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Most of the reviews here are about the Stećci near Stolac in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We visited two Stećci fields in Montenegro, which are easy to reach from Žabljak if you have your own vehicle.

Žabljak is the gateway to the WHS ‘Durmitor National Park’ and the two fields are located south-east of the town, only about 20 minutes drive away.

The two fields are located in a very attractive alpine landscape with two small lakes at approx. 1450 metres above sea level. First you drive along the Vražje jezero (Devil's Lake) and then you come to the Riblje jezero (Fish Lake), at the other end of which you can clearly see the first Stećci on the top of a small hill (field ‘Grčko groblje’) . After a short walk you are there and can admire the Stećci. Some are decorated with ornaments, some are specially carved, but the most remarkable thing is the overall experience: you are standing on a hill in the middle of this evidence of an ancient civilisation and have a great panoramic view of the Fish Lake and the beautiful landscape in the mountains of Montenegro all around you. During our visit, the wind was whipping across the plateau, which added to the wonderfully mythical atmosphere.

A few minutes' drive later, you find yourself at the second field, ‘Bare Žugića’ (image 2). This is larger and is located right by the roadside, but we liked the first field near the lake better.

There is simply no place like it. Kathmandu Valley is perhaps the greatest synthesis of Asian culture on the entire continent. Its legacy and influence span from its architectural contributions to religious architecture in the form of pagodas to its identity as a holy city of Hinduism and Tibetan Buddhism, directly and indirectly shaping the culture and aesthetics all over South, East, and Southeast Asia, a region containing half of the world's population. In my July 2025 trip to Nepal, I tried my best to cover it all.

The story told by its most impressive remains starts in Changu Narayan, the oldest temple in the valley, as attested by carved stone pillars standing onsite. Starting at least by the 4th century CE, the era to which this temple dates back, the concept of the multi-tiered pagoda is believed to have developed here before spreading (mostly) to East Asia, influencing monumental architecture as far as Japan by the 8th century (see Horyu-ji) and beyond to Southeast Asia and the world beyond. Today, earthquakes have destroyed any pagodas from this time period, but some of the world's most impressive examples still stand to pass on the tradition. To me, the greatest one is the over 300-year-old Nyatapola on Taumadhi Square in Bhaktapur, a 5-story pagoda with a 5-story base, which has escaped damage from any of the recent earthquakes that have devastated many other monuments in the valley.

Meanwhile, probably the most richly decorated pagoda is the main temple of Pashupatinath, considered …

I've wanted to visit this site for years. The biggest problem? It's so far away from anything! The closest airport is Montes Claros which is still 3 hours away but hey - at least you are close, right? Well, so I didn't do that but I'll get back to it soon. Most travelers actually fly to Montes Claros and take a collectivo to Itacarimbi which is the closest town to the park. This is THE way to go. There's a shitty public bus but trust me to say you don't want to take that. For the way back just ask your pousada or hotel to organize a car back and you'll join one of those. Plus you don't even pay more than the bus would! So I didn't do that because I was in the area for more, starting from Belo Horizonte I rented a car (airport is north anyway which saves you 40min), stopped over in Diamantia again (used the airport before but driving was...err...well, fun?) and then had an easy ride to the park. Later, I would drive onwards to Brasilia which is a bit unpaved sometimes so getting a 4x4 isn't a bad idea plus the park roads here are utter rubbish thus getting a 4x4 helps. Sure the costs are higher but you'll be glad to have it.

Second is where the stay. I stayed in Itacarimbi which is 15~20min away from the park entrance. There are some pousada closer but I only recommend Recanto das …

July 2025

We had the chance to visit three (four) locations of Nelson Mandela’s legacy in the Johannesburg area. This review focuses on logistics and practical experiences rather than deep historical background.

We arrived from Malawi around noon and checked into an airport hotel near OR Tambo. The hotel had a free shuttle to and from the airport, which made things very convenient.

Liliesleaf Farm

Our first destination was Liliesleaf Farm in Rivonia. This was the secret headquarters of the ANC and Umkhonto we Sizwe until it was raided by police in 1963, leading to the arrest of key anti-apartheid leaders and the Rivonia Trial.

We took an Uber there after checking with the hotel staff to confirm that the area was safe. To our surprise, the gate was closed despite a sign indicating the museum should be open. As we stepped out to take a few quick photos, a security guard appeared. He kindly let us in and said we could walk around and take pictures, though the museum itself was closed. Everything was well marked and plenty of information panels, so with didn’t miss much by not visiting the museum. We had arranged for our Uber driver to wait, which worked well.

Constitution Hill

We then continued to Constitution Hill. Constitution Hill in Johannesburg is a powerful symbol of South Africa’s journey from brutal oppression to democracy and justice. Once a notorious prison and military fort, it now houses the country’s highest court – the Constitutional Court – …

Growing up, one of the first ways I got exposed to the world of travel was through my mom's stories of her visits to Italy and France when she was younger. In fact, my recent voyage to Italy in April 2025 was almost an exact replica of her adventure. I did throw in some differences though, and the main one was that I wanted to hike in the Cinque Terre. I am a big fan of the national parks in the United States and I try to make it a point to visit at least one national park for every country that I enter (if they have any). I am also an avid hiker and the idea of hiking between villages sounded very fun!

We chose to stay in Riomaggiore for 2 nights. If I was to go back to this area, I would probably choose to stay in Riomaggiore again because it had the right balance between being lively while retaining just a tad of Italian authenticity.

This brings me to my main point. If you are expecting authentic Italian small-town charm, this is not the place to go. The towns are beautiful and photogenic but are heavily commercialized. Everywhere in Italy on the tourist circuit there are lots of souvenir stands and the like, but it felt much more noticeable here because of the small area of the towns. The crowds here also felt particularly bad because the villages are honestly not equipped to handle the amount of …

There's very little I can add to the comprehensive reviews below, other than agreeing that the view of coloured pools, limestone walls, snow-capped peaks, and impressive waterfalls is spectacular. It's an excellent inscription on the "beautiful landscape" criteria.

But I can provide a logistics update: Huanglong is now far more accessible! There is now a high-speed rail link between Huanglong and Chengdu, which takes about 90 minutes (it's mostly through tunnels, so there is very little in the way of scenery). If you're visiting Huanglong alongside Jiuzhaigou (and you absolutely should), there's plenty of options on trip.com. We picked a shuttle bus that picked us up from Huanglong station, dropped us off at the Huanglong cable car bottom station, picked us up at the main entrance, then took us on to Jiuzhaigou.

We visited in mid-November 2024, which had pluses and minuses. The plus side: that time of year meant very few domestic tourists, so the site was relatively uncrowded (even by Chinese standards). The down side: that time of year meant incredibly low temperatures. Despite clear skies and bright sunshine, the daytime "highs" were between about -2 degrees, while overnight it would drop to at least -10. It also meant that a lot of the pools were frozen over (particularly on the higher parts of the mountain), so not quite as spectacular as usual.

Recommended route: take the cable car up to the top station, then walk back down to the main entrance (this took us ~3 hours at …

This is hardly a representative review, but given that there is no other so far for this tentative serial property, I surmise that something is better than nothing. While vacationing on Naxos a couple of weeks ago, I took time for a drive to the Cheimarros Tower.

Google visitor reviews suggested that there is not much to see there, and the tower failed to exceed my very low expectations. It is covered in scaffolds, cordoned off, and inaccessible. The scaffolding implies restoration efforts, and a simple internet search would tell you that such works have been approved all the way back in 2014. It is anyone's guess when - or if - they will be completed.

The tower is also proverbially in the middle of nowhere. The southeast inland part of Naxos is mountainous and arid, with practically no human activity whatsoever. It is only about 13 kilometers from the lovely village of Filoti, and the road has at least a handful of signs to remind you that you are going in the right direction. For the large part of that drive - and back - I saw a flock of goats and a couple of donkeys, and not a single other car or a single other person.

I don't have material knowledge of the state and accessibility of other towers. The property description mentions both that some are well preserved and that restoration efforts are in progress. Cheimarros Tower may eventually become a viable visitor attraction. At the moment, …

May 2025 visit. It seems like everyone visits Nesvizh after Mir Castle on the same day since they are only half an hour apart. This is probably the better choice as Nesvizh is the nicer of the two by a slight margin. Upon entry I was given an audioguide and shoe covers and had about 1 and a half hours to make my way through all the rooms. It is bigger and much more of a residential palace than Mir Castle but still undersells the power and influence of the Radziwill family in the history of this region.

Because it was a national holiday it was also busy with local visitors and got very crowded at times. Perhaps that's why I enjoyed my stroll around the moat and grounds more. I don't know if this is the more popular of the two but it is more set up to cater to tourists with little souvenir stands outside the walls and more restaurants in town. The nearby Corpus Christi church helps to elevate the site and its importance and should not be missed.

I am conflicted in writing this review on the hidden gem that is Panauti. It was one of the highlights of my July 2025 trip to Nepal, but it's partly because of how it's so forgotten and lost in time. World heritage status could change that just as much as it could preserve it. All I can hope is that it continues to stay in its pristine, yet rough, state free of commercialism, overtourism, and urbanization. And for the lucky few who get there, I hope you can enjoy it as I did and help to leave it as it's always been.

Panauti is a living open-air museum and village lying 32 kilometers from Kathmandu, outside the Kathmandu Valley, and at the confluence of the Roshi, Punyamata, and a mythical invisible third river. Around this confluence are the Triveni Ghats, where traditional Hindu cremations happen on occasion, and other pilgrims come to cleanse themselves with the river water. Numerous temple buildings crowd this space, ranging from typical wooden Newari pagodas to stone or brick shrines. One building has a painted facade depicting Hindu gods, while another is decorated with colorful tiles. A bit higher up is Indreshwor Temple, the most important in the town, dating back to at least the 13th century and unaffected by the big earthquakes in the past century. It's a masterpiece of Newari craftsmanship in its own right, being one of the biggest pagodas of its type in all of Nepal, and crowned by a hand-beaten …

May 2025. I visited Mir Castle as a full-day tour with Smart-Tour from Minsk along with Nesvizh. For 45€ the tour included lunch and entry to both sites. I was the only foreigner on the full bus and the guide spoke just enough English to tell me when to meet back up with the group and made sure to get me an English audioguide before letting me go off on my own.

I visited on a holiday in Belarus so Mir Castle was very busy and even had live entertainment playing in the courtyard. In keeping with its early defensive roots, the restored towers are still quite bare inside and with passages and staircases so narrow I frequently got stuck waiting on the crowds to pass. Old photographs on display show just how much restoration had to be done to get it back to where it is today. War followed by decades neglect took a heavy toll.

The residential rooms were very typical in their displays and nothing stood out as extraordinary which was actually a good thing because I had about 1 hour and 15 minutes to visit Mir Castle and needed the whole time to get through it all due to the frequent bottlenecks. The highlight is definitely the outside views from around the little lake and it makes a pleasant enough day trip together with Nesvizh.

Expectations are an underappreciated influence in the way we experience a site and so managing them to an appropriate level ahead of a visit can sometimes be the difference between pleasure and disappointment. I find this is true even more so with natural sites where there is less guarantee of seeing the "highlights" when it comes to wildlife. On my recent trip to Belarus I was (briefly) tempted to not bother visiting at all due to time constraints and the generally poor reviews of this site from the Belarusian side. Thus it was with very low expectations that I set out for a visit on a sunny but cool Tuesday morning in May 2025.

In Belarus the Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park is very popular and well known within the country and widely advertised as one of its highlights. There are plenty of tours on offer but it is also easy to visit on your own with 7 "direct" buses a day from Brest. Some truly are direct for the 1.5 hr journey but others, like mine, had a transfer to a waiting bus in Kamyanyets adding only a few extra minutes. The bus drops you off at the entrance to the park a few km north of Kamianyuki. This is where it got a little confusing. Entering the park requires a ticket but there were a lot of different options and prices. You could buy an individual ticket for each hiking or biking trail, the museum, father frost estate, open …

As I researched Tilaurakot before my June 2025 trip to Nepal, I wondered to myself why Nepal hadn't just nominated it as an extension to Lumbini. Perhaps, I thought, there was more than meets the eye to this ancient city. Upon visiting, I could definitely say there is – in the sense that most of the original remains of the palaces are BELOW GROUND. According to the local guide, those brick foundations that poke up above ground are already reconstructions, and the original state of the palace is now only visible as the bottom layer of clearly different-colored bricks on the ground. So all we actually have of this ancient city, other than the artifacts that are now stored in the nearby museum, is its layout. Even if this were an influential capital back in its day, which it barely was, the poor remains can barely warrant inscription on their own. Even Lumbini can be found in a better state than this today, though those remains are from the later Ashokan period. Any possible OUV, to me, is mostly tied to its role in Buddha's life. Easy thumbs down from me; inscription this year would've been bittersweet, and Tilaurakot would've become one of my lowest-ranked WHS on its own. For once, I couldn't have agreed more with the WHC's decision to defer as a possible extension to Lumbini.

Tilaurakot is the core of a common day-trip circuit from Lumbini, and many other minor sites scatter the countryside around Kapilvastu. Many …

At the end of a 7-hour “tourist” bus ride (filled at least 90% by locals) through the bumpy hellscape that is the Nepalese highway system, we arrived at the Sauraha bus stop on a cloudy early afternoon in late June 2025. The past advice proved right: if you can afford to, just take the flight to Bharatpur, less than an hour away from the many accommodation offerings catering to the guests of Chitwan National Park. We stayed at Chitwan Village Resort, whose owner kindly picked us up at the bus stop on short notice and arranged all our activities. We decided to get the $250 private full-day jeep safari for the next day to maximize our time there, as the park closes to jeep safaris for the 3-month monsoon season, starting around the end of June. As I walked around town that afternoon, touts in the town center offered me safaris to the “community forest” and said that there were no safaris in the national park. I ended up trying a 2-hour offering of theirs to compare it to the national park experience the next day, and it wasn’t much to compete with. We drove into a fairly typical-looking forest for the area and saw some fairly typical wildlife: some spotted deer, storks, and a few smaller birds. Gazing across the river later and seeing such a similar landscape, I wondered whether the park would live up to its reputation as a wildlife haven or end up “boring,” especially with …

I originally was cautious about my visit to Venice because I had heard nothing but the worst about the city - that it was smelly, crowded, and touristy. I knew that I had to see it, especially since it faces the danger of slowly sinking into the sea, but I didn't expect to fall in love with the place. There was also a huge storm that was forecasted to arrive during our stay, so by the time we arrived I had written off really experiencing the place and tried my best to look forward to watching movies in our hotel.

However, I woke up before the alarm was supposed to go off to a clear and sunny morning. I checked the forecast and saw that the storm was now supposed to arrive at 1pm! I headed out as fast as I could to catch Venice at its most photogenic. Maybe it was the unexpectedly nice weather, but I felt the magical quality of the place as soon as I stepped outside. I loved watching all of the workers get ready for the day as I made my way towards St. Mark's. I also took a ton of amazing pictures as the walkways were not crowded yet. I was truly in awe. Each bridge, alleyway, and canal was different and waiting to be explored.

St. Mark's square was also incredible, especially in the early morning when the famous cafes were still setting up shop. The open space of the square is …

Visit – June 25

This summer our first goal was Kenya. With Etihad we landed in Abu Dhabi a few minutes late to reach our morning connection to Nairobi. The next available flight wasn’t until after midnight. We had originally planned a mini-meetup with Els in the afternoon to visit to Nairobi National Park, so it was a bit of a blow.

Etihad provided a hotel for the day – but we thought: why not rent a car and make the most of it?

Mleiha Archaeological Site, part of the Faya Paleolithic Complex, is up for possible World Heritage inscription at this year’s session. Although the ICOMOS evaluation recommended not to inscribe, we still thought it was worth a visit.

It’s about a two-hour drive from Abu Dhabi, and we arrived at Mleiha Archaeological Centre early afternoon – in a scorching 47°C heat. The visitor center is modern and well-organized. We signed up for a guided tour. The tour started with an indoor visit to the museum, which included a short film and a great introduction to the site.

The exhibition highlights that this area holds evidence of human activity dating back over 130,000 years, with near-continuous settlement from the Stone Age through the Bronze and Iron Ages, up to the pre-Islamic period. One of the themes emphasized by the guide was early human migration from Africa. During periods of lower sea levels, it was possible to cross the Red Sea – and the Mleiha area …

We were staying in Uzice in Serbia and caught a bus to visit this site located in Visegrad, Bosnia & Herzegovina. It was a 2hour bus trip that left at 11.00am, all be it there was a 20 minute rest stop along the way and 2 border checkpoints which make up most of the time. I won’t go into the history of the site as this is well covered by other reviews, however the site is certainly a highlight of Visegrad and a feature of this town. I explored the bridge from the riverbank, itself, crossing the bridge as well as from the hill nearby and getting the drone up as well. The only thing I did not do was get a boat tour under the bridge, of which there are a number of operators. My return bus did not leave until 1.00am the following morning, so got to experience the bridge under the changing light at different times. Whilst I can appreciate the history of the bridge, if you did not know it yourself, it would probably be underwhelming to a visitor to the town.As stated on previous reviews, make sure you take the opportunity to climb the small hill opposite the bridge to the top of the Zipline site, the view is very much worth it.

As a traveller feels compelled to write about chasing after aurora borealis in Iceland, haggling while sipping tea in Morocco, and "how they do things over there" in Japan, a traveller also cannot resist chattering about the inflation and the costs when writing about Argentina.

A discussion about the inflation and the costs also inevitably requires a writer to disclose when they travelled to Argentina, which for this writer was in March 2025.

My review about Los Glaciares will focus specifically on the Perito Moreno Glacier and the Laguana de los Tres hike with an unhealthy dose of discussion about costs.

Perito Moreno Glacier

Broadly speaking, there are three ways to experience the Perito Moreno Glacier, i.e., (1) view it from the 4.7 km-long walkways, (2) go trekking on the Glacier, and (3) a boat tour. There is an entrance fee to the National Park, which was 45,000 Argentine Pesos (ARS) or 58.58 Canadian Dollars (CAD) - according to my credit card statement - when I visited.

The walkways are very well executed, and there are five walkway trails: Sendero Accessible, Sendero Central, Sendero de La Costa, Sendero Inferior, and Sendero del Bosque. I walked all the trails, except for Sendero del Bosque, which was closed.

You get very good views of the Glacier from the walkways. Although I would not say the various lookouts had dramatically different views of the Glacier from each other, the views were different enough to make walking each trail worth it. You don't …

Randi has now covered our visit so I will cover some practicalities.

Lodging

We stayed at African Wild Truck, it is on booking.com. A great place to stay, nice location and very friendly staff made our stay comfortable.

The lodge is about 20 km beyond the town of Mulanje. Google maps doesn’t show correct route for last few km’s so a more precise description is required. The lodge doesn’t appear on maps.me.

Getting there

There are regular flights to Chileka Blantyre. From there it’s round 100 km to the African Wild Truck lodge on the south side of the mountain range. We asked the lodge to arrange transport, but a bit of poor communication made us find transport on our own. We got a car driver who took the job for USD 70 (which is better than the USD 115 the lodge suggested). I’m sure its possible to make an even better bargain.

The roads are good (only a few potholes) and we needed a vehicle to get from the lodge to the trail start the next day - so in retrospect a rental car would be better.

GuideWe recommend having a guide to understand the OUV. We were very satisfied with our guide, good English speaking and knowledgeable. He was arranged via the the lodge, but his contact details are Comestar Supuni. He runs his own company, Guidestar Adventure ToursPhone number/ whatsup +265 881474895.

Entrance fee to the park is 2500 qwatcha for two persons, about € 1.25.

Visit July 2025. When the nominations and evaluations for this year’s World Heritage session were published, we decided to carve out time in our itinerary for a short visit to the Mulanje Mountains in southern Malawi. On our way from Dar es Salaam to Johannesburg, we managed a stopover in Blantyre and booked a place to stay—as there aren’t many accommodation options near the mountain.

No sooner had we pulled into the lodge than the World Heritage session began—and just hours later, Mulanje was officially inscribed. Talk about timing. From our lodge, we had a stunning view of the mountain range, with vivid green tea plantations spread out in the foreground.

The next day, we set off on a day hike with a local guide.

Mount Mulanje is best known for its dramatic peaks, deep forests, and rich biodiversity. But beyond its natural beauty, the mountain holds deep cultural significance. Rising steeply from the plains to 3,002 meters at Sapitwa Peak, it is considered sacred by many of the local communities living around it.

Most visitors come here to climb the mountain—it’s usually a three-day trek—but we opted for a one day hike. Interestingly, Mulanje was not inscribed for its natural features or geological value, but for cultural reasons.

For the local Lomwe people, the mountain is deeply intertwined with myths, ancestral spirits, and traditional rituals. It is seen as a dwelling place for spirits and a source of spiritual guidance and protection. Certain sites on the mountain are used …

Mijikenda Sacred Forests turned out to be one of the trickier ones to plan a visit to on your own. There are few helpful reviews or other visitor information online — and most available information focuses on Kaya Kinondo, which, as Els pointed out, isn’t part of the UNESCO inscription.

So our plan was to just to go to one and hope we could figure things out as we went. We had our own vehicle and set off from Mida Creek/Watamu in the morning, Our plan was to try for a visit to one out of three of the kayas located in a row, closest to Mombasa.

Our first stop was Kaya Kambe. The forest itself — a dense green forest on a hill, easy to spot as it stands out from surrounding agricultural land. But there were no signs or visitor information. We asked around in the nearby village and were eventually directed to one of the forest keepers, who showed up after a short wait.

We politely asked if it was possible to visit the forest. He hesitated, saying he wished we had called ahead so he could have prepared a proper visit. He mentioned his number could be found via the Kilifi Museum.

Still, he was a kind and welcoming man and simply said: “Okay, let’s go!”

We walked with him into the forest, arriving at a cluster of small huts used for preparing rituals and gatherings. He explained the significance of the kaya. He told us …