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Visited Erik-Anders house in August 2018. This is lovely village timber house, richly decorated with colorful wallpapers and spacious rooms. This house is the only easily available house among seven inscribed ones. Afterwards I drove to Jon-Lars and Pallars, which were already closed for visits. They are only open during mid-summer time, and seasonal opening information could be found on the official website of Hälsingland farmhouses. They also try to promote non-inscribed houses and, for example, Edsbyn & Alfta Tourist Bureau also had such non-listed house which turned out to be very interesting to visit (free of charge). Jon-Lars and Pallars locations are indeed to be checked in advance in order to arrive to proper sites as they quite tricky to find. Then I headed to Bortom AA, but since there was around one hour to wait before the next obligatory guided tour and I had some time restrictions, I was limited to a pleasant stroll around the area. This is not blockbuster site, but it was quite curious to discover how the people covering quite sizeable region and living over 200 years ago came to an idea to decorate their houses despite of many other problems (water, harvest, cows, cold, etc.) facing them.  

Arriving at Zditovo you don't see any of the "Street light posts, benches, and refuse bins were designed and manufactured following the ensemble concept of the avenue." Is there another Zditovo or did they hide this place? Okay maybe I just missed that but I was certainly at the St. Nikita Church unless they built two churches in 1502. Quick good check ensures me the striking blue church is the right one. It looks in good condition but I don't see the design uniqueness either. Naturally the church was closed for visitors so I just took a walk around. Definitely not seeking out the other churches on the proposed list: St. Paraskeva Church in Zbirogi, the St. Michael Church in Chersk, the St. Michael Church in Stepanki, and the St. Paraskeva Church in the village of Divin.

What a disappointment even with my low expectations for rock art in general. A lot has changed since the site has been inscribed and the town of Ningming has really been placed on the map. Known to local tourists before, the town has been upgraded with rock art copies to decorate lamp posts, supermarket roofs, even the factory chimneys, with the cutest one at the tunnel entrance to the scenic area that has the world heritage symbol as rock art alongside the stickmen/women found on the walls.

TIC, or This Is China, refers to the fact that things change quickly here. Before one would have to find an obscure boat hire service to take you to see the rocks, then there was a ferry service twice a day, now there are regular tours from Zhulian Ferry Port every half an hour on weekends, and this was already early November.

I regret not going directly to the scenic area onky a few kilometers further in because the ferry service is slow and you spend a maximum 10 minutes looking at one of the walls, with many rocks walls covered with scaffolding where they still do plenty of research on the art. There are some individual drawings on the way but it takes a good 45 minutes to the place they stop. They in fact spend more time stopping at the local village for the inevitable shopping, mainly fruit and snacks. The images at the port and even the entrance …

Visited this site in May 2018. There was still very dirty road from Baracoa, which took us over 1 hour to cover 30 km. Parque Nacional Alejandro de Humboldt, covering 707 square km, is famous for its richest fauna in the Caribbean with many endemic wildlife species. The visitor center is located directly on the main road, with some basic information, bust of Humboldt and excellent view over the moon-shaped lagoon. There are 1,200 different species of animals and 1,000 species of plants in the park, 70-80% of them are endemic.

At the time of research, there were three available guided trails, except longest 3.5-day trail and Bahia de Taco trail due to the absence of boats to cross the river. We paid 10 CUCs for two of us and decided to do a boat trip around lagoon with the guide Junior. The boat was completely hand pulled by Junior, as they do not use engines in order to minimize damage to the park. We did a circle around lagoon, visiting mangrove forest, a number of hummingbird nests and enjoying beautiful views back to the shores. This was a very pleasant boat trip followed by a lunch in the family suggested by the guide. The further 20-km stretch of the road to Moa is still dirt and improves around dirt nickel plant only.

Site visited in May 2018, during extremely hot weather, which might have influenced my opinion about the capital of Djibouti. And unfortunately I cannot say many positive things about Djibouti ville. The capital is in fact ugly and disorganized, despite the fact, that the whole country is not that poor (it is very expensive even for Westerners). Goats and sheep can be seen even in the very center of the city. The historical buildings are generally in very bad condition, except a few those used by government or municipality. The description of this TWHS mentions those nice ones, like Presidential Palace or City Hall, but if you go to the main square, called la Place du 27 Juin, you will see almost nothing but mess. It is even difficult to recognize colonial heritage of the city, as historical buildings are surrounded by newer ones, without any visual integrity. The best summary of so-called “cultural landscape” of Djibouti city is the fact that it is one of few capitals that don’t have ANY museums.

The photo shows Al-Hamoudi Mosque, one of the oldest mosques in the city.

Visited Pommery champagne house in August 2018. It should be pre-booked in advance through the official web site. The guide told fascinating story of the house, Madam Pommery and champagne making process. One of the cellar rooms contains the most prominent bottles, including a bottle of the first original brut created in 1874 (only one of two perfect vintage years, when no additional sugar is needed). There is also artwork inside the cellars – large sculptures completed in 1884 by Gustave Navlet. Currently the cellars a part of large Vranken Pommery Monopole Group with sales of 300 million euro and 800 employees. Champagne testing followed the tour and it is amazing. In overall, good experience and interesting truly unique region.

Horezu was our first visit in Romania, and our first encounter with an Orthodox monastery since focusing full-time on World Heritage sites. It's quite an enjoyable site - the walls hiding a brightly-painted Katholikon surrounded by flowers. The portico and interior of the church are both covered with bright paintings done in the "Brâncovenesc style", considered to be the only original Romanian art form. Unfortunately we couldn't film inside, but managed to get some fantastic shots on the portico.

Make sure you head out behind the main church, through the gate and up the hill. Here there's another small chapel covered in paintings, and you can really see how much of the monastery's original outer wall has been destroyed.

Now this site is currently hard to find. There are absolutely no street signs, Google Maps does not know it, my car GPS does not know it. I ended up driving slowly up and down the side road towards the airport, looking out for anything that looked ancient and archeological. Excuse my, have you seen the lost city of Al-Qastal ? It might have been lost again ! Luckily, there is a modern settlement with the same name, and somewhere in between the ruined modern houses are the ancient ruined houses ! As it turned out, the site is not really prepared for touristic visits. Like, totally not prepared. There are no signs, fences, pathes, visitor, keepers or anything. Some archeological clean-up has taken place, but that's it. You are completely on your own here - which is kind of cool, as you can unleash your inner explorer and see what interesting things turn up.So what's to see ? Quite a lot, actually. The site is bigger than most of the desert castle sites, comparable to Umm'er-Rasas (minus the mosaics - but who knows what lies still hidden ?). A lot of the buildings are still walkable, and it is nice to prowl around the half-ruined houses and speculate about their meaning. However, I could not detect any OUV-worthy aspect - all in all, it is just one more ruined settlement,and there are plenty in Jordan.The good thing, if you know where to find it, you can visit it quite …

I think that I shall never see a fossil lovely as a tree... Although Joggins Fossil Cliffs does have some reptilian fossils, the vast majority of the fossils on display are of the arboreal variety. I visited Joggins on a cool September day in 2017 and joined a two hour tour on the beach below the cliffs. The tour guide very helpfully showed how the constant erosion of the cliffs was exposing fossilized tree trunks, and also displayed examples of fossils found exposed on the beach. A museum near the car park on the top of the cliffs provided an exhibit revealing what the prehistoric forests would have looked like for context. I enjoyed the tour, as well as the opportunity to wander around the beach afterwards and look for fossils. That said, I am not as much of a fan of fossil sites as I am of sites with natural beauty, so Joggins Fossil Cliffs resonated with me more for its scenic location along the Bay of Fundy. For those World Heritage Site travelers who love fossils, though, Joggins Fossil Cliffs is one of several Canadian sites that would be well worth a visit.

Logistics: Joggins Fossil Cliffs is in a remote location in western Nova Scotia, and requires private transportation for access.

"Thanks" to some last minute flight schedule changes by Lao Air I found myself stuck for a day in Vientiane while waiting for my flight to Pakse. I used the time to visit the national symbol of Laos, That Luang. Laos may be Communist on paper, but it's very much Buddhist in daily life. So it fits that the national symbol is not the workers' palace or a mausoleum of the dear leader but a buddhist stupa.

OUV

I agree with Els that That Luang has only national importance and should not be inscribed. The level of craftsmanship and artistry leaves much to be desired and does not warrant an inscription. While the stupa dates from the 16th century, I also feel that many parts are not original and rather recent additions.

However, with Unesco nowadays you never know. Having not been to Thailand I also don't have a reference point for this type of structure.

Getting There and Around

Vientiane as capital is connected to all parts of Laos by bus. Be advised that while distances in Laos aren't that large, travel times are still high due to poor road conditions.

The international airport offers domestic flights to the big cities of Laos as well as some international flights. Near Vientiane you can also cross into Thailand via the Friendship Bridge. South of the border you will find a Thai world heritage site, Ban Chiang. I was looking into how to get …

On my list of world heritage sites, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is listed as my very first site. When I began traveling full time in 2007, my first stop was in Hawaii, and my first stop in Hawaii was the Big Island. I had previously visited here in 2006 on a geology field trip, so I guess that would actually be my first visit to the park. 

This is probably the best place on Earth to see lava and volcanism, however, your ability to see really good lava flows is going to be dependent on luck and when you happen to be there. Unfortunately, I never saw flowing lava during any of my trips. This is one site where to have the best experience, you should pay attention to the news and show up when there is activity going on. 

Oura Church is easy to visit and combined with the Glover Garden next door. Of all the sites inscribed I think this is the only one not off the beaten path, after all the sites were supposed to be hidden. Wait wut? Reading the inscription I always thought they were about hidden sites, but in fact it is about hidden Christians practicing their faith after being outlawed in Japan, risking death and punishment they would move onto islands at the West coast of Japan and merge with Shinto shrines to cover up any sign of Christianity.

Understanding this better I immediately had to ponder if this is special, and I mean, worldly special, and I am thinking no. I am also under the impression that this would open up inscriptions for e.g. Jewish hidden synagogues or Islam in a right-wing Europe if it ever comes that far.

Anyhow, Oura Church is 150 years old and was the site where missionaries discovered that they were Hidden Christians in Japan who have been continuously keeping the faith while the missionaries were banned. I find the church more of a symbol than an actual sight worth visiting. Inside one can not even find a church but instead a museum about exactly the same subject. For non-WHS fanatics I could easily say they can skip the is but as a regular tourist visiting Nagasaki it's one of those things to add to the itinerary without much extra work, plus it gives you …

Thanks to Lao Air and their weird flight schedules, I managed to visit Vat Phou during an overlay on my way to Siem Reap (Angkor). I arrived in the evening and stayed in a hotel on the outskirts of Pakse along the Mekong River. From there I went by cab the next morning to the site.

The temple is built along the slopes of a mountain, quite scenic when you approach it. First you pass a long baray. At the end of the baray you arrive at the big temple ruins which boast nice stone works. Climbing plenty of stairs will take you first to the mid and then to the upper level where the holy spring is. As pointed out by Els some steps are downright dangerous as they are way to steep and narrow. You get some great views of the site as you climb.

Around 9 a.m. I had reached the upper level with the spring. In the meantime the temperature had already become unbearable, so instead of roaming around I decided to descend. After a very brief stop in the on site museum (no AC, worse than outside) I headed back to my ride.

There are several other components scattered around the main temple complex, e.g. ruins of an ancient town. Seeing the site is title “Associated Ancient Settlements” my hunch is that these are also part of the inscribed area. The little I read seemed fairly interesting to explore. But …

As my first stop in Laos I visited Luang Prabang, the former capital of Laos. The main components of the site are situated at the confluence of Mekong and Nam Khan rivers.

The town boasts several temples, some French colonial buildings and the former royal palace, albeit that last one is rather amusing than impressive. My highlight was the Wat Xieng Thong temple. And the overall relaxed mood of the city. 

Getting There

Luang Prabang has some domestic flights. It has also a few international connections to China, Vietnam and Thailand. My impression was that it's actually better connected internationally than the capital, Vientiane.

Apart from the flights there are also busses and the more touristy mini busses taking you to most parts of the country. Specifically, Luang Prabang is the closest major town for Phonsavan and the Plain of Jars.

While You Are There

I think the town can be visited in half a day (or even a bit less). Still it would be a pity if you left early. Plus, the bus connections may very well force you to stay at least a night.

You have plenty of good restaurants to choose from in Luang Prabang. The town also offers Laotian cooking classes and daily yoga classes. Only isssue I had that it get's really warm around noon so it's not a good time to stay outside and move around.

If you plan to venture outside (I didn't) …

The capital city of Cuba, Havana (or La Habana as it is called in Spanish) is a city that bears the signs of a troubled history, although at times prosperous, and of the influence of different cultures.

It was founded in 1519 by the Spanish colonizers and it quickly gained importance as one of the largest ports and main centers for ship-building in the Caribbean.

The downtown area on Havana, Habana Vieja (Old Havana), which is also where the original city was first located, was inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage List together with its fortification system, in 1982.

The history of Havana is way too long and complex to be described here, I will therefore limit myself to describe my feelings for this wonderful place.

The inscription in the World Heritage List is justified by the integrity and authenticity of Old Havana and the fortifications: the architecture, the monuments, the nearly perfect grid layout, the general atmosphere of the place. All these factors make it feel like time has stopped at some point in the past, when Havana was a glorious city, although it is now decadent with lots of empty and abandoned buildings everywhere. This contradiction is absolutely fascinating.

A walk around the streets of Habana Vieja will captivate any visitor. The place is vibrant, music is played everywhere (and often very loud), people spend a lot of time on the streets, playing chess or domino, dancing or just sitting on a step …

Ever since reading Paul's and Els's reviews of the site and it's listing in our Top Missing survey I have wanted to go to the Plain of Jars. I had looked at the map repeatedly, astounded how long it can take (5h or more) to travel less than 250km. Still, I decided to travel on to Phonsavan to see the Plain of Jars.

As our guide was quick to point out, the Jar Sites are not actually in the plain. All Jar Sites are located on hills. The hills are embedded in the Xiangkhoang Plateau where agriculture takes place. There are plenty of Jar Sites spread across the plateau. Visitors are normally taken to Jar Site 1 to 3. Jar Site 1 is the closest to Phonsavan and the biggest of the three. It also has an attached museum providing some background on the Jar Sites. Jar Site 2 and Jar Site 3, meanwhile, have the nicer scenery and I enjoyed my visit more. 

The Jars are weird (who would create Jars? and why?). The most accepted interpretation is that these are related to burial rites of the local population.

While nowadays all sites open to the public have been cleared of unexploded ordinances, you will encounter plenty of remnants of the Laotian Civil War (bomb craters, trenches, danger signs) along the way. The jars also took damage from the extensive bombing the Americans conducted in their covert war. In our case, we got to listen in …

Delos archaeological site is vast and is among the most impressive of its kind. Ancient ruins everywhere require a non-trivial application of imagination to see beyond the piles of stones and the occasional surviving pillar, but Delos offers more than a few structures and artifacts that help visualize a bustling settlement from two and half thousand of years ago. The island was a major cult center for most of the first millennium BC, as well as an important trading post in the later centuries of that period. It was largely abandoned and uninhabited for the following two millennia, which contributed to the exceptional richness of its archaeological remains.

I visited Delos in the summer of 2018.

The aforementioned piles of stones and occasional surviving columns prevail at this site as in many others, but walking through the site, you come across occasional buildings that more or less retain their entire structures, or at least retain key features, such as doors or windows. In a few houses, despite exposure to the elements, rich details such as mosaic floors survived in a fairly good shape. The amphitheater at Delos, conversely, is among the least preserved areas of the site – its aerial photos found on the web look more impressive than the ground-level perspective.

Among the most amazing surviving artifacts are the Naxian marble Lions, dedicated to Apollo around 600 BC. In addition to them, a fair-sized collection of various items can be seen in the onsite museum.

…

Swiss watch making is legendary and the towns of Le Locle and La Chaux-de-Fonds are the centers of it. It all started at the beginning of the 18th century in Le Locle. When the industry expanded shops were also set up in La Chaux-de-Fonds as more space was available and the road connections were better. At the end of the 18th century the industry really took off when factories were set up. The towns got rich and it shows in the urban planning and buildings.

As my last stop of my weekend trip to Switzerland I visited La Chaux-de-Fonds. The town is fairly large and the sites are spread out. Sign posting could also be a bit better. Specifically, being in Switzerland I was expecting a heritage trail.

There are plenty of villas and bourgeois town houses to see. I also enjoyed the Art Deco decoriations on some buildings and the synagogue. My personal highlight, albeit technically outside of the inscribed area, was visiting the house Le Corbusier built for his mother: Maison Blance. The house is also not part of the Le Corbusier inscription. When you enter you are a bit amazed how traditional it is with flowers decorating the wall. It was one of his early buildings. I would also assume that his mother objected to having his preferred grey color schema applied to her living quarters.

Getting There

There are regular trains connecting both La Chaux-de-Fonds and Le Locle to Yverdon-Les-Bains. From La …

Between the 9th and the 15th century, in the region that is now Cambodia, near the modern-day city of Siem Reap, Angkor, the capital of the Khmer Empire, flourished.

During those centuries, Angkor was the capital of the Khmer Kingdom and it grew to such a size that it is now considered the largest pre-industrial city in the world.

The ruins of Angkor are included in the Angkor Archaeological Park, which extends for about 400 km square kilometres (although the urban area of Angkor might have been over 1000 square kilometres), and it’s one of the most important archaeological sites in South-East Asia. The ruins include over a thousand temples, among which the most important are the incredible Angkor Wat, the Ta Prohm, the ancient city of Angkor Thom and its centrepiece, the Bayon, the less popular but still breathtaking Banteay Srei, Preah Khan, Prasat Bakong and a multitude of smaller temples of which many are now just a pile of bricks.

The best way to visit Angkor is by staying in Siem Reap and arrange transportation to the Archaeological Park from the city. Considering that over two million people visit the place annually, it’s definitely not a problem to find the type of organized or individual tour that meets anyone expectations.

I visited Angkor back in 2011 with four friends. We hired a local guide, who helped us to visit the most interesting sections of this huge complex, and we hire a tuk-tuk driver that …

Reachable only via a short boat trip, the entrance of the subterranean river cavern lies close to the coastline north of Puerta Princessa. The cave itself is stunning, with enormous stone formations and caverns deep in the mountain. The river is navigable by canoes, in which small groups are guided through the caverns. The total absence of light gives the tour a bit of a spooky atmosphere. Having seen some large caves, this is definitely one of the more interesting and astonishing ones. If you get the chance, go and visit!

What actually is a downside of the trip are the masses of tourists visiting the site, some of which show little or no respect to this natural wonder. While guides ask you to remain silent and under no circumstances touch the rock formations some individuals ignore such requests entirely, ruining the experience for others and - even worse - in some cases damaging the site. In my opinion, the amount of tourists per day should be strictly regulated.