Ammon Watkins Profile
Air traffic controller from Canada. Spent the better part of my 20's traveling around the world after finishing my bachelor degree. Made a friend on the road that suggested I look into the WH list if I didnt know what to visit somewhere. Excellent advice! Unfortunately got into the WHS thing a little too late to maximize my potential visits. I wont make that mistake again! Now my goal is to visit every country and as many WHS as i reasonably can and I'm rarely disappointed.
My travel experience is varied but has mostly ranged in the budget to extreme budget category which has made things very interesting at times. With a limited time and budget and to balance other interests I am more prone to skipping out on the less known natural WHS.
I still try to take holidays and visit new sites a few times a year, with an itinerary and prioritization that befuddles all, including the mrs.
Fun trivia: I proposed to my wife in the Rock Islands WHS in Palau. I married her in the Waterton/Glacier NP WHS in Canada :)
Recent Reviews Ammon Watkins
Brimstone Hill Fortress
Ammon Watkins Canada - 18-Oct-24
The British started fortifying the double peaked Brimstone Hill in 1690. Sitting at around 800ft it offers commanding views of the coastline and neighbouring islands and with such a steep approach was considered impregnable, the Gibraltar of the Caribbean. Hyperbolic perhaps but it did see some action against the French over the years before being abandoned in 1853. It has since been partially restored and is a pleasant though not outstanding visit if one is in St. Kitts.
Our visit was in Feb 2024. We were on a cruise with a full day stop in St. Kitts. There is no public transport to the fort and rather than take a tour we found a van taxi to take us to the fort and back with about 1 hour of waiting time for $100US. Entry is a pricey $15US now. It is a steep road uphill from the coast and would be a hot and unpleasant walk so we were grateful for the ride. There are various levels of fortifications as you ascend and then a final short hike up one of the peaks to the restored citadel on top. An hour is enough time for a quick look around the citadel and it's few displays, admire the views and then walk over to the barracks and ruined officer's quarters at the base of the other peak
Read OnLevuka
Ammon Watkins Canada - 11-Oct-24
I made a last-minute decision to visit Levuka when I found myself in Suva with a few extra days to spare. Previous reviewers have already described the town well. I found it more functional and active than I was expecting. Sure it is small, but the mid/late-19th century wooden colonial architecture along Beach St. reminded me of a displaced gold rush town like the ones I'd recently been visiting back home. Unlike those, which often have a ghost town "museum" feel to them, Levuka is simply trapped in time and very relaxed and friendly
Read OnSigatoka Sand Dunes (T)
Ammon Watkins Canada - 10-Oct-24
I had a day to spare between flights and like sand dunes so made a quick visit here in Sept 2024. This is an easy day trip from Nadi on public transport even on a Sunday when I went since there are still regular buses traveling along the southern route between Suva and Lautoka. The ride is a little more than an hour from Nadi and there is no official bus stop at the entrance to the dunes but the driver was able to pull over at a reasonably close distance so I could walk back along the road. On the way back to Nadi be prepared to walk a few hot km back to the Sigatoka bus station or get lucky as I did and get a lift there from a friendly local.
Read OnThe Royal Court of Tiébélé
Ammon Watkins Canada - 23-May-23
I visited Tiebele in April 2023 on my final day in Burkina Faso. Being not far off the main highway to Ghana, it was still safely accessible and was done as a day trip from Ouagadougou (~4 hours each way) before my flight out that night. The drive out there in a private car was pleasant enough but I was surprised to find that Tiebele was bigger than I thought and looked like a growing village typical of the region. The Cour Royale de Tiebele is just a tiny traditional compound tucked away within the larger settlement. I had erroneously assumed it would be more isolated.
Read OnSya (T)
Ammon Watkins Canada - 03-May-23
Visited April 2023. As part of a 5-day private tour of Burkina Faso I stayed 2 nights in Bobo-Dioulasso and was able to visit this site. The most recognizable part of this site is the Sudano-Sahelian style mosque which sits on a square at the edge of the historical quarter. We were able to visit inside and on top of the mosque with a local guide to escort us. Due to the traditional nature of its construction it is constantly being repaired. Despite being in the center of the second largest city in the country, Sya has managed to maintain a traditional atmosphere and way of life that is centuries old. It somehow still feels like walking around a traditional village, isolated from the rest of the city
Read OnProfile Data
- Name
- Ammon Watkins
- Country
- Canada
- Most Impressive
- So many to choose
Recently Visited WHS
- Update 13.12.24
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21 Countries Complete
Andorra . Antigua and Barbuda . Bangladesh . Barbados . El Salvador . Eritrea . Fiji . Holy See . Luxembourg . Mauritius . Nicaragua . North Macedonia . Palau . Paraguay . Saint Kitts and Nevis . Saint Lucia . San Marino . Singapore . Slovenia . United Arab Emirates . Zambia .Visited WHS
Rating StatsBagan 5Iguacu 5Olympia 5Palenque 5Brugge 4.5Calakmul 4.5Lalibela 4.5Machu Picchu 4.5Masjed-e Jâme' 4.5Mystras 4.5Persepolis 4.5Rhodes 4.5Asmara 4Bukhara 4Byblos 4Copán 4Damascus 4Hegra 4Meroe 4Pantanal 4Yazd 4Ajanta Caves 3.5Ancient Ksour 3.5Aquileia 3.5Caral-Supe 3.5Chavin 3.5Cuzco 3.5Diamantina 3.5Djenné 3.5Gebel Barkal 3.5Hampi 3.5Harar Jugol 3.5Itchan Kala 3.5Joya de Ceren 3.5Lima 3.5Orkhon Valley 3.5Palmyra 3.5Samarkand 3.5Sana'a 3.5Shibam 3.5St. Petersburg 3.5Sucre 3.5Tierradentro 3.5Timbuktu 3.5Uxmal 3.5Aleppo 3Baalbek 3Bisotun 3Bosra 3Camagüey 3Novgorod 3Potosi 3Tyre 3Al Ain 2.5Bagerhat 2.5Chan Chan 2.5Erbil Citadel 2.5Gusuku of Ryukyu 2.5Koguryo Kingdom 2.5Kunya-Urgench 2.5Levuka 2.5León Cathedral 2.5Nasca Lines 2.5Olinda 2.5Panamá 2.5Rabat 2.5San Agustín 2.5Shushtar 2.5Tabriz Bazaar 2.5Tiwanaku 2.5Urbino 2.5Vigan 2.5Brasilia 2Campeche 2Goias 2Kaesong 2Pampulha 2Zabid 2Aapravasi Ghat 1.5Bridgetown 1.5Castel del Monte 1.5Le Morne 1.5Valongo Wharf 1.5Reviewed WHS
- Brimstone Hill Fortress
- Levuka
- The Royal Court of Tiébélé
- Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin
- Hegra
- Rock Art in the Hail Region
- Asmara
- Zabid
- Uxmal
- Campeche
- Calakmul
- Palenque
- Antigua Guatemala
- Copán
- Joya de Ceren
- Panamá
- Portobelo-San Lorenzo
- Cartagena
- Santa Cruz de Mompox
- Coffee Cultural Landscape
- Tierradentro
- San Agustín
- Goias
- Diamantina
- Jesuit Missions of the Chiquitos
- Huascaran National Park
- Humberstone and Santa Laura Saltpeter Works
- Ischigualasto / Talampaya
- Congonhas
- São Francisco Square
Visited TWHS
- Abraj Al-Kuwait (T)
- Abydos, city of pilgrimage of the Pharaohs (T)
- Aguas Livres Aqueduct (T)
- Alexandria, ancient remains and the new library (T)
- Amalienborg and its district (T)
- Amarbayasgalant monastery and sacred cultural landscape (T)
- Ancient cities of Upper Myanmar : Innwa, Amarapura, Sagaing, Mingun, Mandalay (T)
- Ancient Greek Theatres (T)
- Ancient Lavrion (T)
- Apamee (Afamia) (T)
- Archaeological Site and Historic Centre of Panamá City (T)
- Archaeological site of Ancient Messene (T)
- Ayeyawady River Corridor (T)
- Badshahi Mosque, Lahore (T)
- Baltit Fort (T)
- Baquedano Street (T)
- Baroque Churches of the Philippines (Extension) (T)
- Brazilian Fortresses Ensemble (T)
- Bulwarked Frontier Fortifications (T)
- Caesarea (T)
- Cal Orck'o: Footprints of time (T)
- Casablanca, Ville du XXème siécle, carrefour d'influences (T)
- Cathédrale de Bamako (T)
- Catholic Doctrine Temples (T)
- Centre historique d'Irkoutsk (T)
- Centre historique de Saida (T)
- Chachapoyas sites of the Utcubamba Valley (T)
- Chalchuapa (T)
- Chinese Section of the Silk Road (T)
- Chobe Linyanti System (T)
- Chocolate Hills Natural Monument (T)
- Cité de Carcassonne et ses châteaux sentinelles de montagne (T)
- Cittadella (Victoria - Gozo) (T)
- City of Granada and its natural environment (T)
- City Walls of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (T)
- Ciudad Bolivar in the narrowness of the Orinoco River (T)
- Coron Island Natural Biotic Area (T)
- Cretaceous Dinosaur Fossil Sites in the Mongolian Gobi (T)
- Cultural Landscape of Alamout (T)
- Dahab (T)
- Dahshour archaeological area (T)
- Dali Chanshan Mountain and Erhai Lake Scenic Spot (T)
- Delhi - A Heritage City (T)
- Desert Landscapes of the Mongolian Great Gobi (T)
- Dinder National Park (T)
- Diocletian's Palace and the Historical Nucleus of Split (extension) (T)
- Domaine de Fontainebleau : château, jardins, parc et forêt (T)
- Dreams in Stone - the palaces of King Ludwig II of Bavaria: Neuschwanstein, Linderhof and Herrenchiemsee (T)
- Dzongs: the centre of temporal and religious authorities (Punakha Dzong, Wangdue Phodrang Dzong, Paro Dzong, Trongsa Dzong and Dagana Dzong) (T)
- Eglise et Monastère de Sao Bento, Rio de Janeiro (T)
- Egyptian Hajj Road (T)
- Ensemble of Alvaro Siza's Architecture Works in Portugal (T)
- Ensemble of Phanom Rung, Muang Tam and Plai Bat Sanctuaries (T)
- Etosha Pan (T)
- Former M-13 prison/ Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (former S-21)/ Choeung Ek Genocidal Centre (former Execution Site of S-21) (T)
- Gdansk - Town of Memory and Freedom (T)
- Guano Islands, Islets, and Capes National Reserve System (T)
- Gulf of Fonseca (T)
- Hejaz Railway (T)
- Historic Center of the City of Trujillo (T)
- Historic Georgetown (T)
- Historic zone of Basseterre (T)
- Historical Lisbon, Global City (T)
- Iconic Riverfront of the Historic City of Varanasi (T)
- Inle Lake (T)
- Insular area and bay of Colonia del Sacramento (T)
- Jerash Archaeological City (Ancient Meeting Place of East and West) (T)
- Jerusalem (T)
- Kakum National Park (T)
- Karez Wells (T)
- Kerman Historical-Cultural Structure (T)
- Khor Dubai (T)
- Knights Fortifications around the Harbours of Malta (T)
- Kyiv: Saint Sophia Cathedral with Related Monastic Buildings, St. Cyril's and St. Andrew's Churches, Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra (T)
- L'amphitheatre de Durres (T)
- La Camargue (T)
- La Moneda Palace (T)
- La Rioja and Rioja Alavesa Vine and Wine Cultural Landscape (T)
- Lake Maggiore and Lake D'Orta lakelands (T)
- Lake Titicaca (T)
- Late Medieval Bastioned Fortifications in Greece (T)
- Le champ de bataille de Waterloo, la fin de l’épopée napoléonienne (T)
- Le lac Tanganyika (T)
- Le Panorama de la Bataille de Waterloo, exemple particulièrement significatif de « Phénomène de Panoramas » (T)
- Le Paysage culturel des chutes de la Lobé (T)
- Les Plages du Débarquement, Normandie, 1944 (T)
- Les ruines d'Ouara (T)
- Les témoignages matériels de la construction de l’État des Pyrénées : la Co-principauté d’Andorre (A) (T)
- Les témoignages matériels de la construction de l’État des Pyrénées : la Co-principauté d’Andorre (S) (T)
- Les villes antiques de la Narbonnaise et leur territoire: Nimes, Arles, Glanum, aqueducs, via Domitia (T)
- Loarre Castle (T)
- Maaloula (T)
- Maltese Catacomb Complexes (T)
- Manama, City of Trade, Multiculturalism and Religious Coexistence (T)
- Mdina (Citta Vecchia) (T)
- Mining Historical Heritage (T)
- Minoan Palatial Centres (T)
- Mleiha, Late Pre-Islamic Center of a South-East Arabian Kingdom (T)
- Mole National Park (T)
- Monastery of Santa María de La Rábida and the Columbus Memorial Places in Huelva (T)
- Monastery of St. Amenaprkich (New Julfa Vank) (T)
- Montado, Cultural Landscape (T)
- Monuments of Srirangapatna Island Town (T)
- Monuments, Sites and Cultural Landscape of Chiang Mai, Capital of Lanna (T)
- Mt. Myohyang and the Relics in and around the Mountain (T)
- Mughal and Colonial Temples of Bangladesh (T)
- Nasqsh-e Rostam and Naqsh-e Rajab (T)
- Noréas de Hama (T)
- Olympic Park Munich (T)
- Orvieto (T)
- Persepolis and other relevant buildings (T)
- Petrified Forest National Park (T)
- Pharaonic temples in Upper Egypt from the Ptolemaic and Roman periods (T)
- Pombaline Lisbon (T)
- Primošten Vineyards (T)
- Puente de Occidente (Western Bridge) (T)
- Pulacayo, Industrial Heritage Site (T)
- Ras al Had Turtle Reserve and the Heritage Site of Ras al Jinz (T)
- Roman Ways. Itineraries of the Roman Empire (T)
- Rouen : ensemble urbain à pans de bois, cathédrale, église Saint-Ouen, église Saint Maclou (T)
- Route of Magellan (T)
- Routes of Santiago de Compostela in Portugal (T)
- Royal Residences of Sinaia (T)
- Sacred Sites associated with Phajo Drugom Zhigpo and his descendants (T)
- Sacred Titicaca Lake (T)
- Salento and the Barocco Leccese (T)
- Salt Mines of Maras (T)
- San Francisco Church and Convent (T)
- San Pedro de Atacama (T)
- Sarajevo - unique symbol of universal multiculture - continual open city (T)
- Sea of Galilee & its Ancient Sites (T)
- Shush (T)
- Shwedagon Pagoda on Singuttara Hill (T)
- Sigatoka Sand Dunes (T)
- Sites along the Uttarapath, Badshahi Sadak, Sadak-e-Azam, Grand Trunk Road (T)
- Sites mégalithiques de Carnac (T)
- Sites of Globalization (T)
- Siwa archaeological area (T)
- South of Ricaurte Province (T)
- Southwest Coast (T)
- Sri Harimandir Sahib (T)
- St. George Fortified System (T)
- St. George Historic District (T)
- Sudd wetland (T)
- Sultanats Historiques des Comores (T)
- Svalbard Archipelago (T)
- Sya, centre historique de Bobo-Dioulasso (T)
- Syrian Hajj Road (T)
- Taq-e Bostan (T)
- Tbilisi Historic District (T)
- Temple of Hator built by Ramses III (T)
- That Luang de Vientiane (T)
- The Ancient Plovdiv (T)
- The Aniene valley and Villa Gregoriana in Tivoli (T)
- The architectural legacy of Rogelio Salmona: an ethical, political, social and poetic manifesto (T)
- The Chinese Section of the Silk Roads (T)
- The Colonial Transisthmian Route of Panamá (Ruta Colonial Transístmica de Panamá) (T)
- The concept of the lenticular historical town core of Kosice City (T)
- The Cultural Landscape of Civita di Bagnoregio (T)
- The cultural landscape of the Benedictine settlements in medieval Italy (T)
- The forts of Rostaq and al-Hazm (T)
- The Galilee Journeys of Jesus & the Apostles (T)
- The Hadrianic city of Italica (T)
- The Historic Centre of Cajamarca (T)
- The Historic City of Thula (T)
- The historic ensemble of Orchha (T)
- The Historical City of Masouleh (T)
- The Historical City of Maybod (T)
- The Historical Port City of Izmir (T)
- The Lijiang River Scenic Zone at Guilin (T)
- The Lofoten islands (T)
- The Marble Basin of Carrara (T)
- The monasteries of Tatev and Tatevi Anapat and the adjacent areas of the Vorotan Valley (T)
- The Olive Grove Landscapes of Andalusia (T)
- The Pacific atoll-island cultural landscape of Tuvalu (T)
- The Ribeira Sacra, Lugo and Orense (T)
- The Royal Sites of Ireland: Cashel, Dún Ailinne, Hill of Uisneach, Rathcroghan Complex, and Tara Complex (T)
- The Silver Route (T)
- The Sugar Cultural Landscape of Negros and Panay Islands (T)
- Thingvellir National Park (T)
- Torfajökull Volcanic System / Fjallabak Nature Reserve (T)
- Trakai Historical National Park (T)
- University City of Bogotá (T)
- Valle Salado de Añana (T)
- Vardzia-Khertvisi (T)
- Via Francigena in Italy (T)
- VIKING MONUMENTS AND SITES / Thingvellir National Park (T)
- Vila Viçosa (T)
- Wazir Khans Mosque, Lahore (T)
- White Sands National Monument (T)
- Yapese Disk Money Regional Sites (T)
- Zadar - Episcopal complex (T)
- Zaruma ciudad minera (T)
Reviewed TWHS
- Sigatoka Sand Dunes (T)
- Sya (T)
- Sudd wetland (T)
- Minoan Palatial Centres (T)
- Archaeological site of Ancient Messene (T)
- Mt. Myohyang (T)
- Les ruines d'Ouara (T)
- The Historic City of Thula (T)
- Maaloula (T)
- Cretaceous Dinosaur Fossil Sites in the Mongolian Gobi (T)
- Amarbayasgalant monastery (T)
- Chalchuapa (T)
- City of Granada and its natural environment (T)
- Lower Basin of the Chicamocha River (T)
- South of Ricaurte Province (T)
- University City of Bogotá (T)
- The architectural legacy of Rogelio Salmona (T)
- Catholic Doctrine Temples (T)
- Puente de Occidente (Western Bridge) (T)
- Zaruma ciudad minera (T)
- Chachapoyas sites of the Utcubamba Valley (T)
- The Historic Centre of Cajamarca (T)
- City of Trujillo (T)
- Baquedano Street (T)
- Eglise et Monastère de Sao Bento (T)
- The monasteries of Tatev and Tatevi Anapat (T)
- Lake Titicaca (T)
- Cal Orck'o: Footprints of time (T)