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Spending either New Year's or my birthday, which is in May when we travel due to extensive Russian holidays, in the most obscure places has now become a running joke with Ivan. And this year did not disappoint. So on a very rainy New Year's Eve 2019 we found ourselves getting off the train at Dong Hoi and driving to Phong Nha. It's mostly homestays, we chose the Ecolodge on the border of the town. There are two hostels more central for the young crowd if you're in for some partying before or after the sightseeing, but we were fine with our choice. The town itself is nothing to write home about, but has some watering holes and even a very nice French restaurant (Villas) with a decent wine list.

We booked a day tour with our lodge and next morning at 9 a.m. sharp the bus came to pick us up. It was raining the whole day. First stop were the botanic gardens with a waterfall. There's a small museum with some stuffed local wildlife. We had a very crazy guide who I believe was making stories on spot and as for the waterfall, instead of the signposted route, made those who felt especially suicidal cross the river and then walk down slippery stones to see it. Ivan did, I passed. It was okay.

Second stop was the Paradise cave, which was beautiful. I was surprised by the size of it and the decorations were beautiful. You …

This is an interesting area of a national importance (no chance to become WHS). It is popular for tourists from Slovakia and also from Czechia. It consists of two components (i) Slovenský Ráj National Park, and (ii) Zádiel canyon of Slovenský Kras NP (parts of this NP already inscribed as WHS). However, there are quite a lot of similar places even in Slovakia in Malá and Velká Fatra, Choč, Muráňská Planina mountains, to name at least some of them.

I have visited only Zádiel Canyon in the Eastern part of Slovakian Karst, not far from the city of Košice. It is a monumental structure visible from big distances. The entrance to the gorge is regulated by fee around 2 EUR. While it is pleasant walking there, I am afraid it cannot compete with canyons of other European regions (Crete, Northern Greece, Southern France etc.). Furthermore, the nearby area has been already declared as WHS.

The component of Slovenský Ráj (Slovakian Paradise) is very popular touristy area of deep & narrow limestone canyons covered by dense forests, and the entrance is also strictly regulated. However, the crowds of tourist repelled me from the visit. There are ladders and secured paths with only one-way direction allowed. Slovenská Ráj NP is located in Spiš region, thus, quite close to Spišksý hrad and Levoča WHS.

Instead of Slovenský Ráj, I enjoyed similar canyons in Fatra region – Janošíkové Diery, that are somehow similar, closer to Czechia and not so crowded.

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WHS#4

As a world traveller, I often get asked which country I loved the most. To answer that question, I usually look back on how surreal every day was in each country, how wonderful it was to just wake up and see paradise, to feel like you're in the most perfect place in the world. For me, that's New Zealand. I visited a long time ago, on a family road trip back in April 2013, but it's still one of the most memorable landscapes for me. This WHS experience was actually a good motivation and eventually, outcome of my first work in travel itineraries. My family had originally planned to go down the East Coast of the South Island through Christchurch before ending in Queenstown. I, however, had different plans. I wanted to go down the West Coast because of my interest in gemstones, and Hokitika on the West Coast is a haven for local gemstones, especially known as a jade (locally known as pounamu, the namesake of the South Island) locality. I didn't really get to hunt for jade on the beach, but I got an even more memorable adventure on this scenic route. The route down the West Coast from Picton to Queenstown brought me to Westland Tai Poutini National Park and Haast, as well as Fjordland National Park, which we visited on a day trip from Queenstown. Those few days just barely scratched the surface of this vast land. It's one of the most visually pleasing …

Ah, how I love the off-the-beaten-track WHS that confirm what Ivan and I always say: UNESCO takes you places. The drive from Bai Dinh should be a short one, it's about 50 kms, but the roads are not the best and go through municipal areas, so it's slow. We started early. Our driver took us to Vinh Luc where the citadel is located: we bought tickets at the ramp and the guard said we can enter by car, so we did. We spent some time at the museum containing artifacts discovered on site, then walked around the bank encircling the whole area - it's a square 1 km by 1 km. We climed on top of the three-arched gateway, walked under it, enjoyed the local scenery and then went on to see the Altar.

That took us some time to find, because even though it's marked on the maps, they are a bit deceiving. So we ended up walking up the hill to some homestay with many barking dogs in cages, with our driver talking to local owners who pointed us to the right direction. We entered the site through the green bank, past the careatker's house. He was in shorts and t-shirt, smoking pipe, I guess wondering what kind of fools have decided to have a look, talked to our driver and just waved for us to go and have a look. There are couple of levels to the whole structure, with the round altar at the top, …

Piggybacking on Matejicek's review, I would like to pipe in as a local. Slovenský raj is part of the Slovenský kras (Slovak karst) area in the East Slovakia and is considered one of the best places to hike as the hikes are interesting: they glide alongst waterfalls and contain loads of iron elements: steps, rails, chains. Some of them are proper ferratas, so you will not be able to get on them without proper equipment (harness and helmet). It is the best place to take your kids hiking and they might not find it that boring. Having said that, in summer season it will be quite full and if you don't wake up early enough, you will be waiting in slowly moving lines... imagine similiar situation in Plitvice lakes but on a steeper hill. Though if you want to go, I would be very careful of my belongings, especially when camping, some of the local residents do have sticky fingers and it's a notorious place as far as petty crime goes. I have done some hikes on my school trip, we stayed in Podlesok, Hrabušice.

Zádielska gorge is also a nice and picturesque hike, though if you don't have your own car, you have to take a bus to Turna nad Bodvou or Zadiel from Kosice. As far as Jánošíkové diery Matejicek has mentioned go, they are a nice hike from Terchová, however there is a similiar problem with many people in summer season: go early or don't bother. …

The kick was key. There was a perfect angle and force to drive the front pitons of my crampon into the hard-packed snow. Once I had mastered that, the slopes were easy to climb. Usually, though, we avoided the ridges and just followed the gullies through which meltwater rivers ran fast and clear as vodka. I stopped to catch my breath for a second, marvelling at the other-worldly scenery. A distant crash brought me to my senses, a reminder that despite my inactivity I was still moving. Slowly, imperceptibly, the glacier on which I stood continued its inexorable forward motion, inching towards the point where its calving face continually fractured and crumpled down into the frigid waters of Lake Argentino.

As noted in other reviews, Argentina’s Los Glaciares National Park is a tale of two halves. There is a northern section around Lago Viedma running up to Mount Fitzroy, most of which lies within the World Heritage Site boundaries (a slice lies within the borders of Chile), serviced by the town of El Chalten. And there is a southern section around the snaky arms of Lago Argentina serviced by the town of El Calafate. (Strictly speaking there is a central section linking the two but that seems wilder and almost impenetrable). Having spent the previous week preparing for and hiking Chile’s Torres del Paine National Park my partner and I skipped the chance to hike from El Chalten and based ourselves for three nights in El Calafate to explore …

WHS#59

The Pyramids - the most famous symbol of the great civilization of Ancient Egypt. Their grandiosity has been admired across the world for millennia now. Memphis and its Necropolis – the Pyramid Fields from Giza to Dahshur was among the first few sites on the WHS list, and for good reason: It tells the complete story of the pyramid, from its conception as stacked mastabas in Saqqara to the trial-and-error (and eventually, successful) developments in Dahshur, to finally the greatest manifestation of the pyramids in Giza. I was lucky enough to visit this ancient world wonder in May 2018. I got to visit the Giza components on my first day exploring Egypt, and supposedly left it at that. However, due to the scheduled day reserved for Wadi al-Hitan becoming free as we couldn't get police clearance, I decided that I could check out the other components of this WHS for another half-day, this time visiting Memphis and Saqqara. From Saqqara, you get a decent view of the entire expanse of pyramid fields "from Giza to Dahshur," so I could say this was a complete experience of all 4 important components of this site. Yes, it was accidental. Yes, I wish I had gotten the chance to visit Wadi al-Hitan. No, I don't think Memphis and the pyramids represent the height of the Egyptian civilization's cultural and artistic legacy. And no, not all parts of the experience of visiting will be completely pleasant, whether it be the heat or …

I really enjoyed our trip to Trang An. It's a great place and the carsts around the greenery you enjoyed while on a boat ride are a treat. We chose Bai Dinh as our base - it's basically one street but the road to it is lined with decorative lampposts and signs so you know you're reaching a touristy place. There are many homestays and restaurants, we chose Bai Dinh Garden Resort and Spa, a lovely new place affording a bit more luxury at a decent mid-point price. We booked a driver at the reception for the next day, when asked what to do at three in the afternoon, the receptionist shrugged and recommended us to see the Bai Dinh Pagoda, as it was just about 500 metres from our hotel. So we walked.

And man, it was a surprise, the whole religious complex full of temples, a big pagoda with golden and marble interiors should be visited if only for the views of the surrounding area. Each of the temple proudly presents the inscription certificate, claiming they're part of the inscription. Well, yes and no. Apparently, at the mountaintop of the complex is the old shrine that actually is historical and included in the WHS. But a good visit anyway, if only for marveling at the massive massive complex and everything in it being so big. You take an electric car from the ticket booth and from the top right side, past the Buddha statue, a 1,5 km …

I had very mixed feelings before visiting the Ha Long Bay, mostly due to all of the reviews and articles I've read about it, stating it being crowded, dirty, smelly, with trash literally swimming on the surface of the water, marring the view. So when I was on a business trip in Ha Long, on the actual day of a three-hour-long boat tour of the bay, I've actually bailed in favour of sitting by the pool and enjoying some much-needed alone time. I would be there a month later again, this time with my husband Ivan. My colleagues who went told me the bay did not smell, but they weren't lucky with the weather and they enjoyed a very foggy November morning.

One month later, it was late December and the weather was as sunny as could be as Ivan and I boarded the Indochina Sails junk ship. We booked the trip before we took off for Vietnam, through Booking based on the recommendation of the Lonely planet - there are just too many companies operating in the Ha Long Bay and quality varies. It was not cheap, but included was transport from Hanoi and back (we only used it one-way as we moved along to Ninh Binh after this), lunch, dinner and breakfast, one night on ship in a double room, entrance fees and activities. When debating whether to do just a short trip around the bay, or spend the night, I would highly recommend spending the night …

November 2019 - While my wife joined a workshop in Erfurt, me and my daughter visited a few sights in Thuringia on daytrips and enjoyed eating Thüringer Klöße. The weather was quite nice that day, so we jumped in the car, drove the few km from Erfurt to Eisenach, parked the car somewhere on the bottom of the hill to avoid parking cost and made our way uphill. After 30min hike with the baby on my chest, we entered the castle. We attended the next available tour and visited all rooms of the castle. The castle is quite a mixture of architectual styles, and not much can be really appointed to the middle ages. The Wartburg Castle is a symbol for German Nationalism, which back then might have had its good, democratic views, but nowadays is rather frightening. Nowadays Burschenschaften, that meet here regularly are being seen as antiquated, authority seeking, and antidemocratic. However we enjoyed the architecture, the wonderful view at the Thüringer Wald, although clouds arised, and the historic traces of Luther.

Definitely a special place to visit, the history, the neogothic rooms and mosaics are amazing, and the whole area is a good place to visit. We still drove to Hainich that day, but had to shorten our hike, due to upcoming dusk and rain.

While wandering through a Spanish palace last year, I ran across a room full of paintings of the Wonders of the World. On one wall was a representation of the Colossus of Rhodes, nearby, the Great Pyramid of Giza, and across the way, the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus. All seven well known wonders were found in that room, but there was also a painting of an eighth wonder -- one I hadn't even considered before I arrived in Spain, but I quickly realized was of great regional importance: El Monasterio del Escorial.

A couple days later I found myself on a day tour from Madrid visiting El Escorial, and it was as grand as the painting suggested. I don't always travel on guided tours, but they can be very informative. In this case, my tour guide pointed out the repeated use of a grill--a symbol representing the way St. Lawrence was martyred--in artwork and in the design of the monastery, something I might otherwise have missed.

El Escorial is a monument to the vision of King Philip II of Spain, a place he intended to use in support of the Counter-Reformation, as well as to house a royal mausoleum. The basilica, imposing in marble, was more austere than other churches I saw in Spain, a reflection of the character of Philip II. My tour continued through the royal apartments, where we saw the window the king had installed so that he could watch the services in the basilica when …

Difficult difficult to say yes or no to become a WHS. We already have the Medina of Tunis and Sousse which I also visited. They are touristy. Sfax is authentic. I was the only western guy there as I didn't see any other tourist the 4 hours I walked through the Medina. In Sfax you can really see the local life and how it all goes. I love that. The narrow streets, the people and the smell. There are a few old houses open for museum and looking at the guest books they don't get many visitors. Dar Jallouli is the most famous. These old houses have beautiful courtyards. Of course there is a kashbah as well. Old mosques and the wall which is still very complete from what I could see.So WHS or NOT?Maybe we can exchange the Tunis Medina for Sfax Medina :-)In anycase if you visit El Jem (from Sousse) which is half a day trip, continue to Sfax for the rest of the day. It's amazing to wander around.

(photo copyright CTB Global - permission to use on worldheritagesite.org)

We kicked off our Vietnam trip with this WHS. Aeroflot, in its true former Soviet fashion, still determinedly flies to former Eastern part of Berlin and to Hanoi instead of Ho Chi Min. One overnight flight later we found ourselves in Hanoi. Now there are trips that have themes surrounding many of their WHSs. In Iran, almost everything was about 1800 years old. In India, almost every city was a capital of the empire at one point or another and this theme continued in Vietnam as well. So Thang Long Imperial Citadel was the first former (well and present, speaking of Hanoi itself) capital we visited.

It was a lovely walk from our hotel. You won't miss it as the Flag Tower of Hanoi is visible from far away - as you walk the Dien Bien Phu street, pass the Military Museum on your right side and statue of Lenin on your left, walk past the fence of the complex and turn right until you walk to the main entrance. There's a large building with ticket booth (at the time of our visit tickets cost 30 000 dong, or 1.20 euros) and a small display of the area of the complex with some historical information. You will enter by putting the magnetic cards to the machine, it will eat them, but make sure you'll keep your purchase receipt, as you will be required to show it by the entrance to the archaeological site.

The whole site is quite …

I visited Boka Kotorska several times already, two times as a boat trip from Herceg Novi, one time we did a short stop in Kotor during a trip to Cetinje, and last time we went by bus to small towns of Perast and Risan.

Boka Kotorska is one of the finest landscapes of Mediterranean I have ever visited, and the boat trip is probably the best way to enjoy it (PHOTO – a view fro the boat towards Perast). Unfortunately, the rest of Monte Negro coast is already spoiled by expansion of tourist resorts. The core zone of the Kotor Bay and the surrounding buffer zone within the Tivat Bay ensure the protection from the expansive development.

Kotor is obviously the most visited part of the Boka with crowds of tourists. Kotor is full of fine medieval churches and protected from the outside world by Venetian defensive walls and ramparts (another WHS). To avoid crowds, Perast is a good option. It has nicely preserved historical core with number of Venetian palaces, and I enjoyed a tranquil atmosphere of this place. Further, the view towards two nearby small islands is a real joy. I also visited Risan, but it lacks the pristine structure of Kotor and Perast. The most interesting site in Risan is the place with Roman floor mosaics, which are quite interesting but nothing special.

The brazilian city of Belo Horizonte, where this WHS is located, is a new city: it was founded in 1897. In its older area the eclectic and neoclassical buildings are mixed with the modern ones, some of them works of the architect Oscar Niemeyer, like the residential tower that has his name in Liberdade Square. This area (districts of Savassi, Lourdes, Boa Viagem) is where most of the hotels are concetrated, and I agree it's the best area for a tourist to stay. The Pampulha district is located a bit further, it was added to the city in the 1940's, and despite having the most famous tourist attraction of the city, that is the lake and its Niemeyer buildings, it's mostly a residential zone. It has a different atmosphere than the rest of the city: calm streets, calm traffic, and is all about the modern, but not in a monumental way, except for the two concrete stadiums, Mineirão and Mineirinho, that can be seen from the lake and are, in my opinion, disturbances in the landscape of this site.

The lake isn't small, and the four buildings inscribed in this WHS are not very close to each other. If you are in a good physical condition or have a lot of free time you can visit all four by foot, because walking on the shores of the lake is quite pleasant. I didn't have both, so I just visited two buildings, the church and the ballroom. The yacht club …

I like Tianzhushan (TZS), visiting in 2016, but it barely meets WHS in my opinion. It also seems to try REALLY hard to cover all criteria which I think will boil down to 2 at the most (not taking bets). I went here without any idea about the tentative inscription plans and thought of it more as a "mini Huangshan" because it looks so similar with the granite rocks and isn't far away from the famous yellow mountain. I spent a day here taking the cable car up and doing the circle hike plus up to the "Gleam in the Sky" peak. On this hike I don't find you can catch much of the criteria it tries to justify for an inscription almost as if hiking the mountain is not the best way to see the value it is proposing? Instead of an apparently famous "Peacocks Flying Southward" poem in the rock I get presented with lots of funky-looking stones like the elephant, parrot, 

The Cliffside stone inscriptions: they are on like EVERY mountain in China, seriously. Find me one without (not taking bets). So what's special here is that they range from many dynasties like an "art museum" - I can't say that I saw most of these and as I said because other mountains already show enough of these that I didn't spend extra time checking them out.

Archaeological sites and Xuejiagang Culture, can't comment on this from my trip.

Peacocks Flying Southward is one …

I enjoyed the two parts of this TWHS inscription. Each country deserves I think at least 1 WHS and for Tonga the ancient capitals can be one for sure.

Ha'amonga ‘a Mau'i Historic Park: This park has two structures. A trilithon and a stone which is said to be the kings throne. They are over 10 centuries old from the time the capital was located there. I had a look for maybe 20 minutes as that's all that it takes. But it's interesting to see how on such a small island in the middle of the pacific this was constructed.

Ancient Royal Tombs of Lapaha in the village of Mu'a: These tombs are a kind of stepped pyramids. There are several and all those burried there are in line of the current king. In the current capital even, the more recent kings, are buried in a similar way.

After reading the UNESCO submission I do agree and that this for sure has the potential for a WHS. 

How to get there? Best option is from Auckland to Tonga. At the time of my visit I only could fly back (or to Australia) but now you can go to Samoa as well with a weekly flight and continue to other islands.

(photo copyright CTB Global - permission to use on worldheritagesite.org)

I spent a day and a night in Bern in July 2012. It was a stop during my return after a week stay in Lausanne, then, I continued to Basel and Prague. It has been my first and only visit to Switzerland.

The city center is compactly formed by long lines of town houses with porticoes, completed by the cathedral with a huge tower. The town is confined within a bent of a turquoise river. The highlight was the view from the hill just opposing the meander (PHOTO), and also walking along the river with views up to the townhouses and the cathedral. I also liked the “water management” – it means line of fountains on the main street, and the astronomical-clock tower.

Well, I liked Bern, but next time I would like to explore other parts of the country such as Zurich, and Alps, of course. I think that one/two days visit is just enough for Bern.

Not sure what to think of this. I visited Tonga for 1 week and explored mostly the main island (maybe in the Ha'apai it's better?) where there is also a location. First of all, nobody knew about the Lapita Pottery SITES (they know about the pottery). It's not included in any tour.I visited the Nukuleka site. It's there. But there is no excavations at the moment going on. It's just covered up and you cannot see anything. I tried to find pottery in a museum in Tonga but I was told what was there was taken abroad.WHS? I do understand the value of Lapita pottery, but the sites themselves don't have any interesting value. I think it's a great museum piece and that's it.

(photo copyright CTB Global - permission to use on Worldheritagesite.org)

The World Heritage inscription of the Baha’i Holy Places emphasizes their deep spiritual value and the tradition of pilgrimage in the Baha’i faith. I am not convinced that it counts as Outstanding Universal Value, but the two main compounds mentioned on the inscription, one in the center of Haifa and one on the outskirts of Acre, also happen to be fine examples of formal gardening, which makes at least the one in Haifa a nearly must-see on any itinerary in Israel. I stopped by both in November 2019.

My expectations for a visit to the Haifa’s Baha’i Gardens included the key assumption that I would be able to enjoy walking in the gardens on my own – and although I had sufficient number of warnings from the interwebs and from my Israeli relatives that that was not the case, it came as a huge disappointment when I finally realized that I could not do that.

Baha’i Gardens in Haifa sit on a steep side of a mountain. The central part surrounding Shrine of Bab is open to visitors from 9am to 12noon daily, and there you can experience some of the gardens first-hand. You can access the shrine’s interior as long as you do not photograph anything therein (somewhat uniquely, the guard at the entrance demanded that I physically cover the lenses of my camera with a cap before coming in). It should be said that there is nothing of specific note to photograph inside the shrine anyway; …