Alexander Barabanov Profile

Alexander Barabanov
Alexander Barabanov.

I work in finance field. I started to specifically target UNESCO Heritage sites while travelling approximately from 2006. Currently I'm combining several long trips to WHS rich remote regions with weekend visits just to reach one specific site (mainly in Europe). 

Of course, there is certain percentage of oddly sites, when you're asking yourself, what I am doing here, but in general these sites are special and very rewarding to reach and see. The uniqueness is often in their diversity and globality. Visting them and exploring some specific aspects of human activity and nature phenomona increases significantly knowledge horizons. During the process you will find out details of mercury mining, will see thin layer of soil containing remains of 60 million years old, admire mosaics from V century or climb Africa's highest mountain. I think that WHS travelling will be gaining popularity and we also have to contribute to this process.

Visited Sites Alexander Barabanov

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Legend

  • Cultural
  • Natural
  • Mixed

Recent Reviews Alexander Barabanov


Hegra

Alexander Barabanov Russia - 20-Jan-25

Hegra

Visited this site in January 2025. Day tour (95 SAR) remains the same as described by Tony, Els and Martina, covers 4 clusters and only one tomb (#26) can be visited inside. Nothing to add. After that I also took Hegra After Dark tour (200 SAR), which is offered at 18:00 and 21:00 daily except Sundays and Mondays. It is more atmospheric and entertainment experience rather than historical insight. You will be driven by a horse-drawn carriage to a fifth cluster not included into day tour, called Jebel Khraymat. The area is beautifully lit by many lamps. After all people are gathered, something like live performance involving about 20 dressed actors begins

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Cultural Landscape of Kenozero Lake

Alexander Barabanov Russia - 10-Aug-24

Cultural Landscape of Kenozero Lake

Visited Kenozero in July 2024 during the days, when it was inscribed (and the news was read out by the guide).Kenozero National Park is a remote place requiring 1,200 km drive (including 80 km of gravel roads) from Moscow or flight to Arkhangelsk and still 470 km drive by rail / car. This seclusion resulted in the preserved mix of cultural, ethnographic, spiritual and architectural heritage coupled by natural landscape and rich biodiversity of the region. Cultural landscape is integrated with the pattern of lakes and adjacent agricultural and forest lands.The park is divided into two sectors: Plesetsk sector (northern part) and Kargopol sector (southern part)

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Petroglyphs of the Lake Onega and the White Sea

Alexander Barabanov Russia - 05-Nov-21

Petroglyphs of the Lake Onega and the White Sea

Visited Belomorsk cluster in October 2021. Logistics – flight to Karelia’s capital Petrozavodsk, then 370 km by rented car via surprisingly good road to Belomorsk. Petrozavodsk’s national museum of Karelia has dedicated room with a couple of original stone petroglyph stelas and description. There is also museum in Belomorsk, but unfortunately it’s closed on Sundays and I didn’t visit. There are two main areas in this cluster – Zalavruga and Besovy Sledki (translated as Demon’s footprints). Between them a number of minor sites are also inscribed, but they require very detailed map to be identified among the forest and river shores and the glyphs are faded

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Golden Mountains of Altai

Alexander Barabanov Russia - 10-Nov-20

Golden Mountains of Altai

Visited this site in September 2020. Our first priority was a trip to Plateau Putorana with the group tour, but unfortunately the minimum required number of tourists was not met and the tour was cancelled. We therefore arranged in short notice for an individual tour around so called Golden circle of Altay. Altay is one of the most popular tourist regions of Russia and offers significant variety of natural landscapes (mountains, waterfalls, passes, rivers, lakes, geysers, stone formations) and cultural sights (petroglyphs, monasteries, mounds). The main logistic hint about classic route is that it is not looped, and at some point, you need to change car to boat in order to cross Lake Teletskoye (otherwise driving back the same road)

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Virgin Komi Forests

Alexander Barabanov Russia - 04-Oct-20

Virgin Komi Forests

Visited this site in August 2020 as weekend trip from Moscow. I decided to visit Manpupuner Plateau, which is located in the heart of Pechoro-Ilychskiy Nature Reserve, part of Virgin Komi Forests site. The quick visit here without hard backpacking is only possible with helicopter tour. The logistics has changed as compared with visit made by Martina Ruckova back in 2017. The change is explained to improve accessibility of the helicopter flight due to weather conditions. You first fly on your own to Ukhta, then the car drives you 170 km through sometimes good and sometimes awful road to Troizko-Pechorsk. Troizko-Pechorsk is a depressive municipal village located on the shores of the Pechora River and is the closest large inhabited point to the Pechoro-Ilychskiy Nature Reserve

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Profile Data

Name
Alexander Barabanov
Country
Russia
Ranking
35
Most Impressive
Machu Picchu, Brugge, Angkor Vat
Proposal
Volgograd (Stalingrad battlefield monuments), Old city of Pskov, Manhattan Iconic highscrapers from 30s like Empire State Building or Chrysler Building, certainly some nature park from Faroe Islands, Por-Bazhyn (Tuva)

Recently Visited WHS

Update 09.01.25
Rating Stats
Angkor 5
Bagan 5
Brugge 5
Iguacu 5
Prague 5
Vienna 5
Arles 4
Hegra 4
Lyon 4
Mostar 4
Orange 4
Paphos 4
Shibam 4
Babylon 3.5
Butrint 3.5
Novgorod 3.5
Samarra 3.5
Sviyazhsk 3.5
Telc 3.5
Bolgar 3
Bosra 3
Graz 3
Konso 3
Macao 3
Nancy 3
Nisa 3
Reims 3
Sarazm 3
Sheki 3
Susa 3
Timgad 3
Tipasa 3
Trebic 3
Visby 3
Yazd 3
Yin Xu 3
Al Ain 2.5
Byblos 2.5
Ivrea 2.5
Tiya 2.5
Battir 2
Tyre 2
Qalhat 1.5

Reviewed TWHS

Top 50 Missing Sites

  1. Alexandria, ancient remains and the new library
  2. Andaman Islands
  3. Bagan
  4. Baikonur Cosmodrome / Cape Canaveral
  5. Chernobyl
  6. Communist heritage of Volgograd
  7. Cultural Landscape of Santorini
  8. Dzongs of Bhutan
  9. Ephesus
  10. Fortified City of Famagusta
  11. Historic University Towns of Oxford and Cambridge
  12. Mecca, Kaaba
  13. Mount Rushmore
  14. Neuschwanstein Castle
  15. Rainforests of Polynesia
  16. Scrovegni's Chapel
  17. Silk Roads
  18. Svalbard
  19. Transiberian Railway
  20. Vatnajökull National Park