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In August 2018, I visited Manaus, the capital of the Brazilian state of Amazonas. In the late nineteenth century, when fortunes were being made during Brazil’s rubber boom, the Teatro Amazonas was constructed in Manaus, according to legend to attract Enrico Caruso to the middle of the world’s largest rainforest (although it’s doubtful that the great tenor performed there). Nonetheless, Werner Herzog opens his best movie, Fitzcarraldo, with the title character paddling to the opera house to hear Caruso. I endured an hour of modern dance, all the while thinking “please end,” to see the interior of the opera house, underneath its trompe-l'œil ceiling that is meant to evoke the view from beneath the Eiffel Tower. It was worth suffering the nearly hourlong performance to see the interior, especially since by waiting until the end and for all the other patrons to depart, I was able to take unobstructed photos.

In August 2018, I visited Macapá, the capital of the Brazilian state of Amapá, the only pair not covered by Lonely Planet, so I wasn’t surprised that there weren’t any other tourists. One of the benefits of a 40-minute flight that departed from Belem at 4:10 am was that I arrived early enough on the northern bank of the Amazon to watch the sunrise over the world’s largest river. Macapá’s only noteworthy site is São José Fortress, built in 1764 by the Portuguese to guard the mouth of the Amazon. The fort basically sits on the equator and is the northernmost fort in the tentative site ensemble. 

Djibouti is not known in the world as a tourist destination, although it does not mean that there are no attractions. The country is small but fairly diverse, and has beaches, quite high mountains (with the highest peak exceeding 2000 meters above sea level), near which lies the lowest point of Africa (153 m below sea level) deserts, lakes and even a piece of forest (protected within the National Park Forêt du Day). As all of the countries in the Red Sea, there are also good diving spots. Djibouti has no WHS, although it is possible that this will soon change - the country wants to propose for the biggest tourist attraction - Lake Assal, which was my only trip outside the capital of Djibouti.

The lake is just about 100 kilometers from the capital, but getting there is either complicated or expensive. Near the lake you can get cheaply by public transport (all buses towards Tadjourah), but from the bus stop to the lake there are still around 15 kilometers. Although the road to the lake is frequented, reports by other travelers indicate that it is not always possible to hitchhike. I wanted to choose this way to visit the lake, but after checking the temperature I gave up - it is Asal that is located in the lowest point of Africa and the temperatures at the beginning of May reach 40 degrees. You can go there as a tourist, although the Djiboutian agencies want $ 150 …

The Monastery of Daphni is part of the WHS Monasteries of Daphni, Osios Loukas and Nea Moni. All these 3 medieval Greek monasteries contain gold-coloured mosaics that are valued as masterpieces of Byzantine art. The monastery of Daphni, located just outside Athens, is an easy one to access and that’s the one I choose for my visit too. It took about 45 minutes to see it all & even combined with a return trip from and to Athens city center it costs less than 2 hours of your time.

Together with a Russian couple that also wanted to visit Daphni, I left the city bus in a suburb of Athens. Many buses will stop near the monastery, see the official website for the range of bus lines. I used a one-day Ath.ena ticket to pay, it covers the metro rides as well. It was somewhat of a search for the entrance, but then we were faced with a heavily secured monument. Access is prevented by a large iron gate and a high fence that fully encircles the former monastery. Would it still be closed today (= Friday)? No: it turned out that you can ring a bell and then the gate will open automatically.

They have been restoring this world heritage since 1999. It is almost finished, but not yet completely - hence the limited opening times (Tuesdays and Fridays) and free entrance. Workers are busy still on the excavations outside of the main church. We were kindly …

On entering the eastern gate into the historic center of Split, enclosed within the walls of Roman emporer Diocletian's Palace, I was immediately drawn to the Cathedral of Saint Domnius and its beckoning bell tower. The view from the tower was spectacular, and I was treated to an early morning 360 degree panorama of city walls, historic stone architecture, and red-tiled roofs, set against a backdrop of lush green peninsulas and the deep blue waters of the Split Channel. Split has been a World Heritage Site for almost 40 years, and the committee made a good choice in those early years. The city offers a rare opportunity to tour a historic Roman palace, which has now been subsumed into an urban environment. The columns and arches of the palace are still on display in the Peristyle, the palace court, while the mausoleum of Diocletian was converted into the Cathedral of Saint Domnius some 300 years after it was constructed. I particularly enjoyed exploring the nderground vaults beneath the city, which give perhaps the best view of what the palace may have looked like in ancient days. Diocletian was the first Roman emperor to voluntarily abdicate the throne, and he certainly picked a spectacular spot on the Dalmatian coast to spend his remaining days.

Logistics: The Historic Center of Split is very easily navigable on foot.

As for most Azeri TL, not much information is available about “Binagadi" 4th Period Fauna and Flora Deposit. This site is a lake in the northern suburb of Baku, area of a tar pit (or asphalt lake), in which, for thousands years, animals and flora have been trapped in the tar. Deposits from the Pleistocene where found here covered by thick layer of a petroleum : some 50 000 bones of various animals, of which 40 specimen of mammals (wolf, hyena, bulls, bear and rhino), 120 species of birds (swan, crow, hawks, geese), 2 species of reptiles and one specimen of amphibians, as well as 107 species of insects and 22 species of vegetation relics have been recovered. Most of those remains are in display in the Baku Natural History Mueseum.Binagadi can be compared to Rancho-La-Brea Pitch in California.

I visited this TL with a rental car from Baku, but it can be easily accessed by bus. The place is not signposted at all, and even after numerous research on the internet, I am not exactly sure of its exact location (the best I could find is the south-east corner of the Binagadi lake : approx. coordinates 40.467668, 49.801180). The lake can be seen from the road to Binagadi settlement (called 1st Madan on google maps) and approched in the west on a road to a stange building (with many security guards, so I did not stay long), or on the east from a dirt road. In …

A cultural route that connects Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, Cabo Verde, Chile, Indonesia, Philippines, Portugal, and Spain? This is an ambitious undertaking only comparable to the Silk Road and Qhapaq Ñan world heritage sites.

Based on numerous tangible and intangible elements, its still unclear which sites would make up this world circumnavigating route. One wonders will there actually be large natural marine areas from Africa to South America included as components? 

"A fascinating trail whose waterways, landscapes and geographical landmarks remains intact as they were seen by Magellan and his sailors 500 years ago." - UNESCO description

The picture above is from the Monument to the Discoveries (1960), located adjacent to the Tower of Belem. Will this route's tangible sites be based on commemorative crosses, monuments, and statues that are located in each country included? Or will this route include already inscribed sites?

My expercience of Mta-Tusheti is very limited, having just entered the area for about an hour. While in Georgia, I had rented a 4 wheel-drive car and had one day left. So, I decided to get a glimpse of Mta-Tusheti by driving up to the 2927 meter high Abanos pass, the only access road to the area. This road is extremely rough and difficult to drive (but not impossible as mentionned in several guidebooks). Scenary is spectacular, the road scary, twining on very steep hillside, with very sharp hairpin bends but altogether rather safe and fun.

Once on Omalo Pass, I drove down the Omalo valley, having to cross some streams and snow packs. The views are fantastic over high snow-capped mountains peaksand deep valleys. I only had a quick preview however, as a two day trip is really a minimum to visit the area. Driving is really slow (about 4 hours for a mere 72 km), and some area can only be visited on foot or on horse.

Mta-Tusheti (probably soon to be resubmitted as The Highland province of Tusheti) is a small historic region in eastern Georgia, located on the northern slopes of the Caucasus range. It is home of numerous rare and endemic animal and vegetative species. It is a popular destination with mountain-trekker. It is inhabited by the Tush, a subgroup of Georgians, with specific traditions. There is ten village, all dotted with defensive towers, and some vernacular architecture of fortress-like residential buildings. …

We have been kayaking the Lena and Sinaya rivers in Summer 2016 and visited the pillars on the banks of both rivers. It was an absolutely stunning experience.

The pillars are located some 200 kilometers south of the city of Yakutsk. To get to Yakutsk is actually not that difficult though it is definitely one of the most remote places on earth. There are several flights a day from Moscow. For instance, getting to Yakutsk from one of the larger European airports via Moscow costs about 800 euros for a round trip. The journey from Europe takes at least 12 hours, a two to three hours flight to Moscow, the transfer and then a almost seven hours flight from Moscow to Yakutsk. 

Once you have arrived in Yakutsk you will find out that the city actually offers a lot to see. The majority of the population belongs to a number of indigenous nations with most of them being Yakuts. Their culture and traditions are absolutely impressive. Also the city itself has a lot to offer like the world's only mammoth museum or a traditional Yakut village a little outside the city.

From Yakutsk there are different possibilities to get to the Lena pillars. You may book one of the ships cruising the Lena river or you make book a personal guide. I would highly recommend to book a personal guide. We decided to do a kayak tour for ten days. The starting point was somewhat close the …

The 3rd century BC Thracian Tomb of Sveshtari is a richly decorated tomb with a unique architectural decor. It was the second WHS that we visited during the 2018 WH Travellers Meeting. In advance I had tried to make a reservation for our group of 15 - I had read that sometimes you have to wait a while at the site before a guide is available. The e-mail contact in English with the visitor center proved to be rather inconclusive (similar to my experiences with other agencies in Bulgaria). When we arrived at 3 o'clock though we were expected and welcomed by an English-speaking guide.

The tomb is located underground, under an 11-meter-high burial mound. One can only enter it on a guided tour. The 'long' tour (along the inscribed site and 2 other tombs) costs 15 Lev (7.50 EUR). We had to wait until another group left the tomb – there was not enough space for many visitors at the same time.

Many burial mounds have been discovered in this area, but most are empty. Near the adequately equipped visitor center there are 3: the great burial mound of the king and his wife, plus two smaller burial mounds in which groups of aristocrats were buried. A footpath connects them.

The large tomb is protected as if it were a Swiss bank vault. After entering a pin code, the guide opened the two sturdy automatic sliding doors that have been placed in the entrance quite recently. …

This was the first monastery we visited on our road trip to Coimbra. It certainly was not a disappointment as the day was ideal for these rural small town monasteries. The royal pantheon is noteworthy and the details on these tombs are really superb. These sarcophagi with their stories finely carved on their exteriors are memorable.

There are some unique elements to Alcobaça that stand out. The kitchen (later addition) is so huge that at first I was not sure this is actually what it was. The Cloister of Silence is really special, the carvings and statuettes are finely detailed. It was fairly obvious which cloister columns have been repaired. Certain columns looked almost new, while others were heavily weather-worn. 

While there are plenty of monasteries on the world heritage list, its so hard to place sites like this on the OUV spectrum. What makes a beautiful and historic monastery more valuable than another? I am certainly wary when considering new nominations that are already over-represented. Yet, Alcobaça was inscribed in 1989 and like many world heritage inscriptions during that first decade its really a worthwhile site to visit.

The city of Gremi was the capital of the kingdom of Kakheti in eastern Georgia for about 150 years, before its destruction by the army of Persian Shah Abbas in the XVIth century. It was then considered an important commercial, cutural and educational center.

The oldest part of the town, on the top of a hill, is the well-preserved. For some reasons, its buildings have not been destroyed as the rest of the city. It consists of the Church of Archangels Michael and Gabriel, a three-stories royal palace with a bell tower and a wine cellar, all surrounded by a defensive wall. Coming from Tbilissi, those impressive structures are seen from far away.

The Church is an active church, so dress modestly. Frescoes adorn the walls, and if lucky, some religious fonctions would be in session, with songs and prayers.

The palace is erected beside the Church. Nowadays it hosts a small museum (with a small fee, closed on mondays), with a labyrinth of medieval rooms and corridors. The king’s bathroom seems to be a favourite room with the museum guards.

At the bottom of the hill, some mere remains of the city can be seen. In the west lies the ruins of the commercial district, and in the north the royal ditrict. It is mostly walls to be seen, and offer not much interest.

Gremi along with Alaverdi Cathedral is a nice day trip from Tbilissi. It can be combined with visit to …

For me this was the most exceptional Monastery in Portugal. The whole structure is photogenic, well-kept, and simply a lovely place to explore. The weather during my visit was perfect, it really does make a difference when visiting world heritage sites. 

The royal tombs here are all finely detailed. The Cloister of King Afonso is undeniably beautiful and with a blue nearly cloudless sky, it was very pleasant. Truly, a historic site that I will miss walking from within, wonder to wonder, and then arriving to the unfinished chapel and finding myself smiling. The detail in the later open-air chapel was astounding and a bit absurd! My visit took around an hour, but by the end, returning to the car, my wife and I were just full of enjoyment of the drive, the history, the gorgeous weather. No complaints.

Much has been stated here about "Manueline" or Portuguese late Gothic style architecture. While it surely is over-the-top, this description cannot even begin to be imagined when you compare how over-the-top every building in Sintra is, no? Can something over-the-top still be admired and charming? Surely, yes. Sintra, despite its vanity, is a lovely place to explore. So I don't really understand this critique, but this monastery which just passed its 500 year anniversary is certainly a religion gem worth visiting and seeing for oneself.

Alaverdi Cathedral is located 2 hours by car east of Tbilissi in a fertile valley at the footsteps of the Caucasian range. Driving there is easy, well signposted and a nice day trip from Tbilissi. There is also multiple guided tour, which combine Alaverdi to nearby Gremi TL (30 minutes away).

The cathedral lies isolated in the middle of fields, including famous vineyards and surrounded by a large fortified wall. On a clear day, the backdrop is composed of the white peaks of the Caucasus mountains. Inside the walls is the cathdral, a monastery comlex, a small vineyard and wine cellar. The monastery was founded in the 6th century by a monk, Joseph Alaverdeli, who came from Antioch and settled in a small village, site of a former pagan religious centre dedicated to Moon. At the beginning of 11th century, King Kvirike of Kakheti built a cathedral in the place of a small church of St. George. It was one of the important center of Georgian literacy, with many writers, caligraphers and scibes.

Alaverdi was Georgia highest cathedral (up to 51 meters) until the construction of the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Tbilissi consecrated in 2004.

I visited the cathedral on a Sunday, while mass was being celebrated. Monks singing renders the visit very nice and atmospheric. There were many tourists though, coming in multiple busses. Entrance is free, but the monastery is closed to visitors. The interior of the church is impressive, with very high ceilings and …

Site visited in March 2018, both designated components. As Frederik described Tyrendarra area I would focus mainly on Budj Bim - Mt Eccles National Park.

To get there you will probably need your own car as there are no public transportation in the area. The best place to start the visit is a parking near Lake Surprise (coordinates - 38°03'30.8"S 141°55'21.5"E). It is also a camping area with a small visitors centre with basic information about the place. Lake Surprise is a crater lake where former volcanic activity is still visible. There are 2 hiking paths around the lake the one just near the lake (allow at least one hour for the loop) and the second that goes on the crater rim (2 hours). The area is quite spectacular although there is not much to see in terms of ancient human activity.

From that point you can also visit lava blisters and natural volcanic caves. One of them is called Natural Bridge and is located some 45 min from the visitors center. there is a direct hiking path and unsealed road. Coordinates of the place: 38°04'12.5"S 141°55'09.0"E.

If you wish to see the Tyrendarra area from Mt Eccles it is necessary to go around (via Bessiebelle to the East or using Ettrick-Condah Road to the West) 

Official visitors guide with a descent map of the area: 

http://parkweb.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/315607/Mt_Eccles_NP_parknote.pdf

Several areas with “standing stones” (Pobiti Kamani in Bulgarian) can be found immediately West of Varna city. The main area of interest is easily accessible by car and can be visited (at least there is a car park and a ticket office). It can be reached via the national road or via the highway (there is an exit from the highway in the immediate area of the site). Coming from Varna, the national road goes through the area of interest, so you cannot miss it. Car park is immediately after, on the left side of the road (beware, when we visited it August 2018, entrance of the car park was not signed).

Some stones are up to 5 meters high. Some are grouped, some stand alone. Some have fallen. Most of these stones are hollow columns, so they would better be described as tubes. Their immediate environment is quite like a small desert: be prepared to walk on sand. Flora is different as well. There is almost no management of the site, unfortunately, so visitors can walk on the plants, and we even saw some people climbing on stones.

The main question is about the origin of these “standing stones”. Ticket office at the entrance of the site has information panels (in several languages including English) listing different hypothesis. What is for sure is their natural origin. Some believe they are the result of erosion of sedimentation layers, formed at the bottom of the sea. Some believe …

Seuthopolis, one the main cities from Thracian era, now lies under the water of an artificial lake near Kazanlak. But several tombs from Thracian kings and nobles, hidden under earth tumuli, still cover the area around it. While Kazanlak tomb is the most famous one (for its paintings) and is already a WHS, several other tombs have been proposed as an extension of this site. Some of these tombs can easily be visited: they are just a 15 minute drive north of Kazanlak, very well sign-posted from the main road, and very close to each other.

We first visited Goliama Kostmaka, famous because a beautiful sculpted head of the king buried in that tomb was found during the archaeological investigations. It is believed to be Seuth III, king of Seuthopolis. But the tomb itself is also very impressive, built with massive stones, perfectly adjusted to each other, which in some way reminded us of the Inca constructions in South America (although Thracian civilization is much older than Incas). Inside are also displayed copies of artefacts and jewelleries found in the tomb, including a gold crown similar to the one found at Philippe II tomb in Aegia, Greece. As a family, we paid the equivalent of 5 euros to visit that place.

We then went to a nearby group of three other tombs – Griffins, Helvetia, Shushmanets. Those three are 200 m from each other, and there is a small, recently opened visitors information point where you buy a …

Tucked away in a rather remote valley in the Swiss Alps just next to the Italian border you find the Convent of St John. Founded in Carolingian times on a major trade route across the Alps it still serves as a nunnery to this day. It's primary draw are the colorful Carolingian and Romanesque murals.

At the time of my visit (Summer 2018) both the main altar as well as the next door chapel were under renovation. The site itself isn't large and with plenty of it covered in scaffolds I wasn't able to fully appreciate it.

And as fascinating as I find all things Carolingian I have to admit that most of the Carolingian sites (including Müstäir) are rather simple and small in scope. The single exception is Aachen Cathedral which is in a league of its own when it comes to Carolingian sites.

Your Visit

Visiting the abbey is free. There is an attached museum which charges entry, but it's a rather simple offering, so you may want to skip it. There are also regular tours. But I would have had to wait at least an hour and decided against joining.

One practical hint: The abbey is really dark on the inside. I had a hard time making out all the murals solely relying on natural light. There are light switches, though, when you enter that will illuminate the murals.

Getting There

It's a close to 4h trip from Zürich to …

On a glorious sunny Sunday I went hiking from Saint Saphorin to Epesses. I had stayed overnight in Lausanne from where I took an early morning train to Saint Saphorin.

The Swiss in usual fashion have a proper heritage trail set up running right through the vineyards. The views of Lake Geneva and the vineyards are fine, especially with the Alps as backdrop. But that's about it. I am hard pressed to name a single component of the site deserving special mention. Maybe the old town of Saint Saphorin. Still, I had a pleasant time hiking.

Getting There

The local railway line from Lausanne to Vevey cuts right through the vineyards. From Lausanne you can connect to all parts of Switzerland (Geneva, Zürich Hotspot). Geneva also connects you to France and has an international airport.

While You Are There

Lausanne where I stayed overnight is a nice city and I would assume this also holds true for more cities along the lake such as Geneva or Montreux. Lausanne is the center of the Jura Swiss Alps Hotspot. Nearby on Lake Geneva you will find some Le Corbusier houses and some of those fabolous pile dwellings.Bern isn't far either. I meanwhile continued to La Chaux-de-Fonds.

The tumulus near Alexandrovo village was only investigated in the early 2000s. The tomb discovered inside is completely painted. While the paintings at Kazanlak WHS show a clear influence from Hellenic culture, the hunting scene depicted at Alexandro show people dressed (allegedly) in the “original” Thracian way and this, associated with the good preservation state of the paintings, was the reason to have this tomb on the TWHS list of Bulgaria.

The original tomb is closed and only a replica can be visited in the nearby museum. It was built a few years ago, funded by Japan. There is only one big room, with the replica in the middle (you can walk inside and around) and many pictures and explanations posted on the walls. We thought this replica is more “visitors friendly” than the one in Kazanlak. Staff of the museum was nice and helpful as well.

The tumulus with the original tomb can easily be seen from the museum, and you can also walk to it. So we did, although, frankly speaking, this did not add much to the visit, but the feeling to have (maybe!) entered a “tentative core area of a tentative WHS” (which, for a WHS hunter, is finally far from nothing).

The museum is interesting and of good quality, not far away from the Sofia to Turkey highway, and the visit does not take long: only good reasons to stop there. However, our car was the only one at the car park …