All our reviews

Shortly before I left for my trip to Japan in September 2019, I realized that it would be possible to tick off one of the 23 locations of Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution WHS. Most of these sites are located on Kyūshū or West Honshū, far away from my itinerary. Only one location is in Central Honshū, about 100 km southwest of Tokyo: the Nirayama Reverbatory Furnaces.

Niramaya is almost directly on the Tokaido Shinkansen line (connecting Tokyo and Kyoto/Osaka). In Mishima you have to change to a private railway line for the last short section to Izu-Nagaoka station, and then it's a 20-minute walk to the site (through rice fields, of course, we are in Japan). In total, it took me less than two hours to get there from Tokyo.Having said that, I have to admit that getting there takes longer than visiting. What you can see are four furnaces with four steel-framed brick chimneys. The furnaces are the remains of a cannon factory, and reproductions of such cannons are also on display. Although the furnace was only in operation for seven years, between 1857 and 1864, the site is of historical importance as it represents the beginning of modern iron manufacturing in Japan.There are information boards in English, but also volunteer guides who are happy to explain the principle of a reverberatory furnace and other details. My guide was a charming elderly lady who spoke English very well. And she had a profound knowledge of other Japanese …

November 2019 - After 3 days in Erfurt we decided to visit Weimar and spent our daughters 1st birthday here. Unfortunately Hotels are extremely expensive so we only stayed in a rather shabby hostel.

However, weimar is a beautiful classicist town. Schiller and Goethe are following you everywhere. we just strolled around and visited most of the sites. Schillers house, the Castle, Goethes garden house, the library and and. Everything from exterior only though. Definitely worth a trip. I had been on a short stopover in 2013, bit bow finally could see all sites in Weimar.

There are some more castels around Weimar that are part of the WHS. I will leave these for the next visit

The classic way to visit the Fujisan WHS would be to hike up to the summit at 3770 m. But for normal hikers, this is only possible in July and August, when the mountain huts are open and reservations are accepted. Many hikers stay overnight in a hut and climb the summit in the early morning to see the sunrise. This is considered a very special spiritual experience. However, the trails can be very crowded. Despite the very short season, around 300.000 visitors climb Mount Fuji every year. If you visit Mount Fuji in summer, be aware that the summit is snow-free and this was still the case when I visited in September. It is a surprising and unusual view, you will rarely find photos of the snow-free Fujisan in the Web.

I visited Japan in late September / early October 2019, so hiking to the summit was not an option. But at least I wanted to enter the major core zone, the Fujisan Moutain Area, and visit one of the main temples at the foot of Mount Fuji. Thus, I chose the Fuji Five Lakes region and spent two days in Fujikawaguchiko on the shore of Lake Kawaguchi. Kawaguchiko is the starting point for climbing Mount Fuji on the Yoshida trail, but also a popular recreation area for Tokyo. Several bus lines connect the main sights of the region. But the weather was fine (the Fuji summit was cloudless most of the time) and so I decided to …

Site visited in April 2019. 

Upon suggestion by a discerning member of this site, I decided to stop at this TWHS on my way from Moscow to Yaroslavl by train. 

The first thing I'd like to mention on this trip was the imposing facade of the Yaroslavl Train Station in Moscow, from which my train left. On the way I skipped Sergiyev Posad WHS, as I had visited it before, but I stepped out of my train at the train station of this city to pay proper respect to my Japanese grandmother who is buried somewhere unbeknownst to me in this city. 

Arriving at the Rostov train station, I found a bus waiting and hopped on. Make no mistake, this is not our typical hop-on, hop-off bus, but it pretty much went straight on a dirt road to the town center near the Kremlin.

If you approach the Kremlin from the center, you'll be first lured into the Assumption Cathedral right next to the Kremlin. As you exit this impressive Cathedral, you'll notice a gate on the Kremlin wall close by. This gate is not the front gate, but the side gate of the Kremlin. In hindsight I would recommend entering the Kremiln from the front gate, which is further down the paved road from the center. 

This Kremlin is not in a perfect condition, but the white structures against the blue sky was marvelous. In fact I can't think of any prettier Kremlin than …

Visited in July, 2017. Due to some unexpected turbulences I managed to see only one component of Kazachstan Silk Road sites – Ancient settlement of Turkestan (Yassy). Easy to combine with visiting Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi. While entering the complex of the Mausoleum you will find a big plate with a map of the site and surrounding area. It shows all the attractions including the main complex, other mausoleums, mosques, baths. Number 14 on a map are ruins of former city – Kultobe, from III – XIV centuries AD. There are no others signs of the place, so try to locate the ruins by searching for a hangar-style construction. They are placed around 500 meters from the mausoleum (after the underground mosque).

The site looks like busy archeological place, partly covered by roofing structure (unfortunately that needs to be replaced as it is almost completely destroyed). It is not fenced or protected by any other means. You can visits the excavation site at your own risk.

The city of Kultobe (Yassy, Yasy, Kazak Күлтөбе – Ясы) was an important location during Kushan Empire (II century AD), later connected with Sarmatian tribes with its heydays in Timurid period (1389 – 1405) when famous mausoleum was built. The excavations revealed the part of former citadel together with dwelling houses, streets, town walls. The basic material was like everywhere else mainly adobe but comparing to other silk road sites it looks as more layers were preserved – the unearthed parts …

November 2019 - in my wife's business trip to Erfurt, my daughter and me joined to enjoy the area. Erfurt is a beautiful town. It has a quite unique cathedral, the Krämerbrücke is besides Florence and Bath one of the few bridges with houses on top. And there is also some Bauhaus, since Weimar is just around the corner. But for becoming a whs, Erfurt decided to nominate its jewish heritage. Two sites, that were only discovered lately during renovation. The Synagoge was built in between sheds, which now vanished. And the mikveh was covered with soil before. Therefore both sites are well preserved. We decided not to visit the Museum inside, but just have a glance from outside. The mikveh you can only see through a glass window. On a guided tour through Erfurt at evening, that was organized through the Business trip, I asked the guide about the mikveh. And...he knew the code to actually visit the interior. What a lucky chance. 1500 year old jewish stones.

However, I am not sure about the nomination. Erfurt is not like Trebic, but jews have only been part of the population. The sites propably have OUV. But please make some Serial nomination out of it.

WHS#61

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that Ancient Thebes is one of the most underrated WHS out there. I don't think it gets quite the reputation it deserves, among both tourists and more in-depth travellers, for I dont know, maybe housing not just one, but multiple world-class wonders? For being the peak of Ancient Egyptian history, culture, and art? For being one of the most influential cities in world history? In Egypt alone, Cairo and Giza get almost all the attention, while more in-depth travellers might prefer the more peaceful Aswan and far-away Abu Simbel, but Luxor is in the middle of it all, and I don't think enough people realize that. And it's not only the best of both worlds, it's the best in its own right. For me, the Ancient Egyptian civilization as a whole doesn't get the credit it deserves, either. It's more often remembered for its age, its opulence, or as a great setting for Western media, but really, what astounded me when I visited in May 2018 was how far ahead of its time it was. They made so many developments that we see as normal now, and they left so much more for us to learn by studying their history. And Ancient Thebes was the center of it all. Even though so much is gone and has been replaced by the (not so beautiful) modern city, there's still so much left to experience that other ancient civilizations that had …

Site visited in April, 2010. It is still on the Tentative list as a separate site but also as a group of monuments to be included as Uzbekistan part of Silk Road. Maybe it is a good idea although it will contain a lot of monuments from different period of times. Paykent is Sogdian trading place of Silk Road where the paths from Europe (Black Sea through Khorezm) to Fergana Valley and China (Kashgar) as well as to the south: Iran (Khorasan) and India were met. Developed in early medieval period (VI-X centuries), repeatedly conquered, destroyed and rebuilt finally abandoned in XVI century. What is left are modest remnants of a former citadel (the highest part of ruins), town walls (hardly visible) and dwelling houses most of that uncovered by archeologists. The whole area is unfenced and looked completely unprotected. Thanks to building material (mostly adobe) it is similar to any other archeological monuments in Central Asia. In addition to early medieval ruins there is a descent museum with main excavation findings – red building located some 500 meters from the site - Muzeum of Ancient Paykend History (Qadimgi Paykend Tarixi Muzeyi). Paykent is located some 50 km from Buchara south west of the town, between Yangimazar and Qorakol, take M37 towards the border with Turkmenistan. The site will be on the left side of the road. There were no marks of the place on the main road, nor in the places nearby. I took a taxi from Buchara centre …

A few weeks ago, Cambodia has added 3 of its genocide memorials to the Tentative List as a serial proposal. The sites commemorate the victims of the Khmer Rouge regime, which was overthrown in 1979. The proposal still has the cumbersome working title “Former M-13 prison/ Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (former S-21)/ Choeung Ek Genocidal Centre (former Execution Site of S-21)”.

I visited the former S-21 prison, now known as the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, in 2007. It is located in street 113 in the heart of Phnom Penh. In 2007 it saw some 50 visitors a day, but probably this has risen over the years due to the increase in global tourism - it is one of the few obvious “things to do” in the Cambodian capital. It is also a well-known place on the Dark Tourism circuit. Unfortunately I lost most of the photos of my visit, but I do still have my diary notes and the leaflet that was handed out upon entering the site.

The prison was located in an old school building. Between 1975 and 1978, some 12,000 prisoners were detained and tortured here. When further questioning was of no use, the prisoner was taken to the out-of-town Killing Fields (such as Choeung Ek, the third location of this serial tentative site). There he or she ended up in a mass grave.

The museum still resembles a school building, with classrooms, long corridors and a playground. The classrooms were divided into cells …

Visited February 2020

As almost everything what’s important was said in Randi’s review, I can just add only some practical hint for those starting their journey into Botswana from Mohembo/Shakawe.

Indeed, there’s no bank, no ATM service in Shakawe, but to get some local currency, go to the supermarket in Acaciamall, buy anything you need and while paying ask the cashier to withdraw pulas from your credit/debit card. No charge. If you want to exchange $US into pula, it is more tricky but doable, although I am not sure if it works every time or we were just lucky… Go to Botswana Defence Force Camp and ask the soldier at the gate; he called his supervisor for us, we were taken to a small shed where the transaction was done. And the rate was much better than at Shakawe River Lodge where we stayed for three nights.

Road to Tsodilo – as most roads in this part of Botswana the tarred roads have potholes everywhere so it is much better to drive on sideways than the main ones. The road to Tsodilo is pretty well signposted from the main A35. When you get to the gate of the Tsodilo park (look to your right), buy the ticket and leave your car there – the gravel path to the museum and the site itself was… or it is better to say – there’s was no road, water and mud everywhere. From the entrance take the 600-metre long trail …

I visited this site during my tour of Ukraine on July 2013. The former capital of Crimean Khanate with its diverse cultural sites and great sceneries made a good impression on me, and it is also a very nice place to visit. Bakhchysarai is one of those sites which deserve to be included to the World Heritage List, but the current situation is very difficult for it.

At the moment there are two sites of Bakhchysarai on the Ukrainian tentative list: the other one is just for the Khan’s Palace, and the other one is the historic monuments of Bakhchysarai Valley from the Khan’s Palace to the Chufut-Kale. I would support the latter because there are a rich array of cultural sights in and around the city of Bakhchysarai.

A bus trip from Sevastopol to the city of Bakhchysarai is about one and a half hour. In the city I quickly realised how Turkish the atmosphere is: the people, the buildings, and food served in the restaurants. Soon it was clear that I was going to like this place. Bakhchysarai is a nice place both for its cultural sights and also for outdoor activities. During my visit I saw lots of hikers, cyclists and rock climbers. After I had visited the Khan’s Palace I walked along the valley floor all the way to the foothills of Chufut-Kale and visited all the major sights along the route.

Many people know Bakhchysarai only for the Khan’s Palace, and …

Site visited in April, 2010. Public transport - marszrutka, shared taxi, taken from Samarkanda.

Area rich of historical monuments but traces are scattered in many different places all around the city and in the outskirts. Termez was inhabited from prehistorical times with its heydays during Buddhist era 1-3 century AD. All that ends with the invasion of Genghis Khan troops in 1220, that razed the whole city. Buddhist structures together with other ruins and later rebuilds are the parts of ancient Termez today. More recently Termez was a witness of withdrawal of Russian troops from Afganistan (1989).

Describing all places I will use names from official UNESCO website, with official translations or names that were noticed on the spot. They can be grouped according to the direction:

North-west of central Termez:

QORATEPA, or Kara-Tepa, located around 1 km from Fayaztepa, to the south-east, during my visit impossible to reach as it was located near the border with Afganistan (security reasons), visible from Fayaztepa, but I was advised not to take photos. Google coordinates: 37.278321, 67.182692

FAYAZTEPA, or Fayoz-Tepa (Uzbek), 3 rd century Buddhist archeological site, recently beautifully restored with Japanese help (UNESCO/Japan Fund-In-Trust Project), monastery complex with clay stupa with the starcase in the middle. Looks like all buildings were built using clay (adobe). All restored / reconstructed up to around 2 meters from the ground, so full layout of the complex is visible. Google coordinates: 37.286510, 67.187689

ZURMALA MORTAR, or Buddhist Stupa of …

Uzbekistan has nominated 18 locations both individually and combined as one single serial nomination under the name “Silk roads in Uzbekistan”. Reading a recent review (by Els) about Bahoutdin complex, and all travels being cancelled for the time being, I dived into my notes and pictures from our 2007 trip in Uzbekistan to sort out which of these 18 sites we had actually visited. I counted a handful of them, and only one not reviewed so far: Raboti Malik caravanserai.

The remains of this caravanserai are located immediately along the main road from Bukhara to Samarkand, and as a traveller in Uzbekistan is likely to visit these two cities, I can only recommend to stop en route and have a look. It won’t take long anyway. On one side of the road stands the main gate of the caravanserai, adorned with brick pattern. A very old structure built some 950 years ago! Behind the gate, the rest of the building is almost all gone, but base of walls can still be seen. On the other side of the road is the cistern, a domed structure with stairs leading down to the water. There was no fence, no fees for visitors, and no information when we visited.

As an individual monument, it will never be inscribed. But it would obviously make sense to get it as a component of the “Silk road” nomination (which, in an ideal world, would be an extension of the already inscribed central Asia silk …

The title of this WHS could be a little misleading at first glance, as Shirakawa-go and Gokoyama denote the regions, the names of the three inscribed villages are Ogimachi, Suganuma, and Ainokura. For the largest village, Ogimachi and Shirakawa-go seem to be used synonymously, probably because it is the most popular tourist attraction in the region.When I was planning the itinerary for my trip to Japan in September 2019, one of my first decisions was to stay a night in one of the traditional Gasshō-style houses. I actually wanted to book an accommodation in Ogimachi, but it ended in one night in Ainokura.

The three WHS villages are located in the narrow valley of the Shōgawa River, once a remote area, today fully developed for tourism and accessible by bus or car. I arrived in Ainokura in the afternoon by bus from Takaoka. Ainokura (photo) is the northernmost of the three villages, about 20 of the Gasshō-zukuri houses have been preserved there. It is a picturesque location: the thatched houses between small rice fields, surrounded by forests and high mountains. However, this applies to all of the inscribed villages.Gasshō means "hands folded in prayer" and alludes to the steep roof, which makes the snow easier to slip off and the construction better withstands the harsh weather in winter. This roof construction also has other advantages: it provides a lot of space in the attic. The Gasshō houses usually have three or four floors, the residents lived and worked on …

WHS#27

Cuzco is like the most quintessentially South American city, and yet, there's no other quite like it. It's truly an amalgamation and conglomeration of indigenous and colonial cultures; amalgamation because all these aspects have formed a single fused culture of today's Cuzco, but also a conglomeration in that each specific origin is distinguishable and provides interesting contrasts to the experience of visiting here. It's got this historic core made up of several neighborhoods of colonial architecture with some traces of the precolonial Inca city, surrounded by the modern city of Cuzco. This historic core is off limits to big tour buses and modern concrete buildings, but not from fun things to do even for those less interested in the rich history of the city; it's a great culinary destination with everything from excellent contemporary Peruvian cuisine and chocolate museums to traditional Andean delicacies and street popcorn. The hotels all seemed to lack elevators, but there was a nice laundry shop and a grocery a few steps away from my hotel. It's a living, modern city just as much as it's one of the most important historic centers of Native American culture, and I'm so glad I was able to visit in April 2016.

I arrived and left by Peru Hop, which I highly recommend. This is how I found out that tourist buses weren't allowed into the historic centre, since we had to transfer into smaller vehicles at the office in the modern city. They have an …

I was here in November 1991 at the time of the first rumblings of the bloody civil strife which has rendered much of Algeria an unsafe destination since then. I had the place to myself, although someone calling himself 'le gardien' showed up after about an hour to collect an entrance fee.

The site lies in an impressive landscape of nearly bare hills and contains the extensive remains of a briefly flourishing city of the 11th century. Most striking perhaps is the 25m(?) tall minaret built of rough hewn sandstone blocks and still with traces of it's blue ceramic tile decoration in place. In addition to the mosque there are remains of a palace including a bath, a fort and much more.

I declined an invitation to stay in the nearby village which decision I came to bitterly regret after a night in a vile hotel in M'sila

The site is not difficult to reach though it may be necessary to hitch-hike the last few kms. from the N40 to Beni Hammad and in happier times I would recommend a trip there to anyone wishing to see something representative of Islamic culture after the several Roman sites in Algeria.

Visited March 2016.

This archaeological site is located on the northern outskirts of Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro. The easiest way to get there from the city centre is by taxi, although there’s a local bus going to Zagorič, which stops few hundred meters from the site. The original city built by Illyrians (tribe known as Docleatae) in 1st century AD was conveniently located at the confluence of Zeta and Morača rivers; it used to be the biggest and the most important town in the area, also during the Roman administration. Its decline started with the invasion of the Visigoths and an earthquake at the beginning of the 5th century. Then in 7th century Slavs tried to rebuild the city, making it even a very important ecclesiastical site, but what we can see now are just poor ruins from Roman, early Christian and medieval times, and thy are not very spectacular…

The site is divided by local roads and railways which means that it lacks any atmosphere. And integrity at the lower possible level... Even the riverside does not help. And it is not big at all – half an hour would be enough. I could localize the foundations of Roman forum, basilica, one church and necropolis. No guards, low and damaged fences, children playing in the graveyard... For me rich history of Doclea is not seen in its ruins, and experience I had was pretty disappointing…

I visited several stretches of this tentative WHS during my 4 week trip in Myanmar in December 2012/January 2013. The Ayeyawady/Irrawaddy/Ayarwaddy River Corridor (ARC) covers a 400 km stretch of one of the last major undammed rivers in Asia. As such this tentative WHS focuses on the natural aspects and biodiversity of this important river in Myanmar.

Even though birdlife and unique river fish species are abundant, the only highlight worth mentioning is the Irrawaddy dolphin. This rare dolphin is found in the lower reaches of the river and known to help fishermen who practice cast-net fishing. However, it is not unique to the ARC and has also been spotted in the Bay of Bengal and in the Indian Ocean. Although I kept my eyes peeled whenever I was on a boat trip on the river, I wasn't lucky enough to spot the dolphin. I did manage to spot several bird species in large quantities with highlights such as the White-bellied Heron or the Lesser Adjutant which are specifically mentioned in the dossier.

In my opinion this tentative WHS would stand a far better chance as a cultural landscape or mixed site. Apart from fishing and the interdependence of local biodiversity and humans, there are a number of important religious and cultural sites which are worth visiting while visiting the Irrawaddy River. The best sections to explore in this regard would be the Mingun section in the Sagaing region. The huge uncompleted stupa (around 1790), was never completed …

I visited this site on Valentine's Day 1995. The weather was warm, sunny though hazy.

I based myself in the nearby town of Lola in Guinea which is about 45kms from the border with Cote d'Ivoire. About 70% of the park lies in Guinea with the rest in Cote d'Ivoire. Mont Nimba and surrounding peaks straddle the border into Liberia as, in the best of possible worlds, would the park. However those areas within Liberia have been ravaged by bauxite mining.

In Lola I stayed at the Savane Hotel and Dancing, no electricity, no hot water, no windows even in the bedrooms.

Perhaps things are better now.

In Lola, it is necessary to obtain, from M. Le Sous-Prefet, a permit to visit the park (easily done) and to hire a guide (hard to avoid) and a vehicle.

I was found by Jeremie Coman, who described himself as Director of a research station in the park and at about 0845 we set off.

We spent the whole day travelling thro' the park and I was able to see the 3 distinct vegetation zones (tropical forest, montane forest and a sort of alpine meadow) which changed as we got higher into the mountains.

I saw a number of tumbling sparkling rivers and waterfalls, several natural bridges and possibly the biggest bamboo I've ever seen.

What I did not see, though I was assured they do exist in the park, were chimpanzees making and using tools, and a type of toad which gestates …

Laodikea was an ancient city during the Hellenistic period that was later assimilated into the Roman republic. As it sits on earthquake-prone terrain, it had been rebuilt several times until people have had enough and settled somewhere else. Good thing it was never demolished or completely perished during subsequent earthquakes--otherwise, we won't be able to see these beautiful ruins! It was not really part of my itinerary but having a newly found love for ancient Greek/Roman ruins, I decided to visit Laodikea as my third ancient Hellenistic city within the area of Denizli, after Hierapolis and Aphrodisias. This visit was 3 years ago, in August 2017.

I started the half-day trip by going to Denizli bus station, where I planned to take a public bus that was supposed to go past the site, as mentioned by some sources. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find such bus hence I decided to take a taxi. When I arrived at the site, the taxi driver looked at me as if he was questioning my sanity for going to a rarely visited site alone and in the middle of a hot sunny day.

It was indeed very hot. I went to the only store at the entrance of the site (at the Syrian Gate) and most of what they were selling were souvenirs, cold drinks and ice cream. From what I can remember, the man at the ticket booth was so surprised that a traveler showed up at this time of the day. On …