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In November 2017, I spent a few days in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso's second largest city, but much more appealing for a tourist than Ouagadougou, the enchantingly named capital. The most vibrant area is around the Grand Marché, the atmospheric market, where all the typical foodstuffs, colorful textiles and household goods are on offer; stranger fare was available on the outskirts in the fetish section. Bobo-Dioulasso’s highlight is the Grand Mosquée, made of mud with timber struts that peek through the plaster. I stayed at Villa Rose, where the Dutch owner was very helpful (in fact, she called me after I made my booking to see if she could answer any questions or provide any information on traveling in Burkina Faso) — plus the room, food, WiFi and outdoor space were great. On the drive from Bobo to Ouagadougou, I stopped at the sacred crocodile lakes at Sabou and Bazoule.

Until the 1960s, before persistent drought and population growth, the West African giraffe ranged widely throughout West Africa. The last self-sustaining herd can be found an hour east of Niamey at the Kouré Giraffe Reserve, which I visited in November 2017. From a low of around 50 giraffes in the mid-1980s, the herd is estimated to number more than 400. I found 15, which were easy to approach on foot.

From Niamey, it was a few hour drive through pastoral countryside to Parc National du W. Unlike parks in East and Southern Africa, wildlife was widely scattered and difficult to see through the thick bush, but I found several antelopes (roan, oribi and western hartebeest were new for me), elephants, African buffalo and crocodiles. I stayed at Hôtel de la Tapoa, just outside the park entrance (it had a pool, cold water and good food, so more than I expected).

Both sites visited just recently (November 2017) with a rented car as that is the only possibility to reach San Lorenzo castle without participating in expensive organised tours.

From Colon one should folow the signs to Gatun Locks or Agua Clara (which is a new part of extended Panama Canal next to Gatun Locks). So far crossing Panama Canal is possible only through the Locks (althoug a new big bridge over the Canal is visibly going to be built). The passage is occasionaly closed due to ships going through the Canal but the crossing usually does not take longer than half an hour.

After the Locks there is an asphalted road towards Fuerte Sherman (there is a checkpoint where you should tell you are going to Fuerte San Lorenzo). A few km before the castle there is an official entrance to San Lorenzo Protected Area (5 USD per person for foreigners).

The fort itself alhough it was detroyed by Morgan and other pirates looks much better preserved than Portobelo fortifications. Full layout is still visible as well as the moat cut in the rocks. There are excellent views from castle walls (Rio Chagres, Atlantic coast). And because of relative difficulty to reach the site it is substantialy less crowded than Portobelo.

After two Referrals in 2014 and 2016 respectively, France will try once again to get the Tectono-volcanic ensemble of the Chaîne des Puys and Limagne Fault enlisted – probably already next year. It’s a natural site that covers a string of 80 dormant volcanoes and a parallel geological structure to the west that shows inverted relief.

When I prepared for this trip, I opted to visit the Gour de Tazenat – an almost perfectly round crater lake or “mare”. But when my rental car plans fell through, I had to find a way into the core zone of the Chaîne des Puys by public transport. Fortunately, its main landmark, the Puy de Dôme, lies just 15km west of the city of Clermont-Ferrand and I was able to catch a shuttle bus between Clermont-Ferrand and the Dôme Railway Station on the last day of the season.

The Puy de Dôme itself nowadays can only be accessed via the Panoramique des Dômes, a panoramic rack railway that covers the final km to the top. A return trip costs 12.30 EUR (in low season), though you can save a bit by riding up and walking down which supposedly takes some 50 minutes. At 10 a.m. I, unfortunately, found the Puy covered in the clouds. A temperature of -1 degrees Celsius was displayed at the departure station. Apparently, it’s best to sit to the left on the train (for the better views), but it didn’t matter much this day as nothing was …

Saint-Savin sur Gartempe is a quaint French village with just over 900 inhabitants. It has a couple of hotels and restaurants, and as I was pressed into slow travel because of limited public transport options I found the place pleasant enough to stay overnight. I had a fine 4-course gourmand dinner at Le Patisson, the quality of which in such a small town provides at least one reason why so many NW Europeans choose to move to rural France. But of course, at the end of the day, I came just for its enlisted Abbey Church and its medieval murals.

The next morning I started with a walk along the Gartempe river and across both bridges for some photos of the Abbey. Its size is remarkable for such a small town and it was fully included in the core zone by a minor boundary modification in 2015. Most of it though is from a much later date than the medieval murals that provide the site’s OUV.

Entrance nowadays costs 8 EUR, which includes a good booklet with explanations (without it is 1 EUR less). There's a large souvenir shop, where they even sell lollipops displaying the logo of this WHS. After buying the ticket one is directed first to the main Abbey (which features an exhibition) and the gardens, but these are mildly interesting to say it nicely. To get to the murals, you have to take another entrance: the front door of the church.

At the …

Site just visited (November 2017). Initially I tried to visit some more places but all in all I managed to see only Finca 6. Currently due to high level of rainfall the site is oficially closed for visiting but after some negotiations with site guards I was able to see the site (althouh the exhibition part / museum was closed).

Finca 6 is easily accessible by bus from Palmar Norte town (take a bus heading to Sierpe and take off near the museum, its some 9 km from Palmar), come back the same way via Palmar Sur. The bus circulates every 45 minutes during the day. Entrance to the archeological site is around 300 m from the bus stop.

As everything was perfectly described by Esteban (great job done) I will focus on trying to find other sites. So after visiting Finca 6 I intend to see the closest place - Grijalba 2. I take off the bus near the airport and staretd to explore the area. After some hours of exploring places north of airport, questioning several local people I found nothing. Believe me - I spend some hours and local people can confirm that - it is not the place. Later on I realised that the coordinates of this particular place were completely wrong. The real place is located on the opposite side of the river, close to Osa municipalidad.

Correct location of Grijalba 2 archeological site are as follows: 8.981078, -83.522018, you can check …

Visited May 2017. Definitely worth the trip across the island for anyone interested in the British Navy during the 18th and 19th centuries. Many of the buildings from that era are still in existence and they have an nice museum detailing the history of the dockyard. Make sure to take a ride up to Shirley's Heights for the best view on the entire island.

I have made multiple visits to the five accessible Gaudí properties in Barcelona over the course of the last 15 years. They are all worth visiting. My personal ranking order is Sagrada Familia, Parque Güell, Casa Mila, Casa Batlló, Palacio Güell.

Only the Nativity façade and the crypt of Sagrada Familia are part of the WH designation, being the only components of the church largely completed during Gaudí's lifetime. You can actually admire the façade from the sidewalk of Carrer de la Marina. But the church is so unique and incomparable both in its exterior and its interior that no visit to Barcelona can be considered complete without stepping inside for an extended look.

Parque Güell dazzles with features such as the Hypostyle Room (aka "Hall of 100 columns" - there are only 86 of them, in fact) and the main terrace with mosaic-decorated benches above it. If you come here early in the morning, it is a prime spot for catching the sunrise over the city.

Casa Mila is a remarkable example of ingenuity in civic architecture, with no two walls anywhere in the building meeting at a straight angle. Its roof, with dozens of chimneys shaped as fantastic sentinels, is delightful and even otherworldly.

Casa Batlló is also brilliant but I would rate its interior a notch lower than that of Casa Mila. The fish-scales exterior may be its most striking feature.

Finally, Palacio Güell, the earlier of Gaudí's major works is decidedly less exuberant than the other …

Bourges Cathedral was meant to be my 650th visited WHS – but after my biggest WH travel mistake ever I had to rearrange my 5-day trip to south-central France. I had planned to visit my last 4 remaining WHS on the French mainland plus 1 TWHS within that time frame. The route involved quite a bit of driving, but it would all still be doable. My chances turned instantly when I discovered at the car rental counter of Clermont-Ferrand airport that I had left my driver’s license at home. No license = no rental car = no remote WHS visits. The Vézère Valley and the Pont d’Arc Cave would have to wait, and even reaching Saint-Savin sur Gartempe now would involve a minor expedition.

So I eventually ended up on a train from Clermont-Ferrand to Bourges. This area of France is not well-covered by public transport, and I had to wait a few hours to take the first train north. I arrived in the mid-sized city of Bourges in the early evening. The streets in the town centre were deserted, and the inhabitants seemed to be in some kind of voluntary lock-down: no lights visible from the streets, gates and shutters closed. After dropping off my luggage at the hotel, I went directly to the cathedral for a first look. It was beautifully lit.

The next morning I did a proper cathedral visit. I started with its exterior. You cannot fully circle it, but at the north and …

One could argue that you can do Canal du Midi justice only by renting a boat to navigate a portion of it. On the other hand, the canal itself is uniformly the same narrow strip of water at any point of its stretch, only the surrounding scenery may vary. Finding myself in Toulouse and having only a couple of hours to spare in August of 2017, I figured I'd stop at a few random points along the canal and call it a reasonable visit.

The first stop was in the center of Toulouse, between Boulevard des Minimes and Boulevard Matabiau. The canal there looks like any stream in an urban setting, nothing too exceptional.

I then drove to the edge of the city, to the municipality of Ramonville-Saint-Agne, where the canal touches a small marina of Port de plaisance de Port Sud. On this stretch, boats and barges line one side of the waterway, while the north bank becomes a walking and biking path.

Further southeast, in Donneville, the canal fully assumes rural features, dissecting fields and rolling by small villages. On the north bank, the walking/biking path is paved, while on the south bank there are unpaved car tracks.

Finally, at the edge of Ayguesvives, I came across canal locks. Here, the scenery became really picturesque, and I spied couples and families enjoying idyllic tranquillity. The picture is from this stop.

I also stopped at the Port-Lauragais Service Area on A61, which allows pedestrian access to the canal and …

Lake Titicaca is the highest navigable body of water at 3800m. For the natives in pre-Columbian times this was where the gods created the world. Several islands and pre-Columbian sites can be found in and around the lake. The islands have kept some of the original lifestyle and most of the islands are terraced.

I visited on a day trip from Puno. This is part of the standard tourist itinerary in Peru and the boat's passengers came from all over the world. The boat ride was relatively long and the views I got weren't that great. I like trees and there aren't many covering the shores.

OUV

At least for the Peruvian side it's a bit hard to pinpoint. The floating islands (Islas de las Uros) seem more like a intangible heritage as they need to be rebuild every 30 years. Isla Taquile is too touristy and too modern with very few original sites remaining. It would probably be nice to stay over night and have some time to explore more islands and to venture a bit off the tourist paths. Personally, I preferred the Bolivian side and would recommend a visit here.

Getting There

Puno is the main spot on the Peruvian shores of Lake Titicaca. It is well connected by bus to Arequipa, Cusco and La Paz. When travelling between La Paz and Puno you can combine this with a visit to Copacabana and Sun Island. Alternatively, some tourist agencies offer a stop in Tiwanaku. I …

Whatever was missing for me on the Peruvian side of Lake Titicaca was readily there on the Bolivian side. I had boarded a bus from Puno to La Paz with a short tourist stop to visit Isla del Sol. We took a boat ride along the coast line and then landed below an Inka ruin.

Due to the limited time window I only hiked along the Southern tip of the island. You reach the main village Yumani after 20min or so on a rather steep and original stone path. With more time, I would have ventured further North where more prominent ruins are found.

OUV

The Bolivian side of the Titicaca Lake was way more interesting than the Peruvian one. While Copacabana is a fairly touristy place, the Isla del Sol is still relatively quiet and original. The terraces look more authentic with mule manure decorating the trails. Add to this the presence of multiple pre-Columbian ruins and you have a very nice site. Apparently, the Isla de la Luna is similar or even superior in quality. So, I think this is a very nice and well worth inscription.

Getting There

The hub for the Isla del Sol and Isla de la Luna is Copacabana. It's a nice little beach tourist town and well worth visiting. Copacabana is well connected by bus to both La Paz and Puno. As stated you can do a little bit of Isla del Sol as part of the trip between the two, e.g. …

In October 2017 we had a two week round trip in Java and Bali and it peaked with a two day mini cruise in the Komodo National Park – really the only way to see the park.

A flight took us from Denpasar, Bali, to Labuan Bajo, Flores, and a taxi took us down to the harbour. Our “small” vessel was a 50 or 60 foot wooden boat with two double cabins (for the four of us) and a crew of four. There were one day cruises available with a speedboat to Komodo, but the two day “slow cruise” is recommended.

Stops at a white sandy beach and a pink coral sandy beach, with swimming and snorkeling is a great way of watching the marine wildlife. Along with the myriad of common fishes we spotted a crocodile fish! The currents around this area are strong and dangerous. Some divers end up in accidents resulting in injuries or even death, so a guide is mandatory both for divers and for island visitors.

We had close encounters with the dragons both days, the first day at Rinca (it’s pronounced “rincha”) and on the second day on the biggest island in the park – Komodo. Both islands were somewhat alike, meaning you don’t really have to visit both islands. Rinca is closest, but a visit to the Komodo National Park is not complete without seeing some of the Komodo itself.

The ugly beautiful dragons are really fascinating to watch. We first spotted them …

A site like Qhapaq Nan is fairly difficult to grasp. Is it the roads the Inkas built to connect all parts of their empire? Or does it refer to the sites the roads connect? Or a combination of the two? It doesn't really help that the nomination file comes in at 500 MB, the site names are somewhat cryptic IDs and that the GPS coordinates repeatedly do not match the nomination file boundaries. For a detailed discussion using Pachacamac as example, check Solivagants comments in the forum. 

To tackle the site I visited multiple points along my trip in Peru and Bolivia. You will find comments for each below. Personally, I would prefer the site to be limited to the actual trails instead of serving as a one size fits all nomination for Inka sites.

Pachacamac

Pachacamac is located South of Lima and a tentative site on it's own. It's here that the Qhapaq Nan reached the coast. Unfortunately, I was not able to find any remnants of the trail and the nomination file and the GPS coordinate took me into some random suburb wihere I was unable to spot any archeological traces. To get there grab a bus on the Panamericana heading South to Lurin.

Cusco

It's in Cusco that I actually found a trail labeled Qhapaq Nan including a sign. It's very well visible (see my picture) and starts near the Templo de la Luna/Chukimarka. The GPS coordinates we show are nearly correct. The trail runs North …

Site visited on my December-January vacations, for a whole week, a trip that I had been wishing to do since my childhood’s readings about the Costa Rican National Park System, that helped me highlight the importance of the Osa peninsula conservation complex.

The Nature:

After visiting both protected areas, I think they fully live up to Corcovado’s name as “the most biologically diverse point on Earth”. During my visits to 2 different ranger stations (closer San Pedrillo and farther away and more pristine Sirena), I saw many more different species than I had ever seen in any national park in my country, and in different life stages, daytimes, and habitats than I had seen them before.

Among the species that I saw are: both crocodiles (one of them swimming in the sea in San Pedrillo station) and caimans (even baby caimans on a pond), the amazing and deadly Bothriechis schlegelii camouflaging on a trunk, many types of amphibians like poison dart frogs, and crystal frogs mating (which are best appreciated during a night tour in the forest around Drake Bay), and several bird’s species, like pelicans, hummingbirds, hawks, toucans and a crazy number of scarlet macaws, that are best seen flying along the extensive beaches. Naturally, I saw different types of insects and arachnids, including several species of butterflies and a couple of spiders, particularly the venomous Phoneutria.

However, what impressed me most is the number of mammals that I saw: all four species of monkeys in the country …

Sucre is one of the prettiest cities in Latin America I have encountered in my travels so far. Immediately when I exited the shared cab from Potosi and stepped out at Parque Simon Bolivar, I was smitten by the white colonial and post colonial buildings that make up the city center. Personally, I would put it near the top along sites as illustrious as San Miguel de Allende and Guanajuato. To me it's second only to Mexico City.

Sucre at 2.500m was a good comprise between the high, dry and cold mining town of Potosi and the tropical cities of the Bolivian lowlands. It felt a bit like those British cities in the mountains of India where they would escape to in summer with their custom made trains. The wealth present in the city at preivous times shows quite strongly. Overall the city gives up a relaxed vibe and I found my time very enjoyable.

I would encourage you to visit the Gutierrez Museum. It shows a little bit the wealth that the upper crust of Bolivian society accumulated in the 19th century, courtesy of the silver mines at Potosi. You should also hike up to La Recoletta for a view of the city.

Getting There and Away

Sucre has an airport connecting to La Paz, Cochabamba and Santa Cruz. The airport is at quite a distance from the city center. Plan 45min or so to get there. A taxi should cost 60 to 80 Bolivianos. …

For my 2017 trip to South America I ventured a bit off the beaten path, at least in terms of WHS travel. A colleague more or less implored me to include the Salar de Uyuni in my itinerary. At first I was a bit hesitant as Uyuni is not on the list, so doing the detour and spending three full days here, seemed excessive. Eventually, I gave in and made my travel arrangements accordingly. And I have to concur, Salar de Uyuni is a great place to visit and it was the highlight of my trip.

Still, I was left wondering if there was anything that I could take away as a WHS traveler. Thanks to our great map, I noticed that nearby Pulacayo was listed as tentative site. And so I squeezed in a visit while travelling from Uyuni to Potosi.

The site itself is an abandoned mining town around the second largest silver mine of the 19th century. At it's peak more than 6000 inhabitants lived here. The number nowadays is down to less than a thousand. Mining eventually stopped in the 1990s.

With all the former mining buildings and facilities the site has a great feel and is very photogenic, a bit like Fray Bentos in Uruguay. I would have loved to explore more of it, maybe venture Into the mine or have a guide provide some context, but due to time constraints I couldn't. Plan at least two hours. If you are in the area …

Central Europe seems to offer nice autumn color viewings, and I thought I'd take an advantage of that and go to visit Cesky Raj (Czech Paradise) in Czechia in early November.

Cesky Raj is actually a very large area with varied natural beauties, but the nomination has to do with the several Rock Cities within the area.

My quick research before the trip revealed that out of the 10 proposed Rock Cities for inclusion, 2 are the main ones: Hruba Skala and Prachovské Skály, and the former is mainly for rock climbers and the latter is for tourists.

Although I visited both and also the Trosky Castle ruin, the main attraction of Cesky Raj, located between the two Rock Cities, I explored Prachovské Skály more in detail by hiking. Prachovské Skály is supposed to be the oldest nature protection area in Czechia.

There are 2 recommended hiking routes at Prachovské Skály, the Yellow Loop and the Green Loop. The former is only 1.5 km long with 2 lookouts and the latter is 3.5 km long with 8 lookouts. So I took the latter. (But this decision required a major change in my trip plan, that is, one more overnight stay at the pension in the village of Libun.) I would highly recommend this Green Loop: https://www.prachovskeskaly.com/en/tourism

I started hiking from the train station of Jinolice, went to the trail head of the Green Loop and ended hiking at the train station of Libun, which was near the pension I stayed …

By total accident I paid my second visit to Wittenberg, Germany, on October 31, 2017, the day of the 500th anniversary of Reformation.

The navigation through the packed streets were very difficult, but I at least visited the 4 properties again so far included in the Wittenberg portion of this WHS. The extension has been proposed for this site.

The photo is the Castle Church, to a door of which Luther nailed his 95 theses.

On this day the people seemed most interested in seeing President Steinmeier and Chancellor Merkel, lining up behind the police fences for hours and hours.

This anniversary had more like a party atmosphere than a solemn one. I guess after all this was the 500th birthday party for the Protestant Church.