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With a 2.63 score, Pirin National Park only comes sixth among Bulgaria’s ten WHS, which in itself already aren’t known for receiving high praise (except for the excellent Rila monastery). Most of the reviewers agreed on it being “unremarkable”, wondered about a ski resort in the buffer zone and contemplated that they could see this scenery everywhere in the Alps. All seem to have explored Pirin from the town of Bansko and its nearby Vihren hut. For my visit in late June 2021, I tried another location to see whether this would improve the experience. I choose to start at Bezbog hut, with access to Bezbog Lake and the trail to Popovo Lake.

For Bezbog, you have to take the chairlift from Gotse Delchev hut (be warned that there is also a town called Gotse Delchev, but that lies 30km away). The hut is reached via a paved mountain road some 10km outside of Dobrinishte, the neighbour town of Bansko. The chairlift is operational 365 days a year from 8.30 am to 4 pm. A return ticket costs 20 Lev (10 EUR). To reach Bezbog hut at 2227m altitude, you have to change to another chairlift halfway. The journey takes half an hour in total and you climb 742m. Leaving the chairlift at the two higher stations requires a small jump, but fortunately, they employ strong Bulgarian men who catch the clumsy tourists and beforehand explain with hand signals what you have to do. I don’t think females work …

Kazanlak is a fairly nondescript city in the center of Bulgaria. I drove there directly from another WHS – Pirin National Park. It’s a 4-hour drive. They don't really advertise the fact that they hold a true World Heritage Site within the city limits: a painted Thracian Tomb from the 4th century BC. There are signs here and there, but I mainly had to trust the navigation on my phone. The drive ended at the foot of a long staircase in a residential neighbourhood. So this is it?

The visitor experience of this tomb has changed considerably over the years if we look at the reviews that go back to even before 2009. People used to be still allowed into the original tomb for an extra / unofficial fee. That “tomb”, discovered in 1944, now is no longer recognizable as a tomb: a chapel-like building has been placed around it. It is hermetically sealed. There is a helpful sign next to it that says “Thracian Tomb. Original”. It is worth peeking through the iron bars at the front as the WHS plaque is visible from there.

The replica with a more tomb-like appearance lies next to it. A lady is selling tickets (6 Lev / 3 EUR) and some souvenirs. I was the only visitor. I read about guided visits, but the only thing that I got was being directed to an information panel on the wall in Bulgarian and English. And then you have to enter the …

Two days ago I visited this TWHS with the funny long name: Two neolithic dwellings with their interior and household furnishings and utensils completely preserved. The remains of the two adjacent dwellings lie in a museum building in the center of the town of Stara Zagora. Downstairs there is a collection of neolithic ceramics, mostly taken from other sites around Bulgaria. As the site is already well described by previous reviewers, I'll focus on the Practicalities.

Getting there by car Although the museum is officially registered at ul. General Stoletov, the entrance to the parking lies at ul. Armeyska. It is signposted from the road with the sign attached to this review. You'll end up between university and hospital buildings and apartment blocks: the museum is enclosed by them. I could not find the entrance at my first try and the streets of Stara Zagora are quite busy with traffic, so there was no opportunity to look around slowly. Instead I parked at the large shopping center with Billa supermarket and Jysk furniture store at Bulevard Tsar Simeon Veliki. From there it is a 5 minute walk.

Entrance The entrance fee is 5 Lev (2.5 EUR). Photography is forbidden. There is a guard on duty and a receptionist. There isn't much of explanation, only one map of the dwellings which indicates with colours what is left where. The houses had two storeys and parts of the contents of the collapsed second floor can be found between the …

Site visited May 2021. Ringed seal archipelagos of Lake Saimaa were a nice experience. It was also something new to me in my home country. This natural site may not be for everyone, but those who want to see the rare seals, and those who love birdwatching, pristine lake nature and beautiful landscapes will be pleased. I spent two days exploring some of the elements of this tentative site.

When Finland announced a revised list of tentative sites in 2021, it presented one totally new site which seemed right away a logical move. Saimaa ringed seals – of course. It is hard to think any other object in Finland with so much positive impression and support from Finnish people.

Saimaa ringed seals are among the most endangered seals in the world, having a total population of only about 400 individuals. The only existing population of these seals is found in Lake Saimaa. They have lived in complete isolation from other ringed seal species for around 9,500 years and have diverged into a morphologically and ecologically different subspecies of ringed seal. The population is descended from ringed seals that were separated from the rest when the land rose after the last ice age.

Saimaa ringed seal has evolved from the verge of extinction to a celebrity whose symbolic value is huge in Finland. The population was at its lowest in the 1970s and 1980s just between 100 and 150 individuals. Big efforts have been made over the …

The trip started off the wrong foot. We had booked a tour through the tourist office in Trivandrum and as we got halfway, the minibus had a breakdown and all the tour director could say was that we had to wait. After 2 hours of eating red bananas, drinking coconut water and cursing next to a church (this is Kerala, after all), we finally started moving, but all I wanted to was to be done with the visit quickly. 

Once on the premises though, I regained my excitement: the woodwork is impressive. One such example is the pillar in Thai Kottaram (pictured). After reading here about the murals, I started checking the photos frantically, but then I realised that the access Upparikka Malika's topmost floor was restricted to visitors in order to preserve the paintings.

Kanyakumari/Cape Comorin is also worth a visit for the colours of its sand, the Thiruvalluvar Statue and the memorial to the 2004 tsunami. 

''Less is more'', they say. To me it seemed feasible to cover Noto and Modica by train with enough time to return and sleep in Catania, but then I was told at the train station: "Yes, there is a train doing Siracusa-Catania at those hours, but you cannot get a ticket for it. If you go to Modica, you will have to spend the night in Siracusa''. Right. Change of plans, skipping Modica and getting more time in Catania.

Since reviews have been written on Noto, I will just say that as of June 2021 the Duomo's renovation is done (the cupola has hipster-saints, if you ask me) and they are renovating now San Domenico (the one in Els and Ian's photos). 

I found OUV in Catania as well. Noto's balconies reminded me of Valletta, Catania's Benedictine Monastery reminded me of nothing - I haven't seen those grey walls with white baroque details before. Underneath the peel you won't find limestone, but lava rocks. Catania's baroque was shaped in the aftermath of 1693, but with the help of Etna as well.

Which are the monuments? Sant'Agata Cathedral (Cappella della Vergine needs booking in advance, Cappella di Sant'Agata is open outside of mass times) Palazzo degli Elefanti (the City Hall) and Palazzo del Seminario dei Chierici (Museo Diocesano) in Piazza del Duomo with u Liotru in the middle (the elephant is maybe Carthaginian or bizantine, add possible inspiration from Bernini's in Rome for the monument and voilà), Chiesa …

visited june 2018.

a once in a lifetime visit to an amazing site. having read about the site being introduced as a new world heritage location i decided i had to visit for myself.

after 5 flights, 2 ferries and 3 car rentals the site did not disappoint.

a very simple, easy and beautiful drive from the main village of uturoa.

the marae complex is on the southeast coast of raiatea on a gorgeous lagoon. it is possible to see the break in the reef beyond to see how the ancient peoples would have navigated to the site by boat.

i was lucky enough to travel around other islands to familiarize myself with the polynesian culture before arriving at the ultimate site known throughout all of polynesia as a sacred complex.

“Bulgaria? Why do you go to Bulgaria to hike in a region that looks exactly like the Alps here in Austria?” This was the question my Austrian friends asked me when I showed them my photos of Pirin National Park. Of course, the answer is clear, at least for members of this community: it is a World Heritage Site. But in fact, the similarities are undeniable.Pirin National Park encompasses the northern part of the Pirin Mountains. Most of the inscribed area is above an altitude of 2000 metres, including Vihren, the highest peak at 2914 metres. The national park is best accessed at the town of Bansko on the north-eastern side. And it is here that you can see the biggest threat to the WHS and the national park, the ski area. A large, wedge-shaped area of the WHS has been cleared for ski slopes and more than a dozen ski lifts. In 2010, this area (and a smaller one a little further south) was removed from the core zone and declared a buffer zone. A ski area as the buffer zone? Strange idea. When you drive from Bansko to the Banderitsa Hut, you will pass this area. In summer, it looks really desolate and bare. Surprisingly, the WHC accepted this boundary modification, especially in view of the discussion with Vienna or Liverpool, to name just two examples. But since then, there have been several requests from the WHC not to expand the ski area and its facilities.

The …

Mount Etna had been on my list for quite a while now, but some of the reviews here made me curious and disappointed at the same time: is it that boring and ugly? I started my trip on the 12th of June 2021 with the bus from Catania train station to Rifugio Sapienza. The bus driver got chatty once we left Nicolosi and by the time the bus arrived its destination, I was hooked. Together with a French couple we went for a guided tour (45 euro), first through the compulsory dress-up (only my jacket was deemed suitable) and then we took the cablecar to 2500 m (30 euro return trip). The cablecar is indeed pricey, but I felt it worth it for the spectacle we were about to enjoy. 

Etna has been active recently and on that day it was the Southeast crater in full swing. We knew from Nicolosi that for safety reasons we would make it to 2750 m (and the guide seemed doubtful to be able to take tourists farther in 2021), but that was enough. After the cablecar we had a steep hike and then sounds very similar to thunders (volcanic explosions) joined us for the rest of the trip. The thick snow buried under ash and the few burnt plants were proof to a landscape changing all the time. At times I felt I had reached Mordor, with clouds obstructing the cones and everything around being just lava and volcanic rocks of various …

The Old University and Miguel de Cervantes are the keywords that characterize this World Heritage site. Too little to make Alcalá de Henares an overwhelming site, but enough for a pleasant day trip from Madrid or, as I did, one day with an overnight stay.The Universidad Complutense is remarkable because Alcalá de Henares was the first planned university town in the world. The façade of its main building is the showpiece of the town, although the Plateresque decoration is less exuberant than in Salamanca. When you step through the portal, you are standing in the first and most representative of the three courtyards. The rest of the complex can be visited with a guided tour. You can see the other two courtyards, the auditorium and some other rooms. The highlight is the Iglesia San Ildelfonso. It is a mixture of the Renaissance style with a beautiful Mudéjar coffered ceiling. San Ildefonso is also home to the tomb of the university's founder, Cardenal Cisnero.

After the re-foundation of the university in 1977, many of the historic buildings were reused for their original purpose. Nevertheless, Alcala de Henares does not give the impression of a typical university town. Not comparable with Salamanca, for example. And actually, the storks are the real highlight of the city. Certainly, more than a hundred pairs build their nests on the roofs of the houses and churches and contribute significantly to the special charm of this WHS. Most of them can be found on the ruins …

The Prince-Bishops' Palace in Liège has been on Belgium’s Tentative List since 2008. It has been visited so far by 43 of our community members, but was left unreviewed by all. This restraint is probably linked to the very low 22% approval rating they gave it. Last Sunday however I decided to give it a go, as I was also curious about the rest of the city center of Liège which has undergone favourable improvements during the past years.

The palace is a testimony to the 10 centuries when Liège was an independent principiality within Europe. It was governed by prince-bishops, who combined political and religious power. The complex used to include a cathedral as well, but that was demolished in 1793 during the French Revolution-inspired uprising against the prince-bishops.

The long main façade of the building nowadays occupies one quarter of a busy square. Cars, public transport and road works all provide obstacles to really appreciate its setting. The palace is still used for administrative and judicial functions, which prevents ordinary visitors from entering the building. Therefore they miss out on the second, inner courtyard, and the interior decorations. Defendants in court cases, escorted by police officers, do get to appreciate them though! The interior decorations date mainly from the 18th century. They are highlighted in the description and would be part of the site’s proposed OUV. However, the long list of tapestries, paintings and state rooms does not sound particulary appealing to me. This book, …

The Wieskirche is regarded as the pinnacle of Bavarian Rococo architecture and indeed is one of the most beautiful Rococo churches I've ever seen. However, I would rate it only as something special for real Rococo buffs (or those really interested in religious pilgrimage) as this region of Bavaria is dotted with Rococo churches. The average tourist should either start with it or be prepared to see the hundredth Trompe l'oeil fresco in Oberbayern. As I said, impressive and beautiful but you might get tired of such kind of churches after having spent some time in the region.

There is a small museum which is open for pre-booked guided tours only. It focuses however more on the pilgrimage tradition than on the church itself. Pro: The Wieskirche is located in a very picturesque setting, a meadow in the middle of nowhere close to the Bavarian Alps. Con: For those relying on public transport, some planning ahead is required to get to this middle of nowhere close to the Bavarian Alps.

For me, it was a nice day trip from Munich, but as there is little else to see and do beside the church (and the small chapel where the pilgrimage started), you will be done with this site in less than an hour. Either connect it with some sightseeing in one of the neighbouring small towns, do some hiking in the Alps or prepare to be back early at your hotel in Füssen or Munich.

In 2019, our group had a meetup. It seems pretty far away with a full year (and counting) of Covid travel limitations in the bag and the 2020 meetup having been cancelled. Anyhow.

As discussed elsewhere, we had settled on discovering the hidden jewels of Bulgaria. It was not visited much, so everyone could get their fair share of new ticks. And the assumption was that if one looks hard enough, a seasoned world heritage traveller would find a jewel among the world heritage sites; they can't all be mediocre?

Personally, I assumed Ivanovo would be a hidden gem. Rock hewn churches trigger memories of Petra, St Emilon, Matera, ... and longing for Ethopia. But Ivanovo clearly isn't in the same league as these sites. Ivanovo consists of a set of hermit caves that were somewhat sculpted and painted. They are dotted across the landscape. That's roughly it.

Getting There

We stayed in Russe, a scenic, somewhat touristy town on the Danube and came by car. I am not sure if there is a public transport option, but taxis in Bulgaria should be an option.

While You Are There

Since 1984 the Bulgarian tentative list holds a site called The Roussensky Lom National Park. We weren't quite sure what to make out of it and what precisely constitutes the national park, so some of us went off to an early morning futile geo caching exercise. Philipp and I essentially needed a machete at …

Site visited during round-Uzbekistan trip (April, 2010) – since Clyde described particular sites I will try to focus on practical aspects / description of different places. All prices were as during the time of journey (but since they will be given in USD they may be valid today – at least the level of expenses)

The sites are commonly known as Eliq Kala (Fifty Fortresses) and embrace relatively big area east of Amu-Daria river in autonomous region of Karakalpakstan. Selection for TL takes only 8 locations – maybe the most prominent / best preserved but there are much more in the area. I was travelling from central Urgench, where found a taxi driver (unofficial) with car. Unfortunately the guy was from Taskent and didn’t know the area. LP Central Asia claims that you should be prepared for the price around 50 USD for full day trip – after long negotiations I paid 40 USD but have in mind that the driver was not familiar with the area. Frankly speaking I also had vague idea about the places I wanted to visit, no good maps, just a few names of the most important castles that were enlisted in LP. The driver had not even this but at least he had a car and knowledge of local language.

Having in mind that I was lucky to see at lest 3 places from tentative selection: Big Guldursun fortress, Toprak Qala and Ayaz Qala. Moreover, I managed to see also Kyzylkala Fort, …

Abydos is a gem on the tentative list (since 2003). Together with Heliopolis, Hermopolis and Amarna, the site was one of the most important religious centres in pharaonic Egypt. It was a place of worship, pilgrimage and served as a burial place over millennia. The main attraction is the temple of Seti I (father of Ramses II) and the adjacent Osireion, a rather mysterious underground cenotaph for the Egyptian god of fertility and resurrection. 

Abydos lies in the modern Egyptian Governorate of Sohag and can be reached by plane (three times per week from Cairo, boat (cruise ships used to come in pre-Corona times), car from either Cairo (about six hours) or Luxor (about three hours). The entire archaeological site is open daily from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (entrance was 80 Pounds at the time of our visit). If you want to get a good overview of the area you need to a full day at least. Abydos itself offers accommodations in a hotel not far from the archaeological site; otherwise you can choose from a couple of hotels in Sohag. One of the moored Nile ships now functions as a very attractive alternative both for sleeping and food.

The day we visited (in late May 2021) the site was totally deserted. I believe we were the only visitors. And it was hot - it’s important you take water with you. From the modern visitors centre (washrooms available) you step out into an open square that offers …

Old towns often perch on hills. But Cuenca has taken it to the extreme. Cuenca was built on a narrow rocky plateau between two ravines, one of them with vertically sloping walls. Space was sparse, so over the centuries the houses grew together into a nested whole, several storeys high or deep. Some of these houses were even extended with oriel windows and balconies that overhang the edge of the slope. And so the Casas Colgadas (Hanging Houses) have become the city's landmark. A creative way of dealing with a lack of space.

The best view of the Casas Colgadas is from the old iron bridge over the Huécar gorge. A shaky adventure, you should be free from vertigo. But it is worth stopping on the bridge for a view and some photos. Only these three hanging houses have survived, or are there four? You can't tell exactly. But the other buildings on the edge of this steep cliff are also a spectacular sight. Today, the Casas Colgadas house the Museo de Arte Abstracto Español, which exhibits Spanish artists from the second half of the 20th century. A great location for a museum of modern art. It's worth a visit, the collection is one of the most important of its kind in Spain. 

A few steps further and you are at the Plaza Mayor, a charming and colourful spot. The houses are painted in red, yellow, orange and blue. The square is dominated by the façade …

If I could give it 6 stars I would do it. The level of craftsmanship shown in the delegations at Apadana for me is simply mindblowing. I visited Angkor several months after Persepolis and looking at the Khmer details, I felt slightly disappointed (I know that limestone and sandstone are not the same, but still). It takes a good guide (and not a lot of people around) to point out the intricacies of the delegations (ribbons on shoelaces, fingers bent while carrying vessels, various headgears). I am still in awe even now, 2 years after. 

When I first saw the list of inscribed properties, I was surprised to see the south, since I was associating the longobards with the north of Italy (Lombardy). Only afterwards did I become aware that while Langobardia Maior was in the north, Langobardia Minor was centered in the centre and south (duchies of Spoleto and Benevento).

The property selected for Benevento is Santa Sofia Complex, built under Arechi II in the 8th century, which still holds paintings from 8-9 centuries. The monument did not disappoint, but then again, I am always impressed when I find art between the fall of the Roman Empire and the Carolingian Renaissance. The UNESCO plate is outside the church, on the right, as you enter the garden.

It is not the only monument from that period, it is worth taking a look at Sant’Ilario Church near the Arch of Trajan and the tower of Rocca dei Rettori. Moreover, this is the land of Samnites (see Livy, the Battle of Caudine Forks), as well the Italian version of Salem (it was only after my Airbnb host kept mentioning the ‘streghe’ and Isis that my brain started working).

It might be that I enjoyed this trip more because of the lack of tourists (I had the church all to myself), but Benevento was definitely worth a stop.

'Die schönen Tage in Aranjuez sind nun zu Ende.' The drama Don Carlos by Friedrich Schiller starts with these words. I am not sure whether Schiller is historically correct when describing the reign of Philip II in his play. Correct is that Philip II declared Aranjuez a 'Real Sitio' in 1560, and that he commissioned the construction of the Palacio Real in the same year. My impression was also that the best days for Aranjuez are gone when I visited the site in May 2019. But not because the palace and gardens were in bad condition (on the contrary, everything was nice and well maintained). It was rather because the area around the palace was almost deserted on that weekday morning.

Castles and palaces are not my favourite world heritage sites. But there are a few exceptions on the list where I was pleasantly surprised. Aranjuez, however, was not one of them. The interiors are more or less the same sequence of rooms as in other European palaces, and similarly boring. Only two rooms are exceptional: the Porcelain Room, which is entirely covered with porcelain reliefs, and the room with 200 small Chinese paintings on rice paper, depicting rural life right next to torture scenes.The Palacio Real impresses mainly by its size. In the 18th century two side wings were added and the whole complex was converted into a Baroque palace. My photo is the view of the palace from the south, from the Plaza de …

Site visited during Panama – Costa Rica trip (November, 2017) – since Els carefully described Costa Rican part of this serial heritage I will focus on Panamanian side. Technically, this National Park in Panama is divided in two sections: Las Nubes (in the south of Talamanca Range, Chiriquí Province) and Wekso (northern part, Bocas del Toro Province, more interesting, but far more difficult to get).

As I was travelling from Coiba National Park by public transport I went only to Las Nubes. It is possible to get from Santa Catalina (main access village for Coiba snorkeling activities) to Cerro Punta (central village around Talamanca Range) within one day. The journey requires 3 different buses and some luck. From Santa Catalina you should take first bus to Santiago de Varaguas, than change to the one for David, and change again there for the final trip to Cerro Punta (via Volcan). With a bit of luck you should arrive late in the afternoon to Cerro Punta. As hotels at central Cerro Punta were closed that time for unknown reason I moved closer (to Talamanca) to the village called Guadalupe, some 3-4 km from the center of Cerro Punta; place with its own shop (supermercado), restaurant and hotels (hostels), everything within walking distance.

Next day, with the help of organized local taxi lift I went to the Las Nubes section (the entrance is around 7 km from the village, google coordinates: 8°53'26.6"N 82°36'39.6"W). As in other National Parks in Panama you …