Latest Community Reviews
Sigatoka 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 OnBosra
Triath - 08-Oct-24
Visited on a group tour to Syria in May 2023.
Although the city is controlled by the Free Syrian Army, but there are mutual agreements, and foreign tourists are brought here from the territories controlled by Assad. Everyone needs money.I really wanted to visit this city, because it is the last capital of the Nabataean kingdom, and after visiting Petra it was logical to get here as well, although there is little left of the Nabataeans here, only a huge gate, the same type as in Petra.In fact, the Romans built a new city here, which became the capital of the province of Arabia.The most important building of the Roman era can is the well-preserved Roman theater, although it is not so big (about 8 thousand spectators), but the stage and the rows of spectators have perfectly survived to our time
Read OnCold winter deserts of Turan
Mihai Dascalu Romania - 10-Oct-24
I will review here Altyn Emel National Park, visited in October 2024 as a tour from Almaty. We combined it with a trip to Tamgaly Petroglyphs. The cost was “outrageous” but we paid ($830 for 3 days in a van) and in the end we were happy with the result. It was a “minor” misunderstanding between the company who arranged it and us and the driver, he wanted to take us to Tamgaly Tas which is on the way to Altyn Emel, we caught it early and he took the Almaty ring road to Tamgaly WHS, then returned to Almaty and drove all the way to the village of Basshi (on Google maps Kalinino). It is 260 km from Almaty and generally an easy drive but in our case it was a day with 580km and we got there in the dark, not pleasant
Read OnHawraman/Uramanat
Zoë Sheng Chinese-Canadian - 08-Oct-24
I was driving here in the off-season which isn't a good idea in general. This is off a small road leading from Kermanshah to Sanandaj and there wouldn't really be any reason to go here but for the world heritage site. It doesn't usually drop below zero Celsius much here and you shouldn't expect snow but it's still quite chilly. You can see the valleys from this road. The actual spot to visit is called Palangan Tourist Village just aside this road. It is made very touristy on purpose although the Kurdistan formalities don't mean it's tacky or selling out. Because I came in the off-season nobody was really here or expecting tourists. The main point of interest will be viewing the valley plus the houses that rise up the mountain
Read OnTemple of Heaven
Tony H. Finland - 07-Oct-24
I made my first trip to China in June 2024 and Temple of Heaven got the honour of being my first World Heritage Site in China. And what a fantastic site it is! I arrived by bus to the east gate of the temple (there's also a metro station here), and as there were no queues to the ticket counters, I was quickly inside of the temple area. You have option to buy a general ticket that only includes the entrance to the park area or the "all inclusive" ticket that includes the entrance to all the altars and halls of prayer. I obviously got the all inclusive ticket.
Read OnCrac des Chevaliers
Triath - 08-Oct-24
Visited on a group tour to Syria in April 2023.
Perhaps the most famous castle of the Crusaders, built by the Order of Hospitallers to protect the pilgrims' routes to the Holy Land. The line of fortifications was so serious that even Saladin's troops could not take it by force.Only in the Mamluk time Baybars managed to capture the castle by deception, when the power of the order was already in decline.The castle was restored during the French mandate, but during the civil war Jihadists settled here, who had to be driven out of the castle with the help of Russian aircraft. The destroyed tower has already been restored by Hungarian historians, and only in the inner courtyard, at the foot of the dungeon, by tower of the Grand Master of the Hospitallers, is a gaping hole from a Russian bomb
Read OnAncient Kyoto
Elena Y Ireland - 09-Oct-24
Across a week in Kyoto I hit up nine of the sites making up this World Heritage Site. Of those, only Saiho-ji has escaped comment on this site. It was one of my must-do sites and didn't disappoint. Until recently (I suspect being part of the reason it's been avoided by this community) visitors have had to send a postcard to the temple, but this has fortunately changed in recent years to allow online booking. I procrastinated until a few nights before and was still able to get a slot that worked for me, though the early time did necessitate getting a taxi all the way from Higashiyama. Entry is linked to a timed slot, but once you get in you have a fair bit of freedom. In the main hall you're provided with a sutra and a calligraphy brush with which to trace
Read OnBom Jesus do Monte
CugelVance Germany - 25-Oct-24
I visited the Bom Jesus do Monte whs on oct the 21st,2024.
Early in the morning I took the empty bus nr.2 in Braga's beautiful city centre to the Bom Jesus area where I arrived around 8.30 am.The last bus stop for bus number 2 was right next to the historical funicular and the stairs. According to google, the area should open its doors at 10:00. Absolute nonsense! I climbed up the historic stairs, giving myself enough time to closely inspect each of the small chapels with their wonderful figures depitcting scenes from the Bible. I needed around 45 minutes to reach the top level.
Read OnEisinga Planetarium
Tony H. Finland - 07-Oct-24
Visited in April 2024. What a fun little site! That was my initial reaction after visiting the Eise Eisinga Planetarium. Sites like these make the World Heritage hunting worthwhile. I'm not a huge space or planetarium enthusiast, so I would have most likely skipped this place if I had stopped for whatever reason in Franeker, the town where the planetarium is located. But because the planetarium is a WHS, that was my sole reason to arrive in lovely Franeker.
When you arrive to the planetarium you're first surprised how small the building is
Read OnEvaporitic Karst and Caves
Els Slots The Netherlands - 08-Oct-24
Since this site’s inscription in 2023, I had a mental block about it caused by its name. I had no idea what “Evaporitic” meant (the Dutch Wikipedia page referring to this WHS conveniently leaves this word out), and then there is also the always-dreaded “Caves”. I didn’t rush to go there, but a trip with my Art History friends to Northern Italy prompted me to add a day in Bologna to get this one over with.
Speleology is at least half of its OUV, but the horror stories of Tsunami were enough for me to not try that here. So I took a different approach to the Gessi Bolognesi: cruising around the landscape on an e-bike, looking for visible gypsum strata and ‘holes’ in the rock walls.
Read OnMonastery of Batalha
CugelVance Germany - 24-Oct-24
I visited the monastery of Batalha on the 12th of oct.,2024.
The day before I had visited the monastery in Alcobaca which had surprised me very positively with its elegant simplicity. A true jewel.Therefore my expectations were quite high when I entered the monastery in Batalha.
I had reached Batalha the previous evening and after checking in at my hotel, I had immediately gone to the monastery to circle it completely twice in the dark and also have a beer in a bar right next to the monastery.
Read OnAlto Douro
CugelVance Germany - 23-Oct-24
I visited the Douro valley on the 18th and 19th of oct.2024.On the 19th I took the train from Porto-Campanha to Pinhao at 7:25, where I arrived a little late at around 10:00. At 10.30 I had a 2 hour trip with the rebelo boat of the magnifico douro company upriver to Tua and back to Pinhao. Nice,but nothing special. Afterwards I strolled across the Pinhao bridge and entered the Quinta das Carvalhas, where I took part in a wine tasting of white wines; not a single one of the white wines appealed to me.I had been to Porto/Vila Nova de Gaia several times and had already taken part in 3 wine tastings at various Porto houses, so this time I preferred white wine. Disappointing! I had another Porto wine, but it didn't really convince me either
Read OnAyutthaya
Jgriffindor6 United States - 05-Oct-24
I visited this site after I visited Angkor, which in hindsight may not have been the best idea, as no other set of ruins in the area can compare to it. However, it is a nice site and deserves a visit. I particularly enjoyed the buddha statue that got entwined with the tree roots. It is also relatively crowd-free, at least on the day that I was there. These temples are in true ruins (unlike angkor, which is very much reconstructed) and offers a different atmosphere.
However, like others have stated, what UNESCO chose to include and exclude from the site area is a bit confusing. Some of the most notable temples were not included within the site. Also, the city around the ruins is not that pleasant, and there were people riding elephants in the vicinity, which I find unethical.
Read OnMafra
CugelVance Germany - 23-Oct-24
I visited the palacio nacional de Mafra and its royal basilica and the adjacent park jardim do cerco on the 9th of oct.2024.
There are frequent buses between Lisboa's Campo Grande bus station and Mafra.
There are no toilets in the huge palace...there is a free one near the palace entrance
Read OnPalmyra
Triath - 06-Oct-24
Visited on a group tour to Syria in May 2023.Our Syrian guide was most nervous about visiting Palmyra, and he was very anxious to get us out of there while it was still light. ISIS has been pushed back to the mountainous regions of Syria, but it is precisely in this region that jihadists still make their forays from time to time, although tourism is slowly but reviving.Palmyra was once the largest trading center between Rome and Parthia, and this oasis literally bathed in money
Read OnAguas Livres Aqueduct (T)
CugelVance Germany - 22-Oct-24
Built in the 18th century, the Águas Livres aqueduct runs across and through Lisbon and offers some of the best views of the city. It is a well-preserved series of 109 stone arches and was built in 1744 to bring clean drinking water to the city's residents. The historic structure still stands tall and survived the massive 1755 earthquake without damage. The main arches extend for 18 kilometers, with the entire aqueduct being almost around 60 kilometers long. At its highest point the arches rise 65 meters high. It was the largest arch in the world at the time of its construction.
Read OnAnjar
Triath - 02-Oct-24
Visited April 2023.The first thing to understand is that Anjar is located on the Lebanese-Syrian border, a region controlled by Hezbollah, it adds additional instability. When I visited, the situation was calm, but this phenomenon is rare here, you have to watch for periods of peace.I was traveling from Beirut to Syria with a tourist group that was going to explore Syria, and I asked to see this object as well, the city is located exactly in the middle of the road between Beirut and Damascus. It is the legacy of the first dynasty of Umayyad caliphs. In Jordan, I saw palaces built by them in the desert, scientists argue about their function, and here it is not known exactly why this city was built
Read OnYen Tu Complex (T)
Frederik Dawson Netherlands - 06-Oct-24
On my flight from Rach Gia back to Ho Chi Minh City after Oc Eo sightseeing with ICOMOS experts, I found an interesting inflight magazine article about Yen Tu. After landing, I discussed with our accompanied local guide and immediately decided to extend my Vietnam trip to cover Yen Tu. Instead of flying back from Danang via Bangkok, my guide contacted her company to change the ticket to Hanoi and arranged a special program for me to explore Yen Tu. Since this was an impromptu trip, I rarely had information on this holy land of Truc Lam Vietnamese Zen Buddhism. At first, I requested to visit Vinh Nghiem pagoda on my way to Yen Tu, as Els did, but the tour company advised me to go to Con Son-Kiep Bac which I OK after reconfirmed that the name appeared in the description in UNESCO website.
Read OnMid-Atlantic Ridge (T)
CugelVance Germany - 22-Oct-24
I visited the "Algar do Carvao" on octobre the 16th,2024.
The Azores are home to no fewer than around 1700 volcanoes! Algar de Carvão is one of them. However, this volcano is no longer active. Today it is a 90 meter deep cave that was created thousands of years ago by volcanic activity. It is a volcanic vent that you enter. The upper part is covered in greenery due to the incidence of light and humidity. You descend up to 90 meters underground, where there is a small but up to 15 meter deep lake. Several platforms offer a view of various rock formations. The most beautiful thing, however, is the view outside. The sun shines through the large hole in the ceiling and ensures that a large edge of the chimney is lush with bushes, mosses, lichens and ferns. Some endemic species are also said to grow in the volcanic vent
Read OnWaterton Glacier International Peace Park
Jgriffindor6 United States - 05-Oct-24
I visited Glacier national park in August of 2023. While I have been to a significant chunk of national parks in the US, Glacier easily takes one of the top spots due to its amazing scenery and outstanding hiking opportunities. However, you have to really plan ahead in order to fully enjoy the park.
The NPS has implemented a reservation system for vehicles in order to control the amount of visitors [...]
Read OnOkefenokee National Wildlife Refuge (T)
Jay T USA - 05-Oct-24
Okefenokee, the land of trembling earth. Or perhaps etymologically, "bubbling water". Either origin describes this swamp well -- a land of peat and springs which serves as the headwaters for two rivers at the north end of the Florida peninsula. The Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge is aiming for inscription on the World Heritage Site list in 2026, so in July 2023 I took a trip down to southern Georgia to see what makes the swamp unique, especially in relation to the Everglades in neighboring Florida.
Read OnFalun Great Copper Mountain
Triath - 01-Oct-24
Falu Gruva is the most famous mine in the history of Sweden, where copper mining began in the early Middle Ages, then reached its largest scale in the 17th century, when about 1,300 miners worked here. Mined copper allowed Sweden to conduct military aggression and pay for its expenses with coins. By the end of the 18th century, the copper reserves were exhausted, in 1992 the mine was closed forever.
There are about 30 km of underground tunnels, but the excursion down is quite short and modest (although I have not been to the copper mines yet, so I ticked the box).
Read OnYin Xu
Joel on the Road Australia - 05-Oct-24
I’m generally wary of sites in the “something important happened here, but is no longer actually here” category, but Yin Xu was a pleasant surprise. As Els noted in her review, there are two components to this site: the old city, and the royal tombs. But the highlight of this site isn’t actually on the list: the gleaming new museum which had only just opened when we visited in August 2024.
The site is largely focused on the Shang Dynasty, which lasted from approximately 1700-1000 BCE. Most of what we know about the Shang comes from their writing system, inscribed in tiny characters on tortoise shells and other animal bones. It’s considered the birthplace of Chinese writing, and many modern Chinese characters have directly evolved from their Shang equivalents.
Read OnChurches and Convents of Goa
Zoë Sheng Chinese-Canadian - 04-Oct-24
You can walk around the area in maybe 4 hours. I would find it hard to imagine you spend more time EVEN if you have a guide. Most of what you see here are churches, much uglier than European based ones, and the main interest is that they were brought here and thus brought Christianity to the area.
It's also confusing if only churches are inscribed or the entire area. The local signs will guide you to the UNESCO Viceroys Arch, Adil Shah Palace Gateway which is in front of the perhaps Cajetan (locally called Church of Divine), the Archaeological Museum, but since it's not far off what you visit anyway you can take the quick walk down.
Read OnHigh Coast / Kvarken Archipelago
DutchHorn United States - 30-Sep-24
In the summer of 2010 before we said goodbye to Norway, we had one final roadtrip to visit a large part of this country. We drove as far North as Lofoten, then cut across to Sweden and came back south through there. On the way back, Becki and Jasper flew from Lulea to Stockholm while I drove the car through boring forests for ten hours. About halfway there is this WHS which is of geological importance as it is the fastest rising place in the world due to the glacier melting. They had a nice visitor center and a map with the UNESCO sign, so I was happy while I took a picture. For the rest this place is not very exciting, a lot of trees, water and I am sure a lot of mosquitoes.
Read OnPlitvice Lakes
DannyB Australia - 05-Oct-24
I was not going to do a review on this well-known World Heritage Site, however I noticed that the last review was undertaken in 2018, so thought an update would be good. We visited in October 2024 in the shoulder season. All our research indicated that the best option for us due to time and maximising the views of waterfalls, was walk C and to leave from Entrance 1. But more importantly to get there before 9.00am to avoid the crowds. The Park opens at 7.00. We had a hire car and left Zagreb around 6.00am with a short coffee stop at Rastoke village along the way, a small village with waterfalls cascading through the village and parks. A pleasant stop.
Read OnEngelsberg Ironworks
Triath - 28-Sep-24
One of the foundations of Sweden's prosperity in the "Age of Greatness" was iron.
Miraculously, one of the artifacts of this industry has been preserved, the ironworks in the village of Engelsberg. Fortunately, it's quite easy to get here by train.
Earlier, in the 18th century, there were several factories here, as the location is convenient: iron ore, rivers and forest are nearby. But only this factory has survived, and that is due to the efforts of the owners, who decided to preserve it as a heritage. To this day, the factory and all the surrounding land belong to the Johnson family, one of the richest in Sweden. Therefore, there are some restrictions on the territory, since it is private property.Most tourists limit themselves to inspecting the building from the outside, but I booked a place on an guided tour, and it turned out that I was the only person, so I was given a private tour. The guide from local museum not only showed me the furnaces and water wheels, but also told in detail how the factory functioned
Read OnThe Betlém Rock Sculptures near Kuks (T)
Tsunami Japan / USA / Europe - 23-Sep-24
My long time Czech friend Radim recently moved from Brno to a town near Nachod near the Plolish border, and upon visiting him from Wroclaw, Poland, I mentioned to him that I'm interested in visiting the TWHS of the Betlém Rock Sculptures.
So, on one Sunday afternoon in late August, we (Radim, his wife, a daughter, a baby son and me) drove from the Kudowa train station in Poland, where he picked me up, to the TWHS near Kuks.
Betlém means Bethlehem, and in the early 18th century the prominent Earl in this area Franz Anton Sporcka decided to create "a unique complex of religious scenes featuring old hermits and episodes from the life of Christ" with the help of a sculptor Matthias Bernhard Braun who was born in Austria but worked in Bohemia.
Read OnAncient Kyoto
Jgriffindor6 United States - 28-Sep-24
My trip to Kyoto in October of 2023 was really one of the highlights of my two week adventure in Japan. I timed my trip to coincide with the Jidai Matsuri and Kobo Dashi flea market, which were both great experiences that I can't recommend more. I also had a great time collecting goshuin stamps from all the temples and shrines as a fun souvenir. Here's my review of every temple that i managed to visit under this WHS.
Ginkaku-ji: This one was really enjoyable, especially as the culmination of the fun Philosopher's Path. It was raining when we visited, which meant it was thankfully not crowded, and it lent to moody pictures of the main pagoda. Ekiando, although not on the whs, was along the same path and deserves a shout out.
Read OnTorgau Castle Chapel (T)
CugelVance Germany - 16-Jun-24
On the way back to Berlin from Munich on June 12, 2024, I decided to visit Torgau, which is about 50 km northeast of Leipzig. I reached the city of 20,000 inhabitants by train at around 6:30 p.m. I quickly went to my accommodation, checked in and immediately left the pension to go to the market square. Luck was on my side and I got the last free table in the cafe Katharina, where I enjoyed a cold beer and an excellent meal while the evening sun caressed me with its mild rays. After around an hour I left the market square, walked through the attractive old town past the imposing St. Mary's Church to Hartenfels Castle. I crossed the bridge over the bear pit and arrived at the castle around 8:30 p.m. To my great surprise and delight, the castle chapel was open
Read OnAs-Salt
Triath - 28-Sep-24
The city itself, like everything in Jordan, is ancient, the name comes from the Latin saltus - forest.But the real prosperity of the city took place at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, when the administrative regional center of the Ottoman Empire was located here, and even the independence of Transjordan was declared here in 1922 (but the center of power moved to neighboring Amman later).In order to receive an UNESCO status, As-Salt is presented as a place of peaceful and harmonious coexistence of different religions, because in addition to the Great Mosque, there is also a Latin church, two Orthodox churches, and even an Anglican hospital
Read OnChola Temples
Zoë Sheng Chinese-Canadian - 03-Oct-24
Like most people I only visited the Thanjavur temple called Brihadisvara Temple. The other ones aren't far but check this out: I took the train!! Yeah well, even I can be on a budget. Basically you go to the Trichy (that's Tiruchirappalli if you are a newbie), ask for the next train to Thanjavur which is often, pay the cheapo ticket price and ride 45min across the country. The taxis wanted 2,500 for all this - ridiculous, unsure what the apps wanted though. The way back is the same. I asked for the time in advance and they even got me a reserved seat ticket. You can do all that on the apps if you want to so you know the times in advance. You can take a rickshaw or, like me, walk the 15min to the temple. The path is easy and only requires one tough-ish road crossing
Read OnGreat Smoky Mountains
DutchHorn United States - 26-Sep-24
In June we went on a vacation to the Smokey Mountains. I had promised myself a real vacation this year which involves going somewhere that I had not been yet and did not involve visiting family. This vacation fit that request perfectly and we had a great time in this wonderful part of the country where I had not been to before. We walked in the woods including a short part of the Appalachian trail, threw rocks in the river, even tubed down it, hopped on a train and in general relaxed in the great cabin that we had found in Bryson City, North Carolina. The second day there was hiking day as we hiked to the top of the Smokey Mountains National Park. From there you had a great view of miles and miles of green forest all directions.
Read OnGreat Smoky Mountains
Jgriffindor6 United States - 29-Sep-24
I went here on a family trip a few years ago and although we had an amazing time and I give the WHS a solid 4 stars, that does come with some major reservations. One of them being a place that starts with G and ends in burg.
Yes, the infamous Gatlinburg and its partner in crime Pigeon Forge. Being from the West Coast, we had no idea what was in store for us. No clue that Gatlinburg IS the capital of American kitsch. We were just there to go hiking. So obviously we decided to stay in Gatlinburg, not knowing we were entering one of Dante's circles of hell. If you enjoy kitsch or are a foreigner who wants to experience something abnoxiously american just for kicks, then go on ahead. But if you value your sanity do not stay in Gatlinburg.
Read OnThe Ancient City of Sardis and the Lydian Tumuli of Bin Tepe (T)
Christravelblog Netherlands - 30-Sep-24
Sardis is nominated for 2025 inscription. I think it should be as there isn't much Lydia related material on the list and the city played a key role and of course, coinage was "invented" there and without it I would be without a job today.
Sardis, an ancient city of great historical significance, was renowned for its wealth and cultural achievements. As the capital of the Lydian Kingdom, it thrived as a center of trade and innovation. Notably, it was where coinage was first minted, revolutionizing commerce. Sardis played a pivotal role in the Persian Wars, falling to Cyrus the Great in 546 BCE. Later, it became part of the Hellenistic world under Alexander the Great’s conquests and eventually came under Roman rule.
Read OnAggtelek and Slovak Karst
CugelVance Germany - 22-Sep-24
Visit: 11th of sept.2024
Every day at 06.35am there is a direct bus (bus1054) from Budapest's Puskas Ferenc Stadion (metro:Puskas Ferenc Stadion) bus station to Aggtelek and at around 14.50 back to Budapest.
The arrival time in Aggtelek is 10.45...very inconvenient as the winter schedule is already in effect so that visits to the cave take place at 10.00/13.00/15.00. Instead of waiting for two hours, I decided to walk the 2 km long path to the slovakian sister cave Domica. It took me about 30 minutes to walk on an asphalted road with almost no traffic at all to reach Domica crossing the border with its abandoned border buildings.The tour in Domica started at 12.30.There are lockers, a coffee machine, an abandoned-looking holiday complex with statues, mini trains and other Disneyland-like characters. However, the organization and foreign language skills in Domica were very good.The tour started on time. There were only two other visitors that day, two elderly slovaks
Read OnWürzburg Residence
Triath - 28-Sep-24
I read the previous reviews, and it looks like the rules of visiting have changed radically. Firstly, you can visit the residence not only with a group tour, I arrived late and missed the last English-language tour, but it turned out that you can visit individually, at your own pace. Another important change is that the ban on photography has been removed, now you can take pictures everywhere. The admission is 9 euro (ICOM members for free), the admission to the Court Church and the Court Garden is free.
Read OnMount Wuyi
Trekkie900 - 30-Sep-24
The WHS boundary of Mount Wuyi includes the west most part of Jiangxi province and the northwest part of Fujian province. As a mixed site, Mount Wuyi is famous for both its natural beauty and historic value.
The natural part of Mount Wuyi, of course deserves its inscription as a natural heritage. The whole area is in Danxia landform (regions with cliffs and red stones formed with the force of water), similar to all the locations inscribed in another world natural heritage site "China Danxia". Inside the Mount Wuyi Scenic Area, there are three most famous peaks that are inscribed: Tianyou ("wandering in the heaven") Peak, Yu'nü ("jade lady", used to describe beautiful young female) Peak and Dawang ("the king") Peak. You could easily access all the three peaks by the shuttle bus (70 RMB per person per day), and hike both Tianyou Peak and Dawang Peak. Yu'nü Peak, however, is almost impossible to hike but is the most iconic site inside the national park
Read OnPalau de la Musica Catalana & Hospital de Sant Pau
DutchHorn United States - 11-Oct-24
In the summer of 2010, I was in Barcelona for the 2010 EAGE conference. One day I had an evening to go for a walk in town and find this WHS. I also walked along the Ramblas and found the old hostel I stayed at during previous Barcelona trips. This site is a pretty building from the outside, but not that impressive in my view.
Apparently, the inside is quite impressive and the other building that is part of this WHS is quite nice as well. I was actually a bit disappointed that downtown Barcelona does not have more sites. This city seems to have so much old and new history that I would think there would be more interesting sites.
Read OnThingvellir
DutchHorn United States - 11-Oct-24
In the spring of 2010, we took a trip to Iceland from Stavanger for a long weekend. We rented a car and did quite a bit of sightseeing in this beautiful and interesting country. One of the trips was to this National Park which is a WHS. The reason for this site is that it is of historical importance. However, I did not really see much interesting in that regard.
However, what was interesting to us was that park is in the middle of the rift zone and apparently this is on top of the plate boundaries with the American plate to the West and the European plate to the right
Read OnAmami-Oshima Island
Els Slots The Netherlands - 24-Sep-24
Let’s first set some things straight about this WHS. I propose a name change: “Subtropical Rainforests of the Ryukyu Archipelago” would cover it much better than the enumeration of the names of 4 islands as cumbersome as Kluane / Wrangell-St. Elias / Glacier Bay / Tatshenshini-Alsek. And: Iriomote Island actually is the main component. It’s the largest, the least developed and the most ‘different’ as it lies in a different biogeographic realm from the rest: the Indomalayan instead of the Palearctic.
Read OnKujataa
Thomas Buechler Switzerland - 28-Sep-24
Erik the Red who came all the way from Iceland to the Southwest Greenlandic fjords to find greener pastures, and must have found in here in Bratthlid (Qassiarsuk), so he called the lands Greenland in a good marketing move for other Viking farmers to follow him. In the year 985, it became the first Norse farm here. His son, Leif the Lucky, discovered the North American shores from here in the years to come. Also the "law speaker" resided here in Bratthlid. The archaeological area can be freely visited, and it takes a couple of hours to see the remains of farm houses, storehouses, and a small turf and wood church what is believed to be the remains of Thjodhild's (wife of Erik the Red) original church mentioned in the Icelandic Saga
Read OnTashkent makhallas (T)
Mihai Dascalu Romania - 10-Oct-24
I spent two days in October 2024 in Tashkent trying to figure out what is special about the Tashkent makhallas. I read the nomination document and Nan’s summary and I went to Hazrat Imam Complex, Chorsu, and Shayhantaur as well as many other neighborhoods but everywhere there is construction, fences, barriers etc, hard to say that I saw anything that has OUV.
Read OnTokaji Wine Region
CugelVance Germany - 22-Sep-24
Visit : 12th of sept.2024
Early in the morning I took the train from Miskolc,Hungary's third biggest city,to Tokaj where I arrived around 12.00.I went straight to my rented apartment where I was received with a glass of Tokaj wine.I then strolled through the little town of Tokaj and visited both the unesco museum and the Tokaj museum.....both are only mildly interesting.I then went to the Rakoczi cellars to take part in a wine tasting.
I was the only participant. The wine guide spoke excellent english.I tasted 6 different wines and had some snacks.I could then stroll through the cellars freely without a time limit. I bought a bottle of wine and asked for a plastic cup. They opened my bottle halfway so that I could later open the cork without the help of a cork opener. Just around the corner is another winery,the Himesudvar winery,where I had another glass of wine before I set off to climb up the nearby hiking trail that led along the cemetery. Once I got to the next path, I decided to take the hiking trail to the TV tower. All in all, it took me about 50-60 minutes to reach the TV tower. The day was warm and sunny. I sat down in front of the TV tower, opened the bottle of wine and enjoyed the view
Read OnSurtsey
Tsunami Japan / USA / Europe - 24-Sep-24
I made my 2nd trip to Iceland this past summer. In the year 2000 when I first made it to Iceland, there was no WHS in Iceland, but the tour of the Golden Circle I took from Reykjavik covered the future WHS of the Thingvellir National Park (inscribed in 2004). But this time I decided to go back for snorkeling at the Silfra Rift at the Thingvellir National Park and also to tick off the Vatnajökull National Park (inscribed in 2019) in addition to Surtsey (inscribed in 2008).
Upon my attempt to "visit" Surtsey, the first thing I had to do was to make sure that I can see it in the proper lighting condition, so after originally scheduling this trip in November last year, I decided to move it to June this year, the month with the longest daylight.
Read OnTarraco
Alikander99 Spain - 25-Sep-24
Tarraco is messy proposal with a lot of parts to it, just like the equally hispano roman city of Merida. Over the course of two days I visited the amphitheatre, the circus, the aqueduct and the mausoleum (?) of centcelles. I also visited other properties like the forum and theatre, but their conservation state is pretty terrible.
The most famous element of the site is whithout a doubt the amphitheatre. it's pretty and very photogenic, but it pales in comparison with other city enclosed amphitheatres like arles, verona or pula. This is not all too surprising, afterall Tarraco is inscribed because of its ensemble, but I think the fact that the crown jewel is not overly impressive speaks volumes about the general quality of the site.
Read OnOkinoshima Island
Els Slots The Netherlands - 22-Sep-24
Like most others, I visited the Munakata Taisha a.k.a. Hetsu shrine. I hadn’t planned on writing a review, but I think I have an important tip for future visitors: make sure you see “everything”. The layout of the site is confusing and signage is in Japanese only, so it is easy to overlook something or not do it justice because you don’t know the meaning of what you see.
Right at the entrance you can pick up a flyer (in Japanese of course) with a map that shows the main parts:
Read OnMaratha Military Architecture in Maharashtra (T)
Zoë Sheng Chinese-Canadian - 25-Sep-24
I could leave this to someone who saw more forts or maybe just let India pick the ones they want to inscribe first, then get it inscribed, and finally visit. Well, I figured since I'm already at Goa I may as well do a short detour to Sindudurg Fort and tick this off - only that Sindudurg Fort is CLOSED!! One is supposed to supposed to get a boat tour from Malvan 8:00 AM to 5:30 PM daily but, no, this wasn't possible. The official website still talks about it being open too. I thus think someone will visit the forts near Mumbai and tell you more about the actual forts. Officially you take a tour when it starts, it then gives you ~1h fort time to explore before taking you back.
Read OnFortifications in Komárno - Komárom (Slovak) (T)
CugelVance Germany - 21-Sep-24
Visit 14th+15th of sept.2024
I took the bus from the whs Hollokö to Budapest and from there the train to Komaram,the hungarian part of the twin city, which is separated by the Danube river.It was rainy both when I arrived late in the afternoon and the following day... there were hardly any moments without drizzle. After I left my bag at my accommodation in the slovak part I visited the nearby Povnost Komarno, which is closed to the public. Only a few tours take place there and the one for the same day was canceled at short notice due to bad weather. I was still able to take some photos from the inside by simply following an incoming truck...but I only had a few moments before I was thrown out of the fortress grounds again
Read OnBagh-e Babur (T)
Wojciech Fedoruk Poland - 21-Sep-24
Babur's Gardens were founded by Babur, an eminent ruler and warrior, founder of the Mughal dynasty. Babur loved Kabul and the oasis of peace he had created so much that he ordered to be buried there in a roofless tomb, so that after his death the Kabul’s rain and the Kabul’s wind would cool him. At first, the wish was not fulfilled - Babur was buried in Agra, but after a few years his body was moved to Kabul and placed in a white tomb. In addition to the tomb, there is the Shah Jahan Mosque (the builder of the Taj Mahal) and the so-called The Queen's Palace from the 19th century. Babur Gardens suffered terribly during the civil war of 1992-1996, but was later very comprehensively rebuilt.
Read OnBukhara
Alikander99 Spain - 22-Sep-24
Bukhara is the middle child of uzbekistan's whs cities. Less monumental and lively than Samarkand, but more so than khiva. Less cohesive than khiva, but more so than Samarkand.
It is by far also the most diverse of them too. While khiva and Samarkand almost exclusively shine through a particular period (19th century and 15th century respectively) Bukhara has a bit of everything. It has brilliant pre-timurid architecture (samanid Mausoleum), timurid masterpieces (Ulugh begh madrasa) and later additions up to the 20th century (arq).
Read OnMozu-Furuichi Kofun
Els Slots The Netherlands - 21-Sep-24
First, I’d like to thank Philipp for making the effort to cover the Furuichi cluster so I could cross that from my to-do-list. Even when limiting myself to the Mozu cluster, I found it a labour-intensive visit as I walked 8.2 km across 3 hours in the heat (still 33 degrees Celsius in late September). I did: Sakaihigashi Station – Sakai City Hall Observation Lobby – kofun in the north – hike towards Daisan Park along the westside of Nintoku-tenno-ryo – Sakai City Museum – small kofuns in the park - Itasuke kofun – ceremonial Gate to Nintoku-tenno-ryo – Mozu Station. A useful downloadable map with hiking routes along the points of interest can be found here.
Read OnCity of Balkh (antique Bactria) (T)
Wojciech Fedoruk Poland - 20-Sep-24
Balkh (ancient Bactria) is perhaps the most important archaeological site in Afghanistan. It is located about 30 km from Mazar-e-Sharif. The city has been inhabited since at least the 6th century BC. it was conquered by Alexander the Great, and then became the center of Zoroastrianism, Buddhism and finally Islam. Perhaps the most important monument of Balkh is the Citadel (photo 1), where Alexander's Greeks were already stationed. The original 60-kilometer walls have been reduced to approximately 10 kilometers, but only a few sections can be seen in good condition.
Read OnEuropean Paper Mills (Homburg and Niederzwönitz Paper Mills) (T)
CugelVance Germany - 21-Sep-24
Visit: the 19th of septembre 2024.
After a long trip through Hungary and Austria (flood of the century that caused the local train system to collapse) to visit my missing world heritage sites there, I stayed overnight -on my way back to Berlin- in the small town of Zwoenitz. The following morning I arrived at the paper mill shortly before 10.30am and was lucky enough to be able to join a guided group tour with around 20 pensioners. Mister Stoelzel, who has dedicated more than 50 years of his life to the paper mill, personally led a group of pensioners through the still-functioning facility.
Read OnFatehpur Sikri
Alikander99 Spain - 22-Sep-24
Fatehpur Sikri is a rather interesting site as it reflects mughal ambition as if carved in stone and left for us to wonder.
The city was in many ways akbar's attemt to reinvent the mughal dynasty and in such way it also reflects its eventual failure to do so. Mughal India would never again follow the syncretic ideals of akbar and his city was left instead collecting dust.
I would've given the site 1 star less had it not been for the mosque, which is delightful in its ambition. The tomb of Salim Chishti brings the jali to its ultimate form, creating a semi exterior gallery of outmost delicacy
Read OnColonies of Benevolence
Tony H. Finland - 21-Sep-24
I visited in April 2024 the town of Frederiksoord. I parked my car to the Museum de Proefkolonie which was going through renovations at the time but the museum and its restaurant were fully operational. I decided to skip the museum exhibition but I went to ask help for exploring the town. The staff at the museum were very helpful and provided me with a map of different walking and cycling routes around Frederiksoord and Wilhelminaoord and a small booklet about the history of the free colonies. The staff recommended the green route which was titled "Sterrebosroute" and the route seemed to go around the whole town and all the sights of interest so I decided to follow the recommendation.
Read OnHikone-Jo (castle) (T)
Els Slots The Netherlands - 20-Sep-24
We expect Hikone Castle to be nominated in 2027, it has already requested a preliminary assessment. It is one of the few items left on Japan’s Tentative List, where it has lingered since 1992. At the moment of writing, it has a perfect 100% recommendation score by our community members. So my hopes were up for my visit, also because I hadn’t been to a classical Japanese site during this trip yet.
At the ticket counter, it’s worth it to get the most extensive ticket, that covers palace museum, castle and gardens. It is the combination of these 3 elements that gives Hikone-Jo an edge over similar Japanese castles
Read OnBamiyan Valley
Wojciech Fedoruk Poland - 19-Sep-24
I visited the monuments of Bamyan during one day in September 2024. For an appetizer, there was Shahr-i Ghulghulah, which can be translated as the City of Screams. This rather terrifying name comes from the destruction of the city by Genghis Khan's troops, which left no one alive. Apparently this was because Genghis Khan's beloved grandson had been killed earlier during the siege of Bamyan, but the Mongols did not need too many excuses to destroy everything living among their defeated opponents. The City of Screams never recovered from this massacre and today it is a complex of charming ruins on the mountainside.
Read OnDutch Water Defence Lines
Ian Cade UK - 24-Sep-24
18 years after my first visit, I made the most of being based in the Netherlands for the summer to try to understand this somewhat enigmatic site.
But where to choose? Well quite by accident I hit a jackpot.
This fantastic museum just outside Utrecht focuses on the New Dutch Waterline section that runs from Muiden on the Ijmeer, south to the Waal (essentially the Rhine) river at Gorinchem. The elegant concrete brutalist bunker has been inserted into the centre of the original fort, and its central courtyard now has a beautiful concrete 3D map of the whole system that can be filled with water to fully illustrate how water defence system can be used to flood a band across the central Netherlands to protect Holland and Amsterdam from attaches from the South and East.
Read OnLübeck
GerhardM Austria - 01-Oct-24
We visited Lübeck in September 2024.
Lübeck is an old venerable Hanseatic city. But Lübeck is not just a city with a lot of history, brick art and many impressive churches. Lübeck is also a city with a lot of lively life, streets with beautiful renovated houses and many attractive shops (Marzipan too of course).
The Holster Tor is certainly a highlight and a hike along the harbor is simply lovely.
It´s not a modern city with just a few patches of history.
Read OnAlbi
Garry Jackson United Kingdom - 01-Oct-24
An amazing place to visit, the magnitude of the building given it is constructed wholly of brick is nothing short of staggering. A bastion for the Cathers, the audio tour is well worthwhile to support a tour around the inside of this impressive biulding. The gardens and walkways around the curtilage of the Cathedral are equally impressive and the views down and across the river are staggeringly beautiful.
Read OnSamarkand
Alikander99 Spain - 22-Sep-24
Samarkand is one of those cities which could easily be in the list a couple of times had they wanted so. And in a way it might have fit the place better. As Samarkand is better understood as a set of masterpieces that happen to be in a city. Especially compared to the likes of Bukhara or itchan Kala which shine because of their cohesion.
I would say there are 5 main components in Samarkand which could've had a decent shot to get into the list.
1. Gur e amir, this is the accidental mausoleum of the timurid dynasty (it wasn't built with that intent). Its rather small size is easily forgone once you see the luxurious decoration of the interior. I found it gave the best glimpse into the luxury Timur's palaces must've sported, which is otherwise hard to spot in Samarkand.
Read OnSemmering Railway
CugelVance Germany - 21-Sep-24
Visit: the 17th of sept. 2024
In the middle of the chaos of the once-in-a-century floods in Austria with countless canceled or interrupted train connections I tried my luck and luck was with me as I was able to board a train very early in the morning from Vienna to Muerzuschlag from where I had to take another train to Semmering.Shortly after 8.00am I arrived at Semmering. It was like a miracle that I reached Semmering by train, as many metro lines and tram connections in Vienna were canceled.
I took some photos of the historic train with the Unesco plaque next to the train tracks [...]
Read OnNanda Devi and Valley of Flowers
Zoë Sheng Chinese-Canadian - 20-Sep-24
Nanda Devi is closed. For tourists and mountaineers. You COULD go to the northern area as a scientist but it requires permits you won't get, and as you thus avoid the dangers (that's why it was closed) you are better off not going. You can't even see the peak from the Valley area. The Valley of Flowers is open and a majestic hike. It comes close to the "5 day to visit" and it could be seen as a tour-only visit but there are ways around it and you don't need a tour guide. It's better though - and not even expensive. I think overall I spent less than 100 dollars on all this.
Read OnLaponian Area
DutchHorn United States - 30-Sep-24
In the summer of 2010 before we said goodbye to Norway, we had one final roadtrip to visit a large part of this country. We drove as far North as Lofoten, then cut across to Sweden and came back south through there. We crossed the polar circle in Norway and passed it again by a nice sign on the way back. This is the Laponian area of Sweden. There was a nice museum in Jokkmokk on the indigenous people who were living here and we found this sign on the side of the road with a detailed description. The site has both natural, hiking and people components to it. As we had limited time and were traveling with young baby we stopped at the museum, took pictures of the signs, but did not have the time for hiking or much exploring.
Read OnJewish-Medieval heritage of Erfurt
Triath - 29-Sep-24
There was a large Jewish community in Erfurt, but in 1349 there was a pogrom, many Jews were killed, the rest were expelled, and property was taken. Apparently, this nomination became a kind of correction of this historical grievance, although very little of the Jewish heritage of those times has survived here. Basically, the object includes three buildings:
1) The old synagogue, which was converted into a warehouse after the pogrom, has survived
Read OnNikko
Jgriffindor6 United States - 29-Sep-24
As I had taken a Japanese history class in college and learned all about the Tokugawa shogunate, I had to work visiting Nikko into my travel plans. We took the (super early) express train from Asakusa station and made it to Nikko right when the temples started opening.
The highlight is Toshogu shrine, as it is the grandest and contains the remains of Tokugawa Ieyasu. But it is also chocked with hordes of school tour groups at all times, even if you go early. It is worth braving the crowds however, because the carvings are amazing. The restoration team did a wonderful job. Taiyuin is almost just as grand and much more peaceful than Toshogu. This one contains the remains of Tokugawa Iemitsu. The mountain and forest atmosphere is also in itself peaceful.
Read OnOld City of Berne
DutchHorn United States - 14-Sep-24
At the end of a Christmas visit to Switzerland in 2023, we had a day trip to Berne which is a beautiful town in the center of Switzerland. We walked down from the train station to the end of town and were right in time for the noon show at the main historic clock tower. In the town is also a small museum at the house where Albert Einstein lived. We ended the day at the small bear pit where the Berne bears are kept, although they apparently take a break in the winter so we did not see them. We then walked up to the great restaurant on top of the hill overlooking the town with a romantic view and good food. Then it was back to the train station.
Read OnBand-E-Amir (T)
Wojciech Fedoruk Poland - 18-Sep-24
Site visited in September 2024. Band-E-Amir is a complex of wonderful lakes, created by natural travertine dams on rivers flowing down from the mountains of Hindukush. The lakes have vivid colors and are very transparent. Their intense color contrasts with the grey-brown shade of the surrounding mountains, forming cliffs several dozen meters high. The whole thing creates a postcard landscape and is absolutely unique. All this at an altitude of 2,900 m above sea level, which makes walking around the lakes difficult.
Read OnPrimeval Beech Forests
Adrian Turtschi Germany - 17-Sep-24
Le Grand Ventron, September 2024
The Vosges mountain range in Alsace turns out to be surprisingly, well, mountainous, with steep cliffs, large boulders, and hair pinned mountain pass roads, which came as a little bit of a surprise to me, having grown up in the Alps myself, and expecting more of a landscape with gentle slopes and undulating hills.
I’m no tree expert, but the beech forests around the Grand Ventron mountain peak seem to owe their existence to a very specific local micro-climate
Read OnCity of Herat (T)
Wojciech Fedoruk Poland - 18-Sep-24
Site visited in September 2024. Compared to the very conservative Kandahar from which I came, Herat looks like a city from another era. "Another" in this case means better, more modern. Everything in Herat indicates a higher level of civilization - compact buildings, lots of greenery, clean and well-kept streets, functioning amusement parks, even women not covering their faces, and from time to time wearing a completely loose scarf. I didn't expect anything like this from Afghanistan.
Herat’s monuments are also of a completely different class
Read OnGobustan Rock Art
DutchHorn United States - 14-Sep-24
In October 2023, I had my first (and probably) only visit to this country and I took full advantage by visiting two UNESCO sites during my stay. I managed to keep the last day of my week free of meetings as I really wanted to go see life mud volcanoes. So, on Friday we took a full day field trip to check out all the sites in the country. The mud volcanoes are very close to the Gobustan UNESCO site and most people probably come on this trip to see them first. To me the mud volcanoes were the more impressive site which should probably be on the geologic list of places to see around the world. The Gobustan site was pretty impressive as well
Read OnWalled City of Baku
DutchHorn United States - 14-Sep-24
In October 2023, I had my first (and probably) only visit to this country and I took full advantage by visiting two UNESCO sites during my stay. The hotel was close to the office and about a half an hour walk from the old town, To gather my thoughts of the day I started walking and made it to the Maiden tower which is one of the main center pieces of this UNESCO world heritage site. I had time to walk around it, take some pictures of the tower as well of some of the old sites that are exposed here. It was too late to get to the top itself. Later that week we came back and saw some more of the old town, like the Northern gate and the streets that are well cleaned up and restored in the center.
Read OnYosemite National Park
DutchHorn United States - 26-Sep-24
In 2017, we took a two week long trip to California, starting in Los Angeles and driving from there to San Francisco. Along the way, we stopped in Yosemite National Park, where we stayed in a motel close to the entrance. We found out when we got there that we needed to get up super early to make sure we had a parking spot in the park. We should have investigated finding a place to stay in the park, but it was too late for that. This park is very impressive with beautiful views and water falls but also a bit of a tourist trap due to long lines for parking and for lunch. We did make a nice walk at the end of the park and again took tons of pictures.
Read OnKew Gardens
DutchHorn United States - 26-Sep-24
I have been to Richmond many times for work before, but never really realized how close this is to the UNESCO world heritage site of Kew Gardens. This site is basically at the end of Richmond and you could almost walk to it if you had an hour. I was just in time to get into the park and the main green house as they closed around 6pm. These green houses and gardens contain samples from plants from all around the world that had been collected by various British scientists over the years while the British built their empire and traveled all around the world. It has some very nice gardens with a variety of plants and gardens
Read OnVan Nellefabriek
DutchHorn United States - 26-Sep-24
I visited this sight around Christmas of 2021 when I was visiting Holland by myself and was driving from The Hague to Breda. As many times before (either by train or by car) I drove by this factory which is in Northern Rotterdam, not that far from Delft where I studied. As I had some extra time and had never visited before and was driving right by the site I decided to have quick stop. So I did, I walked around the building which is now an office for start up companies and took pictures from all angles. There are tours but as the country was in COVID lockdown, I was not able to go inside. I tried to find a UNESCO sign but was not successful.
Read OnSilk Roads: Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor
Tony H. Finland - 15-Sep-24
Visited in June 2024. For such a grand serial site, the Silk Road, it's a shame that I only had time to visit one component of it in Xi'an: the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda. The Giant Wild Goose Pagoda lives up to its name. It's giant (but doesn't look like a goose) and rises above of all the modern stuff that has been built around it. When you arrive to the district where the pagoda is located you wouldn't believe first that there is a very historical monument somewhere nearby. The district is more like an open-air shopping mall with all the international brands you can think of. But in the middle of it all rises the ancient pagoda, still looking magnificent and mystical despite all the modern entertainment around it.
Read OnStatue of Liberty
DutchHorn United States - 26-Sep-24
In 2014, we took a long weekend trip to New York. It was the first time I stayed in New York after two previous short day trips. We found out this city has lots to offer as we saw tons of sights and barely made it of the island or even North of Central Park. On Saturday we did make it off the island as we took a tour to the Statue of Liberty, one the most touristy sites in the U.S. I had not visited yet. We got of the island, walked around the statue and took tons of pictures from the island and from the ferry. We took a picture of me on Ellis Island.
Read OnFrank Lloyd Wright Buildings
DutchHorn United States - 26-Sep-24
In 2014, we took a long weekend trip to New York. t was the first time I stayed in New York after two previous short day trips. We found out this city has lots to offer as we saw tons of sights and barely made it of the island or even North of Central Park. One of our trips was to Central park and while there we took some pictures on the outside of the Guggenheim museum, a UNESCO world heritage site. We did not go in however, and visited the museum of Natural history on the other side of the park instead.
Read OnMoravian Church Settlements
Blake - 15-Sep-24
I think 1.5 stars is appropriate for the Bethlehem site, it is newly established this year and I enjoyed my visit but there is much to be desired, which I do think that they are working on. Give this site more funding and staffing and I believe it can be a great site, up to 3 stars. It's an extremely interesting history and they are working on restoring the destroyed buildings. It is not worth more than half a day in my opinion with the Museum and a short stroll visiting the buildings you can read every plaque in that time. The employees are all very passionate there and love the sites, it's clear there is a lot of care that just needs funding.
Read OnWarsaw
Ludvan USA - 25-Sep-24
Warsaw Old Town was razed by the Nazis in 1944, so the WHS designation was awarded for the restoration effort that is still ongoing. As such, we had to view it as a construction project instead of an old town. The job done is remarkable, but one always wonders if things are made more for the tourists, which are many. Mea culpa. As a tourist site, it is pleasant enough, with broad squares, the church spires, classical and Gothic architecture abound. But there isn’t anything that makes it different from any other old European city. There are no WHS class churches, no architecture master pieces, no stunning river views.
Read OnAasivissuit - Nipisat
Thomas Buechler Switzerland - 20-Sep-24
Well before our visit, I made contacts with the UNESCO liaison office for Aasivissuit-Nipisat-it is a small group of 3 dedicated officers based in Sisimiut and Kangerlussuaq. One of them is the park ranger, Christian who patrols the area every day and calls it his office, exactly 585,000 football fields large! We rented a car (an adventure on itself to find it, price around 100 Euros) and Christian volunteered as driver and probably the best guide you could find, as he knows some hidden archaeological places along the road to the ice cap and Point 660. Like remains of hunting grounds, and places where the rendeer meat was dried before transport to the camps. As he works full time, he is normally available late afternoon
Read OnThe Architectural Work of Le Corbusier
Adrian Turtschi Germany - 17-Sep-24
La Manufacture à Saint- Dié, September 2024
Saint-Dié-des-Vosges is a truly enjoyable little town which boasts two world heritage sites: a small World War I nécropole some 30 minutes walking distance in the eastern suburbs, and of course the famous Duval factory building, the only one of its kind ever realized by Le Corbusier.
Progressive industrialist Jean-Jacques Duval somehow managed to convince the Great Architect to visit the far countryside in order to rebuild his hosiery factory, destroyed during World War II
Read OnMinaret of Jam
Wojciech Fedoruk Poland - 18-Sep-24
The Minaret of Jam is an almost legendary place. For at least 20 years, from 2001 to 2021 (though actually since the outbreak of the Afghan war in 1978), it was completely inaccessible to visitors. During the US intervention, the mountains around it were a Taliban hotbed and were not controlled by the Afghan government or US military. After the Taliban took power, it is open again, which I took advantage of by visiting this place in September 2024 with a group of seven like-minded travelers from Poland (including three women).
Read OnSingapore Botanic Gardens
Zoë Sheng Chinese-Canadian - 30-Aug-24
I believe there were some updates in the last few years because there are clear signs when you enter the UNESCO area as well as maps to explain which area are the UNESCO area. Knowing this you don't waste your time exploring the northern playground part and go directly to the area you want. I saw NORTH because that's what the maps shows but Singapore has the tendandency to show a map with north going not up so I don't actually know.
Most of the park is free aside from the Orchid Garden which costs a small fee. It's definitely worth seeing the orchids. The outside one have blatantly been planted but the greenhouse alone is worth seeing. You should also go through it twice just to enjoy the lovely flowers. The rest of the botanical garden is rather meh.
Read OnAngkor
Jgriffindor6 United States - 23-Sep-24
It has been a dream of mine to visit Angkor since i was a child, and the experience was perhaps even better than I could have imagined! Massive would be an understatement for the scale of this place. There are enough ruins here to keep you occupied for days, and then some. Angkor wat itself is of course a highlight, but don't miss Banteay Srei! Its a bit out there compared to the others but the artwork is amazing. It is totally worth it to get up early for the sunrise over angkor wat. Stay later for the sunset too!
Read OnBadain Jaran Desert
Zoë Sheng Chinese-Canadian - 30-Aug-24
I went to Badain years ago. It is best combined with the Zhangye Danxia because of the close proximity - at least for China. These days you can fly into Jinchang and get a taxi from there. From Zhangye I had a driver taking me to the entrance of the park which is 2-3 hours driving so you leave really early or stay in the park which is usually recommended. I didn't because I saw all I wanted within a day. The entrance of the park doesn't really have much to do.
After paying for the ticket (expensive by the way) you can roam around the park but it's still far to trek anywhere so your best bet is to rent a jeep the park [...]
Read OnAgra Fort
Alikander99 Spain - 22-Sep-24
I agree with the general sentiment that the red fort and agra Fort are virtually indistinguishable. No doubt helped by the fact that both have significant historical overlap in their structures.
Weirdly enough, I remember agra Fort as more interesting than the red fort, but when checking the photos I tend to like the latter better. Overall I think both have a place in the list as examplary complexes.
Imo the most diferenciating aspect, and one that I particularly enjoyed was the persistence of some akbarite architecture.
Read OnGraz
Alikander99 Spain - 22-Sep-24
I agree here with Clyde. Throughout the 10h that I spent in graz I failed to see the sketchy ouv the site presents: "Historic Centre and Schloss Eggenberg reflects artistic and architectural movements originating from the Germanic region, the Balkans and the Mediterranean"
The city is nice enough with an abundance of Renaissance buildings and a nice cathedral with the rather surprising mausoleum of Ferdinand II. Apart from that the most satisfying part of the day was climbing the hill up to the clock tower.
Read OnHumayun's Tomb
Alikander99 Spain - 22-Sep-24
I'm torn with this review. On one hand humayun's tomb has a privileged place in mughal history as the first of the monumental musoleums that would end with the iconic Taj mahal. On the other hand I feel the techniques that would make the Taj mahal the masterpiece it is, hadn't yet shone through. The structure lacks the striking verticality of later mughal structures and the decoration with pietradura had yet to be perfected. This leaves the mausoleum rather plain, though the alternation of marble and sandstone somewhat lessens this.
Read OnSchönbrunn
Eric Lurio USA - 12-Sep-24
When his Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty, Franz Josef the 1st, by the Grace of God Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary and Bohemia, Dalmatia, Croatia, Slavonia, Galicia, Lodomeria and Illyria; King of Jerusalem, etc.; Archduke of Austria; Grand Duke of Tuscany and Cracow; Duke of Lorraine, Salzburg, Styria, Carinthia, Carniola and Bukovina; Grand Prince of Transylvania, Margrave of Moravia; Duke of Upper and Lower Silesia, of Modena, Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla, of Auschwitz and Zator, of Teschen, Friaul, Ragusa and Zara; Princely Count of Habsburg and Tyrol, of Kyburg, Gorizia and Gradisca; Prince of Trento and Brixen; Margrave of Upper and Lower Lusatia and in Istria; Count of Hohenems, Feldkirch, Bregenz, Sonnenberg etc
Read OnPrimeval Beech Forests
CugelVance Germany - 21-Sep-24
Visit: 4th of sept.2024,Serrahn
I took the train from Berlin-Suedbahnhof at 07.36am via Berlin-Hauptbahnhof(central station) and Berlin-Gesundbrunnen to the city of Neustrelitz, where I arrived at around 09.00am. I walked from the train station to the city center and looked around the pleasant city for a bit. About 1.5 hours later I took the bus 619 from the Neustrelitz bus station, which is right in front of the train station. I got off the 619 bus at the stop "Zinnow World Heritage Site”. Everything is excellently signposted from there...I didn't need my downloaded offline map.
Read OnVienna
Eric Lurio USA - 10-Sep-24
Once upon a time, two centuries and a bit, The German world was split in two, the Hapsburg Slavic lands and and the archduchess and kingdoms that would wind up under the Prussian Hohenzollerans before the whole thing blew up in the First World War. But that was later.
Austria wasn’t much then, and it isn’t much now, but in this picturesque bit of nothing was Vienna, also known as Wein. The capital of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation for far shorter than one would expect, The downtown palace complex called the Hoffburg is where the family and their empire were headquartered for about 400 years, on and off. This was the most glamorous and expensive bit of palatial architecture ever made. Well worth a look.
Read OnPing Yao
Joel on the Road Australia - 07-Sep-24
Ping Yao is a beautiful and well-preserved old city, located in China’s Shanxi province. It was an important centre of trade, commerce, and political power for centuries, mainly during the Qing and Ming dynasties, and much of the old historic core of the city is still intact and in good condition.
There are lots of well-preserved wooden buildings, brightly coloured and with exquisite Chinese characters decorating the facades, hidden laneways and [...]
Read OnBudapest
Eric Lurio USA - 04-Sep-24
AS to the capital of Hungary, it’s not as old as it’s supposed to be. Budapest, pronounced Buda-Pescht, only dates to 1873, and most of the oldest architecture only predates it by a few years, but the commies who found the place in rubble after the war made a decision not to utilize Socialist modernism but in 19th century classical revival and art nouveau, which is why the place was inscribed in the first place.
In other words, in good taste.
The city was originally two cities, Buda, which is on top of a thing midway between a hill and a mountain, and Pescht, which was a smallish flat suburb before the nationalists decided [...]
Read OnNisa
Zoë Sheng Chinese-Canadian - 29-Aug-24
Like most people say: you need to visit the National Museum in Ashgabat beforehand to understand most of what went on in Nisa or why it is important. In fact almost all artifacts are IN the national museum. What's worse is that there some columns and walls underneath the rubble in Nisa because they want them to stay hidden and protected - fair enough but not cool for you visiting at all.
The guide told me that as a kid he would just come up and play ball here. Well, basically these days it's locked up but one could still go in and destroy but there is nothing here. The columns underneath the dirt aren't interested to most folk although I would find it more interesting that seeing small mounts of dirt. After a long approach you can finally waltz around a few walls remaining but it's not so special. There are some areas where you can see the old wall, even the old columns, and I don't know if everyone gets to see the inside of one of these buildings but it was definitely the highlight of my trip. Some things inside are replicas but there are indeed ancient remains
Read OnAmudarya State Nature Reserve (T)
Zoë Sheng Chinese-Canadian - 29-Aug-24
Amudarya is closed to Turkmenabad which is one of the two places you would arrive from Uzbekistan. You COULD ask your guide to add this to the travel itinerary because you are almost passing by but there is a good reason you are not: it's closed. I believe the map on Google is just on paper and the actual site is either smaller or bigger, who knows. Either way I didn't see a road sign to say we are going there. The natural reserve pass just means you cannot go in - especially as a tourist. If you would go as a scientist or someone collecting stuffed animals for the many museums in Turkmenistan (shame!) then you might have a chance.
Read OnKhangchendzonga National Park
Rob Wilson UK - 13-Sep-24
I was privileged enough to trek to Kangchendzonga back in 2002, well before it was a WHS.
It was a genuine wilderness experience at that time - nothing like the teahouse treks you experience in Nepal.
It was a real adventure with the scariest part being an early morning trek to viewpoint in darkness. On the return journey, it became clear that we walked on slippery glacial moraine above a very long drop!
It was a truly wonderful experience and well worth the 5 stars. I do hope that the climate crisis is not completely destroying its natural beauty.
Read OnLongmen Grottoes
Joel on the Road Australia - 03-Sep-24
Longmen Grottoes is a large collection of Buddhist carvings into caves and grottoes, in a kilometre-long series of cliffs above the Yi River. There are several thousand caves and grottoes here, with tens of thousands of carvings; everything from a 19-meter high Buddha statue, to minuscule figurines scarcely 10cm high. Most of the carvings date back to a period between 500-700 AD. Like many cave art sites, it’s been subjected to centuries of weathering, looting, and vandalism, so the overwhelming majority of the statues are damaged in some way - eroded, faded paint, faces smashed off, looted, and so on.
Read OnOgasawara Islands
Els Slots The Netherlands - 19-Sep-24
My first one from the “Takes 5 days or more to visit”-list! The Ogasawara Islands are a Japanese archipelago in the Northern Pacific Ocean about 1,000km south of Tokyo and 1,800km north of Guam. They can only be visited by a weekly ferry which takes 24 hours to cover the distance. About 2,500 people inhabit its two main islands. Settlers arrived here in the 19th century, the islands were mostly uninhabited before. After having been taken by the US during the Second World War, the islands were returned to Japan in 1968.
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