All our reviews

Jantar Mantar, what a weird name? When I traveled to Jaipur, I didn't really know what to expect. The name sounds more like a joke than something real.

What I found is one of those niche jewels of the world heritage list: an Indian observatory based on architectural astronomical instruments. The architectural part is key here as there were little mechanics or optics involved. Instead, you have the world's largest sundial being able to measure time by 2s due to its size. In comparison the Royal Observatory in Greenwich is tiny.

Interestingly, the site is limited to the observatory. India has in the meantime submitted Jaipur (T) itself as a separate site. The community feedback is rather positive, but to me combining Jaipur and the Jantar Mantar would yield a truly great site and the separation seems rather artificial.

Getting There

I flew in from Bangalore in the morning. I left the next morning on the train to Agra.

A popular tourist option is to do the golden triangle (Delhi, Agra, Jaipur) from Delhi with a driver. You will find plenty of offers for this online.

While You Are There

As mentioned, Jaipur City is a tentative site itself and nominated for 2019. Not to be missed Amer Fort is part of the Hill Forts of Rajasthan world heritage site.

First things first: there is far less to see here than at most other ancient sites in Greece. The ruins are just that: ruins, and aside from the theatre, not particularly well-preserved. But it's the history here that really makes Philippi impressive. Given its name by King Phillip II of Macedon, father to Alexander the Great, it was also the site of a pivotal battle from Roman history. Just outside the city walls in 43 BC, an army lead by Julius Caesar's heirs Octavian and Mark Antony, faced off against an army lead by Caesar's assassins Cassius and Brutus. Caesar's heirs won the day, and the Roman Republic was no more. And of course, there's the connection with early Christian history as well - the Apostle Paul visited here and was thrown in jail for preaching in the Forum before making a miraculous escape. It's also reputedly the site of the first Christian church and first Christian baptism in Europe. 

Honestly, a good knowledge of ancient history and some imagination are the best tools for fully enjoying this site. But despite the lack of ruins to see, it can still be quite an interesting and engaging 2-3 hour visit.

Logistics-wise, we drove to this site from our base in nearby Kavala. Aside from Athens, driving in Greece is actually quite OK as the roads are in fairly good condition. The site itself is quite a large area, and when we visited in September 2018 we had almost the …

For a site that isn't particularly hard to visit, it is surprising how few foreign tourists make it out to see this bridge. The bridge itself is about 5km outside the small colonial town of Santa Fe de Antioquia which is itself worthy of a visit for those not generally burned out on colonial Spanish towns in South America. It is a wonder that it isn't included as its own TWHS actually. Both are only about 50km from Medellin and it is an easy and pleasant day trip to take in both Santa Fe and the bridge and make it back to the city in time for dinner. 

At the time of its opening in 1895, Puente de Occidente was one of the longest suspension bridges in the world and the longest in South America with structural similarities to the Brooklyn Bridge on which the local engineer had previously worked. Although it was originally opened only for pedestrian traffic, after several restorations there is now a central section for light vehicles and pedestrian paths on either side. 

I don't really understand architectural nominations and their overall value, but the bridge and setting are beautiful and we didn't regret the day spent visiting. From Santa Fe de Antioquia tuk-tuks will offer to take you to the bridge and wait for 20-30 minutes while you walk across before heading back to town. 

It is rather curious that there are two tentative submissions for Lisbon, dated with the same exact day, of which one happens to entirely encompass the other. Pombaline Lisbon is a smaller area within the boundaries of the Historic Lisbon tentative site; even the text of submissions repeats the same facts and claims in many instances. When you are in the heart of the Portuguese capital, you are basically visiting two TWH sites at once, although I find it pretty obvious that they will never become two distinct WH sites.

The term Pombaline refers to Marquis of Pombal who led the reconstruction of central Lisbon after the devastating earthquake of 1755. The resulting complex, while undoubtedly innovative for its times, has a measure of uniformity and muted visual impact. Throughout Lisbon, building façades are largely flat and, while varying in color and occasionally covered by tiles, are mostly devoid of decorative elements aside from narrow balconies. Signs of neglect or at best of unenthusiastic upkeep are found frequently. And there isn’t really anything that could be called an unmissable iconic sight. Praça do Comércio may be the most well-known image, although there are several open squares in the Baixa Pombalina neighborhood that are worth strolling around. Baixa Pombalina is also the lowest-lying and the flattest part of Lisbon, which only magnifies the aforementioned uniformity.

Unless you decide to join the line for Elevador de Santa Justa (I much more prefer the top of the Arch of Rua Augusta, …

After our 2017 meetup in Gibraltar, I joined Philipp and his brother for a trip to Antequera. I had anticipated the usual prehistoric fare: a few rocks, maybe some carvings, and 15min later we would be done and move on. To my surprise, as we approached the site, we were pulling up a mountain with plenty of scenic views along the way.

I think we were the first at the El Torcal parking lot that day. The on-site museum and shop were not yet opened as we hiked into the canyon. I felt reminded of Bryce Canyon with all the weird stone towers along the trail. It was a nice hike and I would have loved to go further.

After returning to the parking lot, we had dinner and headed down to the dolmen sites in Antequera proper. One dolmen site had a not very memorable on-site museum attached to it. And I think we didn't spend much more than the aforementioned 15min on each site. But taken together with the rock formations in the mountains it's a nice site.

Getting There

Getting to Antequera (the city) is fairly easy. The town has train or bus connections to Malaga, Granada, Cordoba, Algeciras (Morocco and Gibraltar), and Sevilla. Essentially you can cover the whole Andalusia hotspot from the town.

The main dolmen sites are within walking distance of the city. You can also spot the mountain with a face from the dolmen sites.

If you …

In my opinion, Kakadu National Park is one of Australia's most impressive sites. Home to ancient culture, gorgeous natural scenery, and a colossal variety of plants and animals, there's a lot to love about Kakadu. We visited the park over three days in June 2016, which gives you ample time to explore the various areas.

To reach Kakadu, your best option is to drive in from Darwin - a roughly 2 hour, 150km drive. It's best to go during dry season (May-October) as this is also the coolest time of year. Wet season from November-April is hotter, stickier and of course wetter: many roads in Kakadu will be flooded and impassable.

Aboriginal Australians have lived in Kakadu for around 50,000 years, and it's the oldest continuous culture on earth. Locals today can look at ancient rock paintings and understand the stories as if they were painted yesterday. The best rock art in Kakadu is found at both Ubirr and Burrunguy (formerly Nourlangie Rock), where you'll find a lot of interesting stuff: animals, humans, and spiritual art like the Rainbow Serpent who created the world during the Dreamtime. Ubirr Rock is also a mesmerising place for sunset.

For bird-watching, Yellow Waters Billabong near Cooinda is the best place. A great option here is to grab a sunrise or sunset boat tour - we managed to do both and preferred the sunrise tour as we saw more, though this is probably dependent on luck and the skill of your …

Both the description and the OUV justification on the tentative WH submission for Lisbon outline with significant detail the uniqueness of the city history and its importance in the Age of Discoveries. And yet, ask practically anyone who had toured Portugal to name their favorite stops in the country, and it is highly unlikely that the capital would feature even among the top five.

This lukewarm impression is not entirely unfounded. Lisbon is visually muted; the building façades are uniformly flat and, while varying in color and occasionally covered by tiles, are mostly devoid of decorative elements aside from narrow balconies. Signs of neglect or at best of unenthusiastic upkeep are found frequently all over the city. And there isn’t really anything that could be called an unmissable iconic sight.

But if you give Lisbon enough time it will grow on you. Walk around long enough and you will find quaint pleasant pockets as well as bouncy vibrant areas, eye-catching vistas as well as attractive architectural samples. And while there may not be a museum or a historical monument contending for the world-class status, there are plenty of points of interest befitting a large metropolitan city. Every one of the central neighborhoods - Baixa, Alfama, Chiado, Bairro Alto, etc. - has something to offer.

The city's oldest architectural features are by and large about 250 years old - it was leveled by a great earthquake in 1755 and almost entirely rebuilt thereafter. As you walk around, you …

"I have seen things you people wouldn't believe" is the only quote that comes to mind when I look at the epic, 40km long, blindingly white and ever-moving, ever-changing, ever-glorious Ilulissat Icefjord aka Sermeq Kujalleq.

I don't usually dish out 5 stars but this is almost worth a six! I saw many places in the world, many glaciers too and even the multitudes at Vatnajökull National Park just two days prior did not prepare me for this. Just look at this mammoth on the satellite images! Ok, so enough about this *drinks coffee to calm down*, first off it doesn't come cheap to come to Ilulissat. The cheapest fare from Reykjavik set me back 400 Euros plus the domestic flights to get around Greenland, and of course a return to Reykjavik (although Copenhagen is another good choice if you are heading for Europe instead if North America). Hotels are expensive, kind of like staying in Copenhagen, groceries are maybe the most expensive I have ever seen (even higher than Norway) and forget about a budget meal dining option. I cooked myself to compensate for all the costs but my "cheap-o" guest house wouldn't pick me up from the airport for free. Anyhow, so you dished out all that to make it to Ilulissat, good for you.

I saw the fjord from the plane. Foggy but clear enough to get some shots with my camera. The first thing you will see in the bay are floating icebergs. The ever …

The Citadel of Alessandria is an 18th-century star fortress on the Tanaro river, a tributary of the Po. Built by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia to protect its borders, it saw plenty of battles over time. The most historic event, though, is not military. In 1821 during the Piedmont resurrection, revolutionaries raised a Carbonari tricolor flag here. the flag would undergo a change of color to eventually become the flag of Italy.

Unlike David, I was able to enter the site. Since 2007 it's no longer owned by the Italian military. You can climb the walls and explore the bastions freely, only the main buildings are closed. In addition, there is an on-site military museum. I think they even offer guided tours, but can't find any information online.

The preservation state, when I visited, was poor as weeds were growing everywhere and the site feeling desolate. The citadel has been flagged as endangered by Europa Nostra. Major efforts would be needed to clean this up.

OUV

It's an 18th-century star fortress. That's roughly it. When you visit it's hard to discern the star layout (you would need an aerial view). What is unique is that the fort still has mostly the original views of the surrounding countryside. The town never grew past and around it.

Getting There

Alessandria is on the railway line between Milan and Turin. You can also connect to Genoa by train. By bus, you can travel to …

I visited the WHS in Belém on a Portuguese national holiday in April, which was obviously not the best day for sightseeing. There is a corollary of Murphy’s Law, formulated by me but surely familiar to others, which states that on a given multi-leg travel itinerary, no matter the preparation, there has to be at least one instance of logistical screw-ups or bad decisions. My visit to Belém was such an instance, comprising not one but three bad decisions in quick succession, the first of which was the pick of the day to devote to this area.

The second was the order of visits. I have read in a number of travelogues (including prior reviews in this space) that the line to enter the monastery grows much larger than the one for the tower, so I decided to start with the monastery at the opening time. What I did not account for is that the use of Lisboa Card allowed skipping the line at the monastery – but did not allow the same at the tower. When I walked up to the tower later in the day, the line to enter was long enough to herald at least 45 minutes of waiting (you may guess it from the picture). At this juncture of my life, I rarely join long lines no matter the expected gratification. So I took a couple of exterior photos and continued on to the next point of the day’s itinerary.

Since I entered the …

Having forgotten my sweater on a bus and being in dire need of a new one, I made a short unplanned shopping stop in Catania. Catania is the hub for eastern Sicily and I was passing through anyhow on my way to Milazzo for the Eolian Islands.

My original plan had been to use Catania as my base for the remainder of my Sicily trip after returning from the Eolian Islands. The first 15min in Catania upon arrival made me revise my plans. The area around the train station is downtrodden and simply terrible. It really had me question the world heritage designation. The overall picture improved when I made my way to the core zone. Especially, the area along Via Etnea is nice with the Piazza del Duomo being the highlight. On sunny days you can see the Etna. Still, this is Italy, so nice is not good enough. As a consequence, I rearranged my travel plans limiting my time in Catania to a minimum.

My second stop was Ragusa. I came by bus from Catania. It's nice, but not spectacular. The nicest views were from the bridges connecting both parts of the city across a deep valley. Had I only visited Ragusa and Catania, I would have really doubted the inscription.

As my last stop, I made my way to Noto. Noto is a spectacular Baroque town dotted with plenty of churches. The most striking feature are the honey-colored limestone buildings.

One …

Visit: June 2019. Manu NP can (only) be reached by joining a tour from Cusco. I went on a 5 days tour to the Cultural Zone and focus on the different tours.

Zona Cultural vs Zona Reservada

Manu NP is huge, but only a relatively small part can be accessed. If you want to spend your tour mostly in the core zone, you need to book a trip to the reserved zone. The shortest tour I found was 6 days. The 5 days reserved zone tour Els did is no longer offered, as it was not profitable. Tours to the reserved zone include on each way an 8 hours bus ride to Atalaya port (half of the road unpaved) followed by an 8 hours boat ride to Boca a Manu, the entry point to the reserved zone. The flights to Boca a Manu are no longer available since 2012, so no short cuts possible at the moment. This also means that out of 6 days you will be using 3 just to get there and back. From what I heard animal sightings in the reserved zone are far more common. There are lodges inside the reserved zone, so you don’t have to sleep in a tent.

The cultural zone can be done in 3, 4 or 5 days tours. Driving from Cusco to Atalaya you will actually cross the core zone several times at the south western tip of the park (from where my picture is). This …

The Tokaji Wine Region represents a distinct wine-growing tradition that has existed for at least a thousand years and has been preserved intact to date. The region is known for the Tokaji Aszú, the world's oldest wine that uses a process of 'noble rot'. The volcanic subsoil and the microclimate of the area are ideal for this type of viticulture. I visited the region as the last WHS in a series of 3 during my recent short trip to Hungary.

From Hortobagy, it takes an hour and a half of driving to arrive at the heart of this wine region. I did not expect too much from it: the site is in the bottom 100 of our rankings & well, it’s about wine again and I don’t drink that. Daydreaming along the way in the car, I just hoped to be able to sit in the sunshine on a terrace in Tokaj with a cappuccino and preferably also a piece of cake. That may seem like a simple wish, but something like that is certainly not a given in eastern Hungary.

The town of Tokaj turned out to be small but also somewhat livelier than the places I had seen in the days before. They also had a couple of terraces in the well-kept center, and I had a cappuccino with a piece of plum pie. A plus for Tokaj!

In addition to the usual wine cellars that can only be visited by appointment, they also have …

Hortobágy National Park - the Puszta is a steppe landscape where man has left only temporary structures. Shepherds graze their horses, cows and sheep (species adapted to local conditions) here on the barren land. Fishponds were built in the early 20th century to vary the land use more. The park is also known for its variety of bird species. I had planned to focus mainly on the park’s natural features (though it’s a cultural site on our List) and I even brought a travel guidebook to make the most of it. 

I had 1 full day here (stayed for 2 nights) and focused on Route 1 described in the guidebook. This is an all-day circuit by car, with stops and short walks along the way. Officially you do need a permit to visit any site in the national park that lies off the main road, but since the Visitor Center wasn’t open yet at 8 am when I went out I decided to start without one (in the end I never encountered any controls).

The route first goes eastwards from the town of Hortobagy, on the busy road B33. There you’ll find 3 lookout towers. I climbed 2 of them – they provide wide views over the plains but you actually don't see anything of much interest. Afterward, you turn left off the main road and make a full loop via the northern side of the park. Here too the road is busy at first and there is …

Xinjiang Tianshan [Visited May 2019]

Ah, Xinjiang. Mere mention of this place even to local Chinese elicits caution and to some degree fear. These are heightened by selective local media and racial profiling. Yet for us foreigners, Xinjiang, at of the crossroads between east and west and a key node of the silk road, is place for mystery and adventure.

Safety and convenience are at the top of everyone’s concern when planning to visit Xinjiang. As of writing, foreigners don’t need a special visit permit. But once you landed at the airport, you will start to feel the enhanced security. Police will get your details and put to their system. They will also ask you for your itinerary. This heightened security will be the norm within your stay in the region where police checks are on every corner and xray machines welcome you at each hotel. “Big Brother” surveillance is also rampant but I will leave out geo-political discussion out of this review.

The most accessible component of Tianshan is Bogda mountain, a day trip from Urumqi. Hiring a car for a day is just 300 RMB. There is also one tourist bus going the Tianchi Scenic Area in front of Urumqi People Square at 09:00 and comes back at 17:00 for 60 RMB return trip. The ride to the site is nothing scenic and took 2 hours to the visitors entrance. If you miss the tourist bus, you may take the long distance bus to neighbouring …

Every once in a while, social networks are useful. On instagram I had noticed that a former classmate of mine had moved to Rauma, so when I made my trip to Rauma as part of my WHS travel, we connected and went out for pizza and beer at the beach. She also gave me a bike tour of the old town in the evening. And I have to admit, I was smitten by Rauma. So much so, that I decided to spend more time to explore the cobblestone streets the next day.

Generally, wooden houses are common in Scandinavia. It comes with the abundance of forests and woods, I guess. Rauma uses the Scandinavian coloring scheme including Falun-red painted houses. But somehow, Rauma felt more eastern in nature. It reminded me more of Suzdal in Russia and the wooden suburbs of Riga than of Gammelstad.

There are several other Finnish wooden towns like Rauma that, according to Juha, deserve similar praise. Nonetheless, Rauma is a fine example and a worthwhile visit and inscription. To me, it's the nicest site in Finland. 

Getting There

Rauma is well connected by bus to Vaasa (Kvarken), Turku, Tampere, and Helsinki. Rauma has no rail connection. The closest airports are in Turku and Vaasa, but for international travels, you probably have to head to Helsinki.

If you can manage, I would stay overnight. Rauma is touristy enough to offer tourist infrastructure (hotels, restaurants). And it's remote …

I visited this WHS in May 2019 and spent 3 full days here. The historic centre was one of the first WHS on the list and I think it truly deserves its inscription. Not only are the churches' exteriors and interiors quite different and all worth visiting for some special feature or example of the Baroque school of Quito (Escuela Quitena), but fortunately it's also a vibrant city centre still alive with local traditions and jobs (shoe shine, local ice cream vendors, cake and sugar cane vendors, etc.).

Even though Ecuador has the dollar as its national currency, Quito's historic centre has no global fast food restaurants or chains such as McDonalds, Sushi Shops, Doner Kebab shops, Pizza Hut, Burger King, etc. but small little shops selling plumbing items, ironmongers, grocers, bakeries, bookshops, local restaurants, etc. which is generally quite rare in Latin America.

It is relatively easy and safe to walk around all the city at different hours of the day, apart from the different miradors were you'll have to walk uphill (unless you opt to catch a cheap yet crowded bus). Friendly police forces are present in every square and every other street. Plaza Grande or Plaza de la Independencia is the heart of the city and every time I visited, there was always something different taking place, so it was my favourite place to just sit down and enjoy the Ecuadorian capital and people. It is not unusual though for the square to be closed …

A few points which arose from our visit in Mar 2019 in addition to those made by earlier reviewers

a. The “Heritage Walk”. Ahmadabad is rather proud of this initiative which goes back to 1997 and is being copied in other Indian cities. It receives many mentions in the Nomination File. Annex 17 is devoted entirely to it and contains a map - but here is the brochure version. These seemed to be as rare as hen’s teeth when we visited, so it might be worth printing it down in advance just in case you can’t get one “on location”! All (most?) of the 20 “pause points” have a large metal sign with a copy of this map, a description and an arrow to show where you are in the maze of alleyways (Photo). The link in Joel's previous review, as well as having its own map, will lead to more detailed descriptions of each of the “pause points” than are included with the above map and would be a useful complement to it (click through to "Heritage Walk packages"). There is fun of course in finding one’s own way along such a route, talking to the locals etc, but there are also advantages in having the significance of what you are seeing (or potentially “missing”) explained by a guide. Much of the “value” (such as it is) of the walk lies in understanding aspects which might otherwise go unnoticed. We met no other tourists (Indian or otherwise) …

As a half-day excursion from Rauma, I visited Sammal-something-something. Again: I am not able to memorize Finnish place names exceeding two syllables.

Sammallahdenmäki is a burial site dating from 1500 to 100 BCE. It was originally on the coast. But ever since the ice age ended, the land has been rising and the coast is now 15km away. The burial rites spread to Finland from other parts of Scandinavia.

The cairns are distributed along a rocky hilltop in a forest. They are easy to spot. The surrounding scenery is lovely and I agree with Els that this is probably the main selling point of the site.

There is no wall or fence and you don't have to pay any entry fee. It's surprising how relaxed the Finnish authorities handle preservation and it seems to work. Still, proper trails and some explanatory signposts would go a long way to improve the overall experience.

Getting There

As far as I know, there are no direct buses to Sammallahdenmaki. Still, with a little walking, you can easily reach the site using public transport. There are regular buses running between Rauma and Huittinen. Get off at Lappi and from there it's a little less than 4km walk to Sammallahdenmaki.

Supposedly, during summer there are also guided tours once a week (Thu 13h) from Rauma including shuttle. But I cannot find the source.

While You Are There

If you are entering via the Southern entry, you …

Hollókő is a traditional agricultural settlement of the North Hungarian Palóc community. The village consists of whitewashed half-timbered houses, which originated in the 17th and 18th centuries. It was completely rebuilt after a fire in 1909. The town was the first stop on my long weekend to Eastern Hungary, where I aimed to tick off 3 suspiciously low-ranked WHS.

I had some difficulty getting there. It should only be an hour's drive from Budapest airport, but there were lots of impediments:

• my flight already arrived with a delay of 10 minutes,
• the rental car parking space had moved to a faraway place beyond the Ibis hotel,
• I lost my ticket to exit the parking so I had to go back to the Hertz counter for a new one,
• there was no satnav in the rental car, so I had to use my phone…. for which I forgot to bring the charger!
• using GPS for navigation the phone battery doesn't last much longer than a few hours, so I was already thinking of buying an old-fashioned map at a gas station; luckily I passed a large shopping mall where they actually had an iPhone charger for sale,
• Waze for some unexplainable reason sent me on minor roads (I even drove on a parallel road next to the highway ...).
• But in the end I got there, some 2 hours later than planned. Hollókő presented itself as a small village with a very …