gorée.

I found it a very atmospheric and interesting site to visit; seeing this kind of lifestyle centered around molluscs is rare. So don’t go to any of the B-locations in this WHS where you’ll only place your foot in the core zone and see some mangroves. This shell mound boat tour is quite popular: when we were there, there were 4 other boats (including one with 20 Polish tourists and their entourage, all in the same-sized boat as me on my own) but my boat guide said that sometimes there are even 15 boats at the same time. They all follow the same route, so mangroves – shellfish mound and then ending at sunset at a particular patch of mangrove forest where loads of birds fly in to sleep at night.

Els - 19 January 2025

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Solivagant 19 January 2025

It certainly seems to be a "tough ask" to add Natural criteria to an existing Cultural inscription. Our Connection for sites becoming "mixed" only has 1 (Calakmul) which has gone from Cultural to Mixed .... all the others have gone the other way by adding the Cultural aspect. Inherently that seems likely to be easier as the extra criteria will be prsent within existing boundaries which is less likely for a cultural site which thus requires significant redefinition..
Given the hard line rejection from IUCN it seems strange that the WHC went to all the bother of a vote to try to keep the possibility alive ...but it certainly leaves a Cultural site with illogical boundaries not relelvant to its OUV.
I have had a very quick look to see if there are any other existing Cultural sites which might hope one day to become "Mixed" based on the T List - have olny found Þingvellir

Els Slots 19 January 2025

I think they are OK with what it is. No one on the grounds knows that it is not inscribed for nat crit. It also is a ramsar wetland already

Liam 19 January 2025

Did you see any evidence that the Natural criteria, Referred back in 2011, are being progressed by Senegal? Or are they pretty much content to have any Inscription, even if the Core Zone is much wider than it probably should be for Cultural purposes?

Blog WHS Visits

WHS #946: Banc d'Arguin

Mauritania’s Banc d’Arguin NP is rarely visited and has only been reviewed once, about 18 years ago. However, this is the number one place for waterfowl and migratory waders among the several "bird WHS" along the West African Coast. It is “better” than Djoudj and the Saloum Delta, and only the 2025 nomination Bijagos Archipelago in Guinea-Bissau comes close but still has only 50% of its numbers. We spent a full day and a night in its core zone, stretching 170km along the Atlantic Coast.

The Banc d’Arguin is so rich because it lies next to an ocean upwelling that produces nutrient-rich cooler waters. This sets a whole food chain of phytoplankton-filter feeders-fish-birds-marine mammals in motion. 

We approached it from the South, driving for 2.5 hours from the capital Nouakchott. This is mostly a good paved road, where our drivers even clocked 130km/h. The surrounding landscape is rather featureless, though you will see some dromedaries roaming around. We made a first stop at Mamghar, one of the seven fishing villages inside the park. The smell of fish is predominant here: the people leave their gutted fish drying out on the fences of the corrals for the goats.

On the outskirts of town, you can walk onto the seabank and observe bird colonies that have found their nesting or resting spot right there. We saw two sandbanks right offshore fully covered by a variety of bird species, including larger ones such as pelicans. A bit more inland, there are lakes surrounded by green bushes (a rare sight here in the desert) and there even is a bird hide. It was a fine short visit, but when you’re a serious birder, you really need to allocate more time to this park – you can go on full-day boat trips to sand banks further away. 

After an hour we drove North, taking the great beach road and sometimes diverting a bit into the dunes. It’s very windy along the coast and the weather has created shell middens and finely carved sand dunes.

We overnighted in a permanent camp near Iwik, which is run by a local cooperative. The living conditions in this fishing village built out of shipping containers and wooden sheds look very tough, as it gets very hot out here and there are hardly any amenities. We could admire the works of the fishermen though, preparing their tall wooden sailing ships for another morning at sea. 

The next day we drove another 1.5 hours North through the park. In this area, you can clearly see the offshore sandbanks – they look a bit like icebergs floating by in the ocean (see photo 3, the white bit in the distance); to me, it’s the most characteristic image of this WHS. 

We also visited Cap Blanc, about 4 hours from Iwik, which is labelled in the official documentation and at its visitor centre as a ‘satellite site’ to Banc d’Arguin NP, but has been excluded from the final inscription on the instigation of IUCN because of border issues. It comprises the Mauritanian part of the peninsula that protrudes into the ocean from the city of Nouadhibou. You need to pass through the very busy port area, where the infamous Iron Ore Train arrives. Just on the tip, there’s a nature reserve, not much more than a small but pretty beach. Its pride was the colony of rare monk seals, but they all - except for 1 or 2 that still come by occasionally - have migrated to the Western Saharan side of the peninsula as it is much quieter over there. 

Els - 12 January 2025

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Astraftis 13 January 2025

It all looks very dreamy there.

Danny B 12 January 2025

Thanks Els for your very indepth review - The bucket list keeps getting longer.

Blog WH Travellers

The Quest for 1,100 visited WHS - Year 3

2024 was my third year of full-time travel (read here about Day 0, Year 1 and Year 2). It was a busy year with mainly visits to large countries that I had been to before (China, India, Japan, Argentina, Chile). I managed to ‘complete’ the latter 3. 

There were memorable trips to Sangha Trinational in the Central African Republic (photo 1 is at Dzanga Bai), Patagonia (photo 3 is at Torres del Paine) and Japan’s Ogasawara Islands (photo 2 shows the fruit of the endemic pandan tree). I was also very pleased with spotting a Saiga in Saryarka.

You can find my updated Trip Planner here, including the actual ‘results’ of 2024. With an added total of 61 (54 new + 7 from the WHC), I am still right on track.

The focus now is on reaching 1,000

Reaching 1,000 has become a subgoal as it is such a nice, round number! If all goes to plan, this will happen in late November or early December 2025.

Factors that come into play are:

  • Although I somewhat started to dislike them in 2024 (as there invariably are a couple of poor WHS in each cluster), I still need those clusters of 10+ WHS to maintain the necessary speed. I have 3 of those trips planned for 2025: to West Africa, the Middle East and Asia/Pacific.
  • My low number of European WHS still to visit (excluding Russia, Turkey and Israel) makes getting the numbers up more difficult and more costly. I have only 12 left (7 already a WHS + 5 2025 nominations), including St. Kilda, Odesa and Chernivtsi which are unsure to reach at best.
  • The harvest from the WHC 2025 – I have been quite lucky over the past years and 2026 with 15 is also looking good, but 2025 is a poor batch for me. I have been to 8 of the nominations, but even 2 of those are questionable: I probably haven’t visited the right location for the Huichol Route and the nomination of the Olive Grove Landscapes of Andalusia is likely to be withdrawn due to lack of local support.

Targeting #1,000

Also, I am encountering a First World problem within this already privileged context: exactly hitting the right one, the extra-special one at #1,000! This is a puzzle because:

  • You can never be sure to actually reach every WHS you plan because of sudden closures, transport strikes, etc. Fortunately, my track record is that I have reached every WHS I planned for over the last couple of years.
  • You also cannot predict the exact number of armchair ticks you will get from a WHC – every year there are surprises, sites withdrawn at the last moment etc. Uncertain also this year is whether Bulgaria will get its present for hosting the session, as they haven’t nominated anything (but if they get one, I will likely have been there). The picture becomes clearer only 6 weeks before the session, in late May when I have done already most of my travelling for 2025. So I keep 3 European WHS up my sleeve to compensate in September/October.
  • Even in the final approach, the last 10 or so, one can fall out due to unforeseen circumstances. I therefore actually have 2 potential candidates for #1000, not too far from each other. The second one is earmarked #1001 now, but can easily serve as #1000 as well if needed.

And after 1,000?

I will surely slow down a bit. Not so much measured in time spent travelling, but I want to focus more on natural WHS and on one country or region at a time. My itineraries need to become less logistically complicated, that was the main lesson learned from 2024 (That Miami-to-Patagonia trip! What was I thinking?). Still, 1100 WHS in 2028 seems doable. 

Els - 5 January 2025

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Chris W 8 January 2025

Nice goals!!! Curious what 1000 will be !

Carlo Sarion 8 January 2025

Y'all make me so inspired to visit more UNESCO sites!

Astraftis 6 January 2025

Ah, I was forgetting: among your yearly batch, can you choose a best, a worst, and a surprise one?

Astraftis 6 January 2025

Great to hear about progress of the Quest! And all the best for its continuation!

In my small way, I very much empathise with the "logistic decluttering" :-D

Can SARICA 5 January 2025

Congrats Els for the progress!

Jay T 5 January 2025

Quite a productive year! So with #1000 coming, are you taking guesses for which site it would be? 😉

Blog WHS website

2024 - A Year in Review(s)

It’s the year's final week – time to squeeze in another yearly overview of the reviews submitted to this website. 2024 was a rather dull year at the WHC, with 24 new sites inscribed at a poor average rating of 2.79/5. Thanks to Astraftis we had a last-minute meetup in Brussels. For Nan and myself, it was also the year that we were forced to move the website to a different hosting provider – which proved to be a blessing in the end as the performance of the website has much improved.

Community Travel

Overall, there has been a steady increase at the ‘top’ without any new kids on the block. Atila has joined Zoë in the over-1,000 club. We now have 4 members with more than 900 visited WHS, 5 more with over 800 WHS, and 11 more with over 700 WHS. And 39 members in total have seen over 50% of the WHS!

Memorable Reviews

We saw 581 new reviews published, 71 more than last year but still a far cry from pre-Covid levels such as 891 in 2019. 94 different people wrote them, also significantly more than last year; there were many novice reviewers this year. I (Els) wrote the most (60) but not as many as last year, followed by Zoë (33), CugelVance (28) and Clyde (27).

WHS

Only 18 WHS are unreviewed now. We saw the first reviews for Sangha Trinational (Els), Odzala-Kokoua and 'Uruq Bani Ma'arid (both Randi), Noel Kempff Mercado, Badain Jaran, Hawraman/Uramanat (all Zoë), and the Minaret of Jam (Wojciech). Plus those of the newly inscribed WHS Bale Mountains, Gedi, and Pleistocene Occupation Sites of South Africa. 

Other recommended reviews to re-read include Bernard cycling along the Wadden Sea, much-needed updates by Mihaela reporting on Altyn Emel, Joel on Yin Xu, Thomas on Aasivissuit - Nipisat, Els on Iriomote and Ogasawara, Zoë on Nanda Devi, Timonator on Vat Phou, Can on Pimachiowin Aki, Patrik on Talamanca, DannyB on Purnululu, Hubert on the Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin, Clyde on El Vizcaino, Wojciech on the Lower Valley of the Awash and Jacob on Haiti’s National History Park (posted in the last days of 2023 but published early January 2024). I was also happy to see the reviews by Triath of visits to Syrian WHS such as Palmyra, presenting the first impression after the Syrian Civil War. Let’s hope Syria becomes safe and stable next year so we can visit again in a new era.

TWHS

There are 754 TWHS left to review! For 2025, making a dent in those would be great – try visiting and reviewing one of those, instead of the commonly visited European WHS. You can find the todos here (with a 0 in the column Reviews).

70 TWHS got a first review in this year, including Varanasi (Bernard), the Waldsiedlung Zehlendorf (CugelVance), the enigmatic Prehistoric Stone Structures in Saudi Arabia (Philipp), a flurry of TWHS from Afghanistan such as Band-E-Amir (Wojciech), the upcoming Vietnamese nomination Oc Eo (Frederik), the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation and Seaflower Marine Protected Area (both by Frédéric), the Stuttgart Television Tower (Hubert), Gemer and Abov churches (Jarek), Kazakh Rocky Mosques (Ana), Fell and Pali Aike Caves (Els), Flinders Ranges (Shandos), Churches of the Altiplano (Clyde), and Dirre Sheik Hussein (again by Wojciech).

Awards

As always, we have awards to hand out to the "best" reviews: 

The Tsunami Award for Travel Misadventure goes on the shelf this year as there weren’t true misadventure stories shared. But an honorable mention goes to Frederik, whom we mostly know for pointing out the finer details of Southeast Asian cultural sites: he got stuck in a cable car at Yen Tu. 

The WH Explorer Award recognizes reviews of (parts) of WHS, where a new access route has been explored successfully, resulting in reviews that show determination and reflect on both the choices made during preparation and the journey itself.

In terms of remoteness, it’s a toss between Central Africa (Randi: Odzala, Els: Sangha) and Afghanistan (Wojciech: Minaret of Jam). 

  • All 3 found, due to clever networking and keeping on top of offerings, rather exclusive group tours that suited their needs without breaking the bank.
  • Randi had to be driven 14h from Brazzaville to reach the site, Wojciech 13h from Herat and Els did 25h across 3 days from Yaounde.
  • Where I could then relax at the fairly comfortable Sangha Lodge, Randi and her partner Svein had to deal with a large rodent and a snake in the bathroom of their more basic lodgings and Wojciech slept in a tent.

What tips the balance though: Randi and Svein weren’t only the first to review the WHS, they were the first two community members to visit Odzala-Kokoua overall! To show how unique this is: there are now only 2 sites left out of the 1223 (Tell Umm Amer and Salonga) that have no visitors and no reviews.

Finally, the Best Review of the Year Award can only go to one: the Civil Rights Movement Sites by Solivagant. It wonderfully describes a visit when the OUV was created!

10 of the notable reviews from 2024 will be rerun on the homepage in the coming week. Are there any memorable reviews from 2024 that you’d like to put into the spotlight again?

Els - 29 December 2024

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Jay T 1 January 2025

Thanks for highlighting these reviews, Els! I was please to see Solivagant's fantastic review of his visit to the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington featured again.

Hope everyone has a fantastic 2025 filled with lots of great adventures and visits to sites!

Zoë Sheng 1 January 2025

Happy New Year everyone!

Blog WH Travellers

Drive-by Visits

When I was in Kaziranga NP last month, I noticed that the authorities were constructing viewpoints along the main road that runs south of the park’s borders. From those, you can look into the core zone which starts maybe 50m beyond. During the season, you’ll certainly see rhinos grazing there and you’ll have the wide-open views of the landscape that is typical of the western part of the park. It may even be interesting to visit during the wet season to see where the animals take shelter (preventing the road isn’t closed due to flooding), as the effects of the water level fluctuations are a significant part of Kaziranga’s OUV. This insight prompted me to have a look at the value of Drive-by visits.

The ”problem” with Drive-by visits

The main issue with Drive-bys is that you generally do not enter the core zone of a WHS. I am not obsessed with this as seeing the OUV always trumps it for me. We have WHS that are fully closed and then we all ‘tick’ seeing the OUV from the buffer zone or as close as you can get.

Another issue is that while ‘driving by’ (well, I assume you make at least a roadside stop of half an hour or so), you spend relatively little time at the WHS. Kaziranga is a WHS with a high, 4* average rating. You do yourself a disservice by just watching it from the outside for half and hour, there’s so much more inside. Why do you travel at all if you speed by sites like this?

And: most WHS are not suited for Drive-bys as you won't see the OUV from the roadside. Looking at the other 14 WHS that I visited during my last India trip, for example, it wouldn’t work at:

  • Konark Sun Temple, Ramappa Temple, Keshava Hoysala Temple: you can see the building but not the carvings that comprise the OUV. 
  • Rani-ki Vav cannot be seen at all because it lies underground, as are the Elephanta Caves which lie around the corner from the entrance.
  • For Nalanda and the Moidams you may see a brick wall or a hump from a distance, but you get no idea of the extent or the layout of the site. Similar for Manas NP, where the park fringes are severely degraded.
  • Sundarbans: you will at least have to take a boat tour to get any feel for the site, the islands in the Delta aren’t accessible by car.
  • Mahabodhi Temple: you will encounter throngs of pilgrims in the streets and see the tip of the main tower, but it just makes no sense to not go inside the complex.

However, it could be an option at:

  • Ahmadabad and Santiniketan (photo 2): here a drive-thru may be appropriate, best with a rickshaw stopping for photos here and there.
  • Champaner-Pavagadh: you can see the typical mosque architecture of Champaner from behind the fence and since a (too) wide area has been inscribed you will even be in the core zone.
  • The Western Ghats: after having had both outside and inside views myself, I am not sure whether getting into one of the 39 designated reserves changes the outlook on the Western Ghats in general. Probably the time spent in preparation and inside the park tips the balance in favour of getting inside (you acquire more detailed knowledge instead of: mountain range that acts as a barrier? Tick.).

Where drive-bys even maybe "better"

Landscape features such as Mountains, Forests, Deserts, and Lakes with generic OUVs like “highest mountain of Africa” or “largest freshwater lake in the world” are particularly tempting for Drive-by Visits. How else could you get a sense of scale?

Mount Kilimanjaro was only inscribed on the "superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty" criterion (vii). Its OUV of "with its snow-capped peak and glaciers, it is the highest mountain in Africa" almost begs to be viewed from a distance (photo 3). 

Another example is Mount Kenya (with a broader, more specific OUV of glaciers, effects of glaciation + afro-alpine flora); 65 people have ticked this WHS but we have only 1, superficial review. I suspect most people had far-away views only! But: you can enter the park fairly easily. And can the effect of glaciation be seen well enough while driving on a road 50km away? I'd like to hear from someone who counted this via a drive-by visit.

St. Lucia’s Pitons Management Area even has views from afar as part of its OUV: “The Pitons predominate over the Saint Lucian landscape, being visible from virtually every part of the island and providing a distinctive landmark for seafarers.” Similar are the WHS in the connection ‘Visual effects of Cloud, Fog and Mist’, such as the Teide volcano and the Great Smoky Mountains. 

Drive-bys out of necessity

I assume everyone aims for the best possible visit and drive-bys aren’t your first choice, but the reality of travel is that we can’t have good visits all of the time. Special circumstances such as the following can force you into a drive-by:

  • longstanding site closure for renovations etc.
  • acts of nature preventing you to enter 
  • too high entrance fees for your budget 
  • visited early when the site was touristically undeveloped or maps were not present 
  • or even something trivial like running out of time during a full travel day

Did you have any satisfying drive-by visits or even those where the experience was better than getting inside?

Els - 22 December 2024

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Astraftis 23 December 2024

I would also say that a drive-by visit is often "highly enhancing", but as the main choice it is rather poor.

My usual scheme is to use it after the main visit of a site to hunt for smaller coponents: it was the case in Maulbronn (the ponds by themselves are not so OUVy), hunting grounds in Denmark, for some pile dwelling sites (for which, given they are otherwise inaccessible, I was content to pass near the spot while appreciating the surrounding)...

It might be a subcategory, but I would like to add the "taxi-by" visit. And... I was going to recount my hectic taxi-by visit of the Mani peninsula in Greece, but I noticed (strangely enough?) that it is not a WHS, nor a T, nor a FT! Then, I can remember a moped-by visit of Pyi in Burma, but that was more of renting the transport for the whole day and perplexing the driver by asking to go to each and every corner of the archaeological site. But in the end he seemed to like it, as he proposed some "bonus stupas" on the way back to town!

But in general, if I can only drive through/close to a city or national park I do not count it.

Liam 22 December 2024

@Solivagant - thanks! I knew I'd seen a better version somewhere was still wondering whether crossing over an inlet at Tankhoi (where the plaque seems to have been spotted!) counted. Actually I was in the core zone for hours and did, indeed, see a big old expanse of grey water. I'm still not convinced I experienced OUV - but let's face it, chances of a revisit are extremely slim.

Clyde 22 December 2024

Interesting. I agree that the amount of time spent is important for the drive/sail by/flight/train ride as well as the amount of preparation before and sometimes luck too (with wildlife). Semmering and Rhaetian railways come to mind ... for both I didn't take a train ride but I hiked or drove to specifically see the inscribed infrastructure and take in the views (which I would have missed or only got for a couple of seconds on the train itself). Belize Reef and Great Barrier Reef flights were great add-on/splurges/cherries on the cake together with diving/snorkeling. Sagarmatha flight I'm very happy for the OUV and a short hiking trip wouldn't have added much. I'd love to go camping there for the wildlife but less for the climbing. Donana NP and Fraser Island could almost be better as drive-bys for the wildlife and with enough patience and a beanie-bag for birdwatching.

Solivagant 22 December 2024

@Liam - "The maps on the UNESCO webpage are so bad that I'm not *entirely* sure whether the rail line between Irkutsk and Ulan-Ude runs through the core zone (Solivigant - work your magic!)"
Yes the offical maps are bad and yes the Ulan Ude-Irkutsk railway line does in part run through the core zone. The best source is the Dec 2023 "Reactive Monitoring Mission Report". Map 1 on page 14 whose text clearly states "The central ecological zone corresponding with the boundaries of the World Heritage property is delimited by the red line." See - https://whc.unesco.org/document/207572

Liam 22 December 2024

I would argue that a 'fly-by' is realistically the best way of visiting a site like Nazca in Peru. I couldn't even tell you whether I stepped foot into the core zone - but I certainly got a better (if rather dizzying) view from on high.

The only WHS tick of mine I would class in this category is a 'train-by' of Lake Baikal. The maps on the UNESCO webpage are so bad that I'm not *entirely* sure whether the rail line between Irkutsk and Ulan-Ude runs through the core zone (Solivigant - work your magic!); but this was a journey prior to me knowing about World Heritage Sites and I know that realistically I'll never be back in the vicinity.

Els Slots 22 December 2024

Oh, I like that dialogue with Gemini! @Solivagant

It also confirms my feeling that the main issue of drive-bys is the (low) amount of time spent on the WHS: "A brief stop at a site might not provide a comprehensive understanding." You don't see different aspects of the site and also (in my case at least) spend less time reading up beforehand (because you don't need all those details).

I also agree with @Luboang that drive-bys must be regarded as complementary "or even highly enhancing" to a regular visit inside.

Solivagant 22 December 2024

Just as Michael Ayers has "bike bys" there are also "sail bys" ,,,,,indeed this is likely to be a relatively common possibility when visiting islands, many of which are closed or likely to be difficult to visit on any vparticular day because of weather. The official boundaries of some Island WHS include the "sea" for a few kms beyond the land but that is of course a rather articificial distinction. Surtsey is one which many of us are likely to come across. There is even the issue of a "fly by". Angel Falls is one such WHS where this could come into play. I also remember overflying the Big Hole at Bloemfontain with an excellent view (now a "former TWHS") and wondering whether to count it if it ever got inscribed! If the sea surface around the island can be "inside" the boundary then how much of the "air" above it is?!
I have just had an interesting discussion with Gemini on some of these matters - other Community members might like to do so to get some extra insight into this strange (and probably indefinable) concept called "Visiting"!
See - https://gemini.google.com/share/cf240e3af9d9

Luboang 22 December 2024

Dont forget mount Athos for the fairier half of mankind... I dont see one can argue drive-by visit is better than setting ones foot in the actual place of interest but complimentary or even
highly enhancing and of course at times much more practical or even the only option.
Generally I observe as I gain experience with travelling new yet simmilar sites my sense of what constitutes a proper visit is evolving and my hunger for full fledged visit gets satiated easier.

Michael Ayers 22 December 2024

I don't have any drive-by vists... No, wait, that's now wrong, for the Saint Lucia Pitons, I was running very late, and had to hire a taxi to take me to the viewpoints before dark. Fairly disappointing.

However, I do have several "bike-by" visits, all of which were fairly large Natural Sites, without easily accessible visitor facilities, at least not anywhere close to the part of the Site that I was near. I still consider those to have been good visits, in most cases. By default, the length of time I spent going through the Site was significantly longer than a drive-by would have been, and the general scenery was well-appreciated. Additionally, it's common to be able to observe a lot of interesting flora and fauna that motorists would usually zoom right past. Not always the famous megafauna a certain site might have, but, on occasion, that happens, too. Huascaran National Park was a good example of that kind of visit for me.

I am also sometimes just as happy to "see" the core zone, as opposed to actually "touching" it.

Blog Countries

Top Tips for India

So I have just returned from my best India trip ever! I stayed energetic til the end and could have easily extended it by a week or so if the visa had allowed me to. I managed to visit 15 new WHS; I had already visited 24 across my 4 previous trips so I am missing just 4 now to complete India. The itinerary can be found here. Bear in mind with the tips below that I visited mostly state-level places of interest, and not the more foreign-touristy parts such as the Golden Triangle (where you'll definitely encounter more touts).

1. Fly!

43 WHS, 28 States – where to start? Even after 4 previous trips I still had (and have) so much of India to cover. I suggest keeping it to one state at a time for a “normal” traveller on a 2-3 week trip. For a WH Traveller who wants to raise his/her score, it’s best to combine several clusters. I made good use of the domestic flight network of IndiGo, which connects most state capitals and other major hubs. For a mere 75 EUR or so you’ll find yourself in the middle of the next cluster to tackle 1200km away. Still, you should have at least a broad focus like North, South, West, or East.

2. Anything can and will be arranged

Sometimes travel agencies and hotels in India seem lacking in customer service as they do not communicate proactively or put themselves in your shoes. But when you ask for something (I think that’s the clue, they wait for your initiative as they all mold it against your wishes): anything can be arranged. Look for example at the endeavours of Shandos in her review of the Western Ghats or the logistics of my Sundarbans visit. Want to go to that remote archaeological site tomorrow? Leave 5 a.m.? A driver will be waiting for you, ma’am. 

3. Digitalization is only half-way

I guess it’s a love for detailed forms and abundant cheap labour that holds India back in its digitalization efforts. Train tickets can be booked online easily (I used 12go) and that system works flawlessly. But for site entrance tickets it’s hit or miss. Of the 15 WHS on my trip, 2 were digital tickets only (Moidams, Keshava Hoysala Temple), some accepted both cash and online tickets, others were cash-only and those accepting foreign credit cards are rare.

I’d suggest pre-booking tickets a few days beforehand – look at the ASI booking website for which sites tickets are available. Not because they will sell out, but because you don’t want to fill in a detailed form on your phone at a site entrance or have to accost Indian passers-by to acquire a ticket for you with their digital payment setup. The booking website only accepted my American Express credit card, by the way. It’s also annoying that you have to choose between a morning and afternoon visit (who cares?), especially when you guess you’re arriving around noon…

4. Bring your own notes

Most of the 11 cultural WHS that I visited are managed by the ASI, the Archeological Survey of India. You will immediately recognize arriving at an ASI site: there’s a fence, a guard, a manicured lawn and some flower beds surrounding the monument. I think the ASI employs more gardeners than archeologists or site interpreters. However, the Indian sites lack modern site museums (which China and Turkey do so well) and even overall explanations about what you see. Maybe they are trying to protect the livelihood of the elderly guides who will approach you at the entrance.

Considering the high visitor numbers of all Indian WHS, they can’t get away with a simple hand-painted general introduction anymore in 2024 like the one I found at Nalanda (photo below, and no, the QR code didn’t add anything). So bring along your homework!

5. Try to avoid hitting that tipping point

On my previous trips to India, I always had a moment, after 2-3 weeks, where I was ready to hit/yell at/kill someone, particularly an Indian with behaviour that irritated me (the 10th person to ask for a selfie that day, the beggar, the clueless clerk). I managed to avoid that tipping point this time as (1) travelling in India has become more comfortable than in the past, with strong infrastructure improvements and plenty of nice clean coffee shops, restaurants and hotels where you can hide away for a while, and (2) I had a rather calm and balanced itinerary, mixing 3* and 4* hotels, flights instead of overnight trains or buses, and no over-ambitious add-ons. So overall I felt more relaxed and didn’t have to hit it out on somebody else (as really, the source of this is you and not them).

Pictures with this post show (1) the Rang Ghar pavilion in Sivsagar, a site that should have been included with the Moidams, (2) the Nandi in Kakatiya-style at the Ramappa Temple, and (3) the main interpretative sign at Nalanda.

Els - 15 December 2024

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Els Slots 15 December 2024

I'd love to say that the hygienic situation has dramatically improved - but it hasn't. Although Pakistan was worse! You'll still see men peeing everywhere, and people disposing of trash on the streets (but the number of trash cans has risen), a rat creeping out of the gutter etc. But it has gotten easier to shut yourself off from it.

Nan 15 December 2024

Having seen the recent flurry of pictures and having several sites in India on my to visit list, I would love to go back. But I am still shell shocked from the hygienic situation encountered in India. I had never before and never since seen anything comparable.

I remember needing a vacation from the vacation. Or as Els calls it: Hitting the tipping point.

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