Ammon Watkins

Canada \ Member since November 2018

#51 528 207 24

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 :)

My most impressive site: So many to choose

Recent Visits
  • 3
    0
    May 12, 2025
    Kernavė, Modernist Kaunas, Struve Geodetic Arc
  • 3
    0
    May 11, 2025
    Białowieża Forest, Mir Castle, Nesvizh
  • 2
    0
    May 6, 2025
    Leptis Magna, Sabratha
Completed Countries

About Ammon Watkins

Member since
November 2018
Country of Origin
Canada
Visits
Rank
#51
WHS
528
Tentative Sites
207
Website Participation
Reviews
62
Ratings

Ratings

World Heritage Sites
Tentative Sites
190 24
Photos
N/A
Locations
N/A
Zones
N/A
Reserved for members.

Reviews by Ammon Watkins

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Coffee Cultural Landscape by Ammon Watkins

Coffee Cultural Landscape (Inscribed)

Coffee Cultural Landscape

We finally made it to a WHS my wife was more excited about than I was. I knew we would pass through this WHS somewhere along the road between Armenia …

Tierradentro by Ammon Watkins

Tierradentro (Inscribed)

Tierradentro

2 days after visiting San Agustin we found ourselves hiking along the much quieter and muddier trails between the sites in Tierradentro. We didn't mind though as Tierradentro is much …

Catholic Doctrine Temples by Ammon Watkins

Catholic Doctrine Temples (On tentative list)

Catholic Doctrine Temples

With a similar colonial history to the rest of Latin America (Spanish/Portuguese conquest and almost immediate establishment of Catholic missions to "convert the heathens") it seems natural that Colombia would …

Puente de Occidente (Western Bridge) by Ammon Watkins

Puente de Occidente (Western … (On tentative list)

Puente de Occidente (Western Bridge)

For a site that isn't particularly hard to visit, it is surprising how few foreign tourists make it out to see this bridge. The bridge itself is about 5km outside …

San Agustín by Els Slots

San Agustín (Inscribed)

San Agustín

We were happy to reach San Agustin at the end of our bumpy 5 hr ride from Popayan. The town of San Agustin itself is nothing to get too excited …

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Zaruma ciudad minera (On tentative list)

Zaruma ciudad minera

Zaruma is a small mining town that was once a major player in the Spanish colonial gold trade. Unlike typical Spanish colonial towns, Zaruma doesn't have a grid pattern though …

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Chachapoyas sites of the Utcu… (On tentative list)

Chachapoyas sites of the Utcubamba Valley

Kuelap is the ruins of a Chachapoyan sacred city on top of a mountain in a remote area of northern Peru. Although the main ruins are generally referred to as …

Goias by Ammon Watkins

Goias (Inscribed)

Goias

We stopped for a day and 2 nights on our way between the Pantanal and Brasilia. It is a pretty and well preserved former state capital on a very modest …

Diamantina by Carlo Sarion

Diamantina (Inscribed)

Diamantina

Having recently visited, and seeing as the previous reviews are quite old, I thought it might be time for an update. But actually, it seems like nothing has really changed …

Jesuit Missions of the Chiquitos by Ammon Watkins

Jesuit Missions of the Chiqui… (Inscribed)

Jesuit Missions of the Chiquitos

Visited in Oct 2018. Unlike the other reviewers we chose to go east and started our visit at San Jose after a hot 4 hour bus ride from Santa Cruz. …

Huascaran National Park by Els Slots

Huascaran National Park (Inscribed)

Huascaran National Park

It is impressive to think of how many snow-capped peaks are clustered together in this park so close to the equator. Like everyone else we based ourselves in busy Huaraz …

The Historic Centre of Cajamarca by Ammon Watkins

The Historic Centre of Cajama… (On tentative list)

The Historic Centre of Cajamarca

Unesco's description for Cajamarca refers to Spanish-Andean culture and architectural styles spanning the 16th to 19th centuries without specifically mentioning any specific places. It then goes on to list several …

City of Trujillo by Els Slots

City of Trujillo (On tentative list)

City of Trujillo

Trujillo is one of the first Spanish settlements in Peru though the area had been settled for thousands of years previously. The WHS Chan Chan and even more impressive Moche …

Baquedano Street by Els Slots

Baquedano Street (On tentative list)

Baquedano Street

We were in Iquique anyway to visit the Humberstone WHS so had the opportunity to see Baquedano street which, other than the (cold) beach seemed to be the only thing …

Humberstone

Humberstone and Santa Laura S… (Inscribed)

Humberstone and Santa Laura Saltpeter Works

Visited dec 2018. Humberstone is a little out of the way in the north of Chile but I love these kind of sites so we suffered the extra 6 hours …

Eglise et Monastère de Sao Bento by Els Slots

Eglise et Monastère de Sao Be… (On tentative list)

Eglise et Monastère de Sao Bento

Made a quick stop here while in downtown Rio (it's not far from the Valongo Wharf WHS). It's the strangest approach to a monastery as access is by elevator from …

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Tatev Monastery and Vorotan G… (Nominated)

Tatev Monastery and Vorotan Gorge

Visited in the summer of 2012. Very beautiful and well preserved monastery in an area full of impressive monasteries and definitely a highlight of a visit to southern Armenia. Didn't …

Ischigualasto / Talampaya by Els Slots

Ischigualasto / Talampaya (Inscribed)

Ischigualasto / Talampaya

I'd never heard of this WHS until looking at the list just before entering Argentina. It wouldn't have made my itinerary either if not for Michael Novins' detailed review on …

Uros Islands

Lake Titicaca (On tentative list)

Lake Titicaca

I can't imagine Lake Titicaca not being inscribed one day though it will be interesting to see which parts make the cut. So many culturally and historically significant areas are …

Cal Orck’o

Cal Orck’o (On tentative list)

Cal Orck’o

Finding myself in the beautiful WHS city of Sucre, I thought it would be a terrible waste to not visit the footprints at Cal Orck'o when they are so close …

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