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

Page 17 of 17
Photo in the Public Domain

Taj Mahal (Inscribed)

Taj Mahal by Nan

When I visited India in January 2014 I figured a trip to the Taj Mahal was a must. I had seen so many pictures and I wanted to actually be …

Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge

Okefenokee National Wildlife … (Nominated)

Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge by Nan

I went with my family in '95 at the end of my high school year in Georgia. This was a marvelous experience and we still talk about it today, almost …

Medina of Tétouan by Nan

Medina of Tétouan (Inscribed)

Medina of Tétouan by Nan

On my first trip to Andalucia I had also ventured for a day trip to Tangiers. I am not sure if it had occurred to me at the time that …

Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt  by Nan

Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt (Inscribed)

Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt by Nan

Following in my travel plans on Els footprints, I ventured to Darmstadt on the same weekend as my visit to the Ice Age Caves.

During my visit the …

Gorham's Cave Complex by Nan

Gorham's Cave Complex (Inscribed)

Gorham's Cave Complex by Nan

Nearly five years ago on what I nowadays call my first true world heritage trip I ventured to Andalucia. Out of curiosity I decided to also go to Gibraltar and …

Caves and Ice Age Art by Nan

Caves and Ice Age Art (Inscribed)

Caves and Ice Age Art by Nan

The Caves and Ice Age Art are yet another prehistoric site with all the caveats that go along with it. There isn’t all that much to see. The findings were …

Page 17 of 17