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From the TWHS “Ore Mountains mining landscape” that has a great chance to be inscribed on the list this year, I visited historical center of Freiberg on the German side, and all five sites nominated by Czechia: (i) Jáchymov mining landscape, (ii) Abertamy – Horní Blatná – Boží Dar mining landscape, (iii) Krupka mining landscape, (iv) Měděnec (Měďník) mining landscape, and I saw (v) Red Tower of Death from distance of few hundreds meters going by bus from Jáchymov towards Ostrov and Karlovy Vary.

Despite a slight over-representation of mines on the list, I have to admit that the phenomenon of mining played a key role in the development, economy, and also scientific research of Central Europe. It resulted in knowledge and wealth that were eventually distributed worldwide. Among the mining WHSs that I visited (Goslar-Rammelsberg in German Harz Mountains; Banská Šťavnica in Slovak Ore Mountains; and Kutná Hora mining town in Czechia), the Erzgebirge/Krušnohoří landscape is kind of exceptional because of its enormous size and large diversity in terms of typology, landscape, nature, architecture and also of materials (silver, tin, cobalt, copper, iron ore, coal, uranium and other elements such as molybdenum, tungsten, lithium, radium, radon, etc.)

My impression from the visited sites:

(A) Germany – the majority of nominated sites are located there, but I visited only town of Frieberg (I traveled from Dresden by train). It happened two times and in both cases it was during Christmas, and I enjoyed the Christmas Market there …

I visited Kolkheti on my way to northwest Georgia (Abkhazia and Svaneti). By visited I more or less mean taking a stroll next to lake Paliastomi that borders it. There is actually no way to just walk into the park at the moment which is great for protection but surely a blow for anyone wanting to visit it as the only way to visit is via a boating tour that last around 2 hours. The location just off the Black Sea is great for birds. The area around the park is rather dirty and poor, with Poti being a major port and lots of trucks coming and going (it reminds me of the Bangladesh entry point of the Sundarbans - you will know what I mean if you see it). If this were not on the nominated list I would not drive down to Poti. The road was also under construction and took an extra hour to drive around.

Location of this site makes it a perfect stop on the way from the WHS of Hattusa to Goreme National Park. Basilica Therma is located in the center of small town of Sarikaya, very close to the main road crossing the town. We came there encouraged by photos made at night and indeed it is very nice illuminated. During the day the site is less spectacular – it is in fact quite small archeological area surrounded by modern buildings. It is quite difficult to take a photo without any modern buildings on the second plan. Entering the site requires ticket but honestly you can clearly see all the most important elements from outside.

Basilica Therma was built in 2nd century A.D. and is one of the most important Roman sites in Anatolia. When Christianity came to Anatolia, it served as a baptism site. Then it was used by Seljuks. According to the nomination file, this is the only thermal bath in Asia Minor. Even now water in the largest pool (almost 24x13 meters!) is 45 degrees. I am not sure all this would justify the inscription but the site is certainly worth visiting.

On my way back from Laponia to Stockholm I spend one day hiking along the High Coast (Höga Kusten). It wasn't easy to get to. It was a 6h ride from Lulea and another 6h ride to Uppsala in the evening. But this is the plight of the world heritage traveler. Or any traveler trying to visit Northern Sweden as distances are great and connections infrequent.

Similar to Clyde I visited Skuleskogen National Park and hiked up Slattdalsskrevan. My views were more limited than Clyde's thanks to the whole area still covered in magical morning mist. After lunch, the sky eventually cleared and I could see the outer islands.

If you are not a geologist, the High Coast looks and feels pretty much like many coastal areas in Sweden. Forests, rocks and islands are there in abundance. But it's a fine example of a Swedish coast and a very pleasant visit.

Getting There

I arrived in Docksta around 22:00h by bus. I came from Lulea via Umea. During summer, it’s still bright this late at night. My hotel was within 200 meters of the bus stop and they provided me with an entry code, so the late check-in was no problem.

The next day, I hiked to Bjästa from where you can catch buses to Örnsköldsvik and Umea (north) or Sundsvalls (south). Örnsköldsvik has a train station and an airport. Trains run north to Umea and south to Sundsvall. The airport connects you to Stockholm. …

The sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte is comparatively young for a religious site – the pilgrimage church dates only from the 17th century, and the current ensemble was fully established less than 200 years ago. This ensemble, especially the Baroque stairway leading up to the main church, features in many travelogues of Northern Portugal as a wonder to behold. It is also up for enshrinement on WH list this year, which played a role in pushing it into a must category on my recent Portuguese itinerary.

The main part of the stairway is a truly impressive sight, even under rainy skies that accompanied my visit. As a non-believer, I can only guess the impact it must have on the actual pilgrims, who are encouraged to make the ascent on their knees.

The total number of steps from the parking lot at the foot of the hill to the church floor is 582 by my on-the-spot count. Over half of that total is along the park-like lower portion of the climb and roughly 200 steps comprise the gorgeous symmetrical zigzag stairway.

The vibrant church interior is headlined by the altar, uncommonly designed as a diorama. Half of the interior was covered in scaffolding due to renovation work. Even in this circumstance, lingering in the church was well justified. I imagine the final outcome of renovation will be entirely jaw-dropping.

Bom Jesus do Monte can be reached in about 45 minutes from Porto by car. My visit, …

As a welcome stop-over on my trip from Laponia to the High Coast, I visited Gammelstad near Lulea. It’s not a big old town or site. You have a church on a hill and Falun-red painted houses around it. Honestly, “houses” is stretching it: The old town primarily comprises sheds. And it left me wondering how poor the local farmers were that they could not afford bigger and better houses.

So after 30 minutes give or take, I finished my visit and was about to file this away as another lackluster site and quick tick. This is when I ran into the official signboard providing some much-needed background information. The sheds were not the principal homes of the proprietors. The town itself wasn’t even a real town in the sense of being the primary residence of its inhabitants. Instead, it was a church town, a place the surrounding farmers would congregate in on weekends for the Sunday sermon. I would assume they would also traded and enjoy each other’s company and plenty of drinks. I pictured the church crowd attending sermon with huge hangovers. And plenty of nightly shenanigans happening in the sheds.

There were hundreds of church towns in the past in Sweden, each owing their existence to the wide distances between each farm which prevented ordinary towns from forming. Gammelstad is the best preserved example. To this day, the locals keep the tradition of weekend stays up, although far less frequently. You may also not …

The incessant rain dripped from my sunhat. My jeans were clinging clammily to my legs. My surroundings lay lost in the cloud banks that enveloped the little boat, creating an aura of mystery and suspense. Alone on the upper deck I braced myself on the rail as we cut across the mouth of Doubtful Sound, roiling and bucking with the waves.

Te Wāhipounamu World Heritage Site is comprised of four contiguous national parks running up the southern west coast of New Zealand’s South Island. From south to north these are Fiordland National Park, Mt Aspiring National Park, Westland National Park and Aoraki / Mt Cook National Park. Our trip to New Zealand had been scheduled to take in the first three of these. As it was, due to being ripped off by a campervan hire company and being left stranded in Queenstown with no transport, no accommodation and no money to pay for either, our once-in-a-lifetime trip to New Zealand ended up starting and ending with a single day trip to Doubtful Sound in Fiordland before we had to fly home early (New Zealand remains the only place I’ve visited where I was glad to pay more to leave the country sooner than planned).

Doubtful Sound, the less visited southern sister to the more famous Milford Sound, requires a full day – though it depends on where you start from. Tours – you can search for them yourselves - leave from the town of Manapouri at 10am sharp, …

We visited Mahmut Bey mosque on the way from Safranbolu to Kizilirmak delta (a 2019 nomination that was withdrawn by Turkey after negative ICOMOS evaluation). It needed a short detour to the rural area of Kasaba where the mosque is located. It was around 6pm and the mosque was already closed but the guardian spotted us on the way and returned to open it just for us. It was very fortunate as from the outside the mosque is not special. It is its iterior that is particularly beautiful and interesting.

The mosque was built in XIVth century. No cement was used (except for mihrab) and the roof was built without any metal. So the inside is entirely wooden, with beautiful paintings. I am not aware how many original elements survived but overall it looked very old. Turkey has not publicly revealed any plans to inscribe the mosque* but… UNESCO plaque is already there! Not WHS plaque and they admit it is on tentative list only, but still I find it misleading.

*written in 2019. In 2023 the mosque was inscribed as a component of serial nomination 'Wooden Hypostyle Mosques of Medieval Anatolia'.

Many years ago we went to Socotra from Sinai. Socotra was mine 500th sites that I had been to. So different and exciting island. Many trees are endemic.The most remarkable ones are Dragon Blood tree, Desert Rose and Cucamber tree. And also many birds can be seen. Goats give big harm to the nature. But meat of goat is so delicious. Sea is so clear and full of corals. You should stay at least 4 days there. After Gallapagos Socotro is second interesting island. And also you should try Socotro Honey

August 2018 - after drinking all the champgne we reached Reims. We passed St. Remi on the way to the town and parked somewhere close to the cacthedral.

From all the cactehrdals we visited on our trip. This was Nr.1 in terms of magnificenece and authenticity. We were amazed by the size and beauty of this building. After 20 min here we walked a bit further through the city. There are many nice Art Nouveau and some Bauhaus sites. There is an interesting post offices, a swimming pool etc.

There are many nice shops with good drinks or other specialtese from France. We looked for some nice bistro, but again ended up with pain au chocolat. EAST of Reims the battlefiles of Grand Guerre are starting again, so no mile without passing a sign that says, cemetary, fort etc.

Reims is definiely a hotspot and worth visiting,

Previous review by Sinuhe Reyrub is really good, but I though I could add some information here as my first review.

When planning my visit there I though it would be easy to enjoy the site due to its convenient location between Puebla and Oaxaca. But I soon realized it would be hard and time-consuming to visit this biosphere reserve on public transport. I finally found that ecotourism tour operator based in Oaxaca offering tours there (http://tierraventura.com/ruta-tehuacan-cuicatlan/).

We chose a three-day tour in the reserve starting and ending in Oaxaca, and we had a really great time. It was probably much more expensive than visiting on our own, but it was easy, nice and very instructive. I think this is the best way to visit the reserve if you rely on public transport. We visited (and stayed in) the amazing botanical garden (already well described in the previous review). The diversity of cacti there is impressive. We also spend some time in San Juan Rayas to see the countless fossils and dinosaurs footprints. Around those two regions, the landscape of cacti covered mountains is really beautiful, especially at sunset when the light gives a deeper colour to the canyons. We hiked a bit around and spotted birds, lizards and a fox at night.

On the second day, they took us to Santiago Quiotepec, a very small and remote village. From there, we hiked a nearby mountain to see some ongoing archeological works and enjoy once more the superb landscape. We …

August 2018 - it was my birthday and we entered Epernay at around 10 am. Champagne, thats not just sparkling wine, there is style, inventor spirit and history behind it. We could not just drive through the wineyards and tick the site of. On the Avenue de Champagne we passed numerous luxus brands and couldnt realy decide.

We visited Castellane and Mercier. The promised train ride underground throught the champagne cellars, was just too promising for a birthday present. Since my wife was pregnant, I had to taste the champagnes on my own. Mercier exhibits the bighest Champagne cask, made for the Expo in Paris, Castellane has the most impressive headquarter. The underground cellars are impressive and massive. Just Mercier has kilometeres of shafts filled with bottles. We learned about the Methode Champigneuse and the constutuition of grapes typical for that drink.At the end of the tour we hade some differnet sorts of Champagne. You can visist almost all of the Champagne porducers.

After our stay in Epernay, we drove to Hautvillers and visited another small Champgane producer. From here you have beautiful view on the vineyards. Finally we reached Reims. A fabulous town, but we concentrated on visiting the Cathedral and some modern architecture. But the whole town is filled with champagne merchandise.

Definitely the big drinks should have their own whs sites. Still hoping for breweries and destilieris on the list. An of course hops growing regions.

Alto Douro is the part of the river valley where natural conditions conspired to create a unique environment for wine production that dates back over 2,000 years. Fortified wine – the port – may be the signature product, but various kinds of table wine have been becoming more prominent since about the middle of the last century. My affinity for wine notwithstanding, I have never before managed a visit to a WHS that would actually revolve around wine. So, the trip to Alto Douro was the first of a kind for me: primarily a wine-tasting trip that was also a qualified WH visit.

The stretch of the river between the towns of Peso da Régua and Pinhão is the heart of the region, possessing both the most dramatic landscapes and the highest concentration of wineries (called quintas in Portuguese). We planned our time around driving along that stretch (less than 30 kilometers in length), with several targeted stops for exploring and taking in the scenery.

Régua is worth stopping in for the Museum of Douro, a very thorough – without being overwhelming – overview of both the history and the modern process of winemaking in the region. On an intraday visit to the area, you may want to limit your time here to an hour or so, which will allow for a fairly cursory look at the majority of the exhibits. An entrance ticket entitles you to a glass of port in the museum shop at the end …

Visit in May 2019

It is my understanding that the nomination of Île d'Anticosti, a large island in the Gulf of St Lawrence, is primarily supported by its being one of the premier locations for obtaining fossilized life from the Silurian epoch. If inscribed, the site will join several other Canadian fossil WHSs, and will share several features with those other sites. I was not able to determine exactly what the proposed boundaries of the site would be, or whether the site would include the entire island. From readings I did before arriving, it seems that fossils are often found wherever there is a rocky outcropping, especially at seaside cliffs and riverbanks. So it may be that most, or all, of the island is being nominated. The coordinates given on the UNESCO page for the site point to the western tip of the island, close to its one small village, which is where I made a brief visit. As of now, only a relatively small section at the center of the island is protected as a National Park.

Only an experienced paleontologist would be qualified to speak on the quality and number of the fossils present on the island, and whether they merit inscription on the list. However, there are two other situations that could affect this site’s chances of inscription. Over one hundred years ago, deer were introduced onto the island, which proliferated, and currently support the only significant tourism there. Specifically, hunters, who visit in relatively …

Zamość, located in the Far East of Poland near the border with Ukraine, was one of the two WHS goals of my recent Pentecost trip. This year especially I am trying very hard to cover isolated sites like these in my quest to visit all European WHS. In January 2017 I calculated that I had 98 to do - now, in June 2019, I have only 24 to go (after excluding Turkey, Russia and Israel which are a bit too far and complex for weekend trips). I might be confronted however with an additional 4 to 9 after the 2019 WHC meeting that takes place in early July.

I arrived in Zamość on Saturday around dinner time after a long day of driving and had looked forward to eating a meal at the famous Rynek square. But, lo and behold, a full stage had been set up there and a classical concert was about to start. Everyone who had managed to secure a spot at one of the terraces obviously stayed put to listen in.

Some time ago in our Whatsapp group, we discussed what spoils a WHS visit (or a photo thereof): a parked car in front of the object, a person wearing too bright coloured clothing. But a full-size concert stage obscuring parts of the famous colorful ‘Armenian’ houses certainly was a low point for me.

The next morning I started my town visit with a full loop outside of the fortifications. These are mostly …

The Krzemionki Prehistoric Striped Flint Mining Region has been included in the List this year. ICOMOS in its evaluation had asked for a Referral, mostly because of the need for adequate protection of all its components and the implementation of the management plan. Outstanding Universal Value has been proven though, also compared to the already inscribed Flint Mines of Spiennes. So an inscription was no surprise. On my recent Pentecost trip to Eastern Poland I made a small detour between Warsaw and Zamosc to check out what Krzemionki is all about.

"Krzemionki" is the name of a former village, but not the name of the current location. The main site lies between the villages of Sudół en Magonie, 8km northeast of Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski. I drove there in 2.5 hours from Warsaw airport. Nowadays it is a wooded area, with some administration buildings and a grand parking. This Saturday afternoon though there were only a few cars. When I bought my entrance ticket (18 zloty / 4.20 EUR), an English-speaking colleague was quickly called for help by the cashier lady. He told me that a tour had just started with a Polish and German speaking guide. After confirming that German is OK for me too, and I could join them immediately.

Together with 4 Polish tourists and guide Kinga I walked further into the forest. Thousands of flint mines lie beneath the ground here. They can be recognized by small ‘dents’ in the landscape, a bit similar to bomb …

The sustain of the organ juddered to a halt as the hymn ended. The bare handful of worshippers in the Saltaire United Reformed Church lowered themselves back into their pews as the minister began to speak. Not wishing to intrude on the service I retreated back into the porch and looked once more at the bust of Sir Titus Salt displayed there. His alabaster eyes stared out, farsightedly, towards the doors to the town he created. But it was the heraldic animals bracketing the bust’s pillar that really caught the eye. “Is that…?” my wife began. “Is that… a llama?”

I’m a child of the north of England. The hulking silhouettes of textile mills populate my psychogeography. They are everywhere I look – converted into plush flats in the city centre, abandoned and derelict on the outskirts of town, on rare occasions sometimes still thrumming with business. And the Pennine Hills, ‘the backbone of England’ provide a nice delineation of their former purposes. To the west, Manchester and Lancashire looked through the port of Liverpool to the ocean and cotton was king. But to the east, the cities of Yorkshire remained true to their historic trade in wool. And yet here, in Saltaire, just outside Bradford, I was confronted with an anomaly: the age old traditions of wool weaving harnessed to a decidedly trans-Atlantic speciality. For Sir Titus Salt grew rich milling the wool from angora goats and – as the dedicatory statue of the man in Roberts …

Visited April 2019. I have visited only one component of three, the easiest to get, the largest, the oldest and the best preserved (that’s what they say) – Laosicheng (老司城) tusi domain in Hunan Province, not too far from Yongshun ((永顺) where I started the journey. Here you must find the local bus station (it does not look like a bus station, hidden somewhere among communist era apartment blocks) from where a minibus will take to the site; there is at least one minibus an hour, the last one at 5 p.m.

The archaeological site is the last stop, after 40-minute drive through very nice area. When we got there you do not have to ask anymore because everything is clearly mark, although… I was not able to find the ticket office, so I visited without paying. I went to the police station to leave my backpack where I had a cup of green tea with the policemen and guards. And the I went down to the river. There used to be two bridges to cross it (still seen on the plan of the area), but one of them has gone. On this side of the river there are remains o village walls and watch-out tower, and a newly reconstructed temple. I wanted to see the Hall of the Patriarch and was shown the way by local people – Laosincheng is still a living village. It is located at least 2 kilometres from the bridge, on the other side, …

The road is set to be inscribed either this year or the upcoming ones. I am not surprised it gets an inscription due to the abundance of butterflies in the region.

There was one stop to see many of those but the other stops were closed. They also looked like needing a lot of refurbishing. Thus the main stop for the crowds is the glacier and they provide ample free parking. With proper equipment you can even hike to the glacier and back. One look at the howling tunnel and you will not want to hike there ;)

As much as I think glaciers are in need of protection, and there are already several on the world heritage list including its Swiss neighbour, I don't find adding another unique. In combination with the "natural beauty" and flora/fauna it is more of a nice bonus.

Pro tip: check what brochure they give you at the entrance as they gave me based on the rental car license plate so that's not very useful...I'm surprised they even had Hungarian!

Site visited March 2019. Qadisha Valley was the site that I looked forward the most in Lebanon after Baalbek. And it didn’t disappoint my expectations. During my hike I visited three out of four of the main monasteries of the valley and saw some spectacular sceneries. In this review I focus only on the Qadisha Valley, not on the Cedars of God.

The dramatic and rugged Qadisha Valley is one of the oldest and most important early Christian monastic settlements. Valley formed a natural rampart which sheltered these early monastic communities. Maronite hermits found refuge in a multitude of almost inaccessible caves and rock-cut monasteries. Around these shelters the monks and hermits had turned the slopes into terraces to grow grain, grapes and olives.

This is one of the World Heritage Sites that are best experienced by foot. That is because many of the most interesting monasteries, churches and caves are located on the slopes of the valley that are not reachable by car. Hiking is also the best way to enjoy the great views and nature around you.

It was quite clear that I wanted to visit Qadisha Valley by hiking. At first I thought about independent hiking option but I found it too difficult. Distances are quite big and I couldn’t find good enough map of hiking routes. Private hiking tours are very expensive. The only alternative was to participate a group tour. I’m not really a group tour kind of traveller but I can …