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From Phnom Penh, it is possible to do a day trip to Sambor Prei Kuk, a beautiful pre-Angkorian temple complex in the middle of the forest. The Kampong Thom local tourism office actively encourages tourists to arrange visits with local communities - from tuk-tuk rides, tour guide service and site interpretation.

According to my guide, Sambor (many) Prei (forest) Kuk (temples), means, many temples inside the forest. Indeed, SPK is situated in a distinct landscape, different from the vast plain of Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, or the sacred cliff of Prasat Preah Vihear. The forest appears to be an integral element of the temple complex, no wonder the site is nominated as a cultural landscape

I visited this tentative WHS in April 2017 after a 2.5hr drive from Busan. I visited the Suncheon Bay Wetland Reserve which is also recognised as a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance.

The elevated wooden walkways without railings over the muddy tidal flats reminded me of Plitvice in Croatia. The sheer amount and variety of different species of crabs was impressive since their food supply is abundant. I also managed to spot a number of waders (also a pair of Spoon-billed Sandpipers) and warblers. The highlight species though were the mudskippers, amphibuous fish with limbs!

The reed walks and hides are pleasant but good digiscopes, binoculars and patience are required to be able to get a glimpse of the more interesting birdlife. The famous viewpoint at sunset from the Mt Yongsan Observation Platform is well worth the 1.3km uphill hike.

The mudflat area of Korea's western coast is one of the world's top five mudflats, ranked alongside the eastern coast of Canada, the eastern coast of the United States, Germany's North Sea coast, and the mudflats of the Amazon River basin. The mudflat results from the prolonged accumulation of sand or clay carried by tidal currents from the ocean seabed. It is hidden underwater during high tides and revealed during low tides.

An interesting feature of these mudflats is the purification of contaminants that flow into the ocean. After contaminants produced by factories and homes seep into the ocean, the mudflat's sedimentary layer filters them out like filter paper. The …

I visited this WHS in April 2017. I visited the Seonamsa Mountain Temple which is located in the Joyesan Provincial Park a few kilometres away from Suncheon.

This mountain temple has undergone several restorations from 1597 through to 1823 but is overall in quite a good state. It has a number of peculiar features such as a lavatory cottage a spiritual pond with an artificial island and a bridge with several Korean script inscriptions and a dragonhead carved in the middle (photo).

It is also possible to do a temple stay here and I'd recommend it even though I didn't stay myself. When I visited, the monks were practicing their drum and cymbal skills on a blackboard with wooden spoons and an empty gas cylinder! The sounds they created in the middle of the national park though were exactly similar to normal drums and cymbals!

The highlight of my visit were the lovely paintings or palsangdo enshrined in the Seonamsa Palsangjeon in which the entire life of Sakyamuni from former life to Nirvana is described in 8 scenes. The temple houses 24 of the most important national and state cultural properties and the Seonamsa Museum displays over 200 cultural properties.

Just before the temple entrance there's a lovely tea house with a very peaceful setting (just before the red wooden 'totems').

This year I traveled to revisit Kuranda by the slow train, a journey that allows plenty of opportunity of seeing the rainforest close up, and vistas of the Coral Sea in the distance.

Kuranda village however remained unchanged from the way it was when I last visited 25 years ago.

But this year I added different destinations:

a. The Daintree River with its ovrhanging foliage, abundant birdlife and the occasional crocodile.

b. Cape Tribulation Beach, where the rainforest meets the reef.

c. a cruise on Lake Barrine opened up a world of tall trees, fish, eels, snakes and turtles all living in and around its waters.

d. The Curtain Fig Tree near Yungaburra with its aerial root system high up in the foliage.

I visited this WHS in April 2017 while following a 2 day 1 night regular program templestay. I enjoyed getting a general overview of meditation and different insights from a Buddhist monk even though my primary aim was to enrich my visit to this WHS and be able to appreciate its OUV without the presence of busloads of tourists.

For this reason I was very pleased with the templestay in general although I'd recommend staying at a less famous mountain temple if possible to get a less touristy approach. I had already experienced Buddhist monastery life in Laos, Myanmar and Nepal and I found them to be much less touristy and more authentic experiences than the templestay in South Korea. Still it is a very interesting experience and a good alternative to the budget accomodation options available near most mountain temples. I enjoyed learning about the temple etiquette that lay Buddhists are supposed to follow.

Haeinsa Temple is located at 400 metres above sea level beneath the Gaya mountain at the heart of the Gayasan National Park. To reach the temple, I caught a bus to Daegu and another bus to Haeinsa proper. If you show your templestay reservation you won't have to pay the entrance fee to the Gayasan National Park which is collected at the toll station on the bus itself nor the entrance ticket to Haeinsa Temple itself. When I visited, the temple was colourfully adorned with prayer lanterns to celebrate Buddha's birthday (picture). The UNESCO stone …

Amsterdam is special. I've been twice, and it's still impossible for my brain to understand the engineering required to dig a city out of the sea. The architecture of the houses is a product of both the canals and the local tax laws, leading to one of the most beautiful and unique townhouse styles in Europe.

Like some others on here, I find the name of the WHS a bit ugly.

Within an hour of leaving Dublin's international airport, my friends and I found ourselves within the beautifully bucolic Boyne River valley, home to the neolithic history encapsulated in the Brú na Bóinne - Archaeological Ensemble of the Bend of the Boyne World Heritage Site. We arrived at the visitor center as soon as it opened in the morning, and were thus able to secure a visit on the earliest tour to Newgrange tomb. The visitor center is an excellent way to prepare for a visit to Newgrange, with exhibits on the life of local inhabitants from around 3200 B.C., and a replica of the tomb passage and chamber that is wheelchair accessible. After we toured the visitor center, we boarded a bus which took us to Newgrange tomb, which sits atop a hill overlooking the verdant Boyne River valley. I enjoyed the walk back in time through the passage to the inner chamber, where the guide helpfully turned off the lights and provided a simulation of what the light would look like when the sun is lined up with the tomb entrance at the winter solstice. I also appreciated the stone art, including the spirals carved into rocks inside and outside the tomb. A visit to Brú na Bóinne is an excellent introduction to the rich history of the Emerald Isle.

Logistics: Brú na Bóinne is situated in the Irish countryside, and is most easily reached by automobile or other private transportation. Day tours with tour companies departing from Dublin …

The agency in Kazakhstan which prearranged our trip to Korgalzhyn was concerned about whether we would be able/allowed to get inside. It appears that both the road from Astana to Korgalzhyn and the dirt road from Korgalzhyn into the park can get flooded/impassable in spring and our planned date of May 4 was still in the “problem” period. Phone calls to the reserve had received a “well we will see on the day” response. In the end, the period immediately before hand had been dry and we had no problems.

As you make the 2hr drive from Astana to Korgalzhyn there are some interesting aspects of Kazakhstan’s “Russian” past and present to look out for. Around 40kms out you drive past the site of the ALZHIR women’s gulag where the wives, sisters, mothers etc of class enemies had been deported for “Betrayal of the Motherland” – guilt by association. The road then enters an area of flood plains of the River Nura on its way to the endorheic basin of Korgalzhyn – on our day of travel the river was a huge lake lapping the road and showing that it could easily block it. This was followed by an area of rolling, but no longer “virgin”, steppe which had been ploughed up during Khrushchev’s “Virgin Lands” campaign – indeed Astana (then called “Akmolinsk”) had been renamed “Tselinograd” = “Virgin Lands City” in 1962. However, the closer you get to Korgalzhyn the more …

This site is located in the remote north-west corner of Western Australia where it rarely rains, and the scrub hardly grows more than knee high, so provides no natural shade from the rays of the sun. In April,when it was a balmy 39degC and the flies were in abundance, I drove from Exmouth along the bitumen to its end at Yardie Creek. From here southwards 4WD vehicles are mandatory. The drive was 170 kms each way, and there are numerous beaches where stops can be made to inspect the reef and its occupants.

For variety along the way there is the Milyering Information Centre providing a wealth of information about the denizens of the deep. Also there is the Vlamingh Head lighthouse, sited on the highest promontory, and overlooking the graves of the many ships that fell afoul of the reef before the lighthouse was constructed.

I took the more comfortable route to this site by flying in a small aircraft from Kununurra to Bellburn Airfield, within the Purnululu National Park. This had the added advantage of seeing the extent of the Bungle-Bungles from the air.

From the airfield it was a short drive to the Cathedral Gorge, in the centre of the park and in the midst of dozens of the colourful beehive domes.

Took a hike into Cathedral Gorge, noted for its shade, and ever-changing colours. Visited one of the camps for overnight stays, but opted to return to Kununurra.

This year I visited the Northern part of this WHS : Riversleigh, Qld. The site is scattered over a large area, but section D is where some important finds have been made.

The finds however are not here, but have removed for study and processing to the Outback on Isa Museum in Mount Isa. They are readily accessible in the Riversleigh section, soaking in acid to remove some of the encasing limestone. This work is only in its infancy, and much is left to be discovered.

Site visited April 2017. The historic monuments of the city of Dengfeng was a pleasant experience. There were absolutely the smallest amount of visitors among the sites that I have visited in China. The places were calm and quiet and some of them are surrounded by beautiful nature. I visited five of the eight inscribed properties.

First of all I must tell that in this review I'm not going to mention anything about visiting the Shaolin Temple. Actually I had heard nothing but bad things about it being a major tourist trap. So I deliberately left that off from my itinerary. I was curious to see what other things there are in this WHS.

Despite of being named after the city of Dengfeng, this inscription is all about Mount Songshan and the monuments connected to and located around it. Mount Songshan is one of the most sacred Taoist mountains of China. The city of Dengfeng at the foot of Mount Songshan is a spiritual center where the most important temples and religious institutions are located.

I would say sarcastically that it is quite difficult to get to the city of Dengfeng. Not because of bad transport options, actually those are very good, but because everyone assume that you want to go not to Dengfeng but to Shaolin Temple. All the people in Luoyang is trying to push you to Shaolin, even the ticket salesman at the bus station counter. So after some worthless efforts to buy a bus ticket to …

This year I visited the 11th of the locations included in this WHS, the Fremantle Prison. Fremantle is connected by rail to the city of Perth WA.

The property is only accessible on a conducted tour, which takes you to the cells, kitchens, chapel, and exercise yards.

When planning to visit the W Tien Shan WHS during our May 2017 visit to Kazakhstan we were faced with the problem of which of the 7 locations situated inside that country (mostly in the general area of Shymkent/Taraz) we should aim for! In the end we chose the Aksu-Zhabagly Nature Reserve. It would appear that this is the most popular for non specialist visitors – it is set up to provide tourist entry to the reserve and is easy to access by road or rail from both the above mentioned cities – and thus for taking in on a route across Southern Kazakhstan without too much of a detour.

The nomination of W Tien Shan received a negative evaluation from IUCN who, among other matters, were not happy with the diffuse nature of the serial locations. In the end the WHC inscribed it solely on Criterion 10 for its biological diversity – but 2 locations in Kazakhstan described as “Palaeontological sites” were still inscribed despite the removal of Criterion 8 (“examples representing major stages of earth's history, including the record of life, significant on-going geological processes in the development of landforms…” etc). And that of course raises the issue of why you might want to visit this WHS. It is undoubtedly most significant for its flora and fauna and Aksu Zhabagly majors particularly on the former. The UK Natural History travel company Greentours raves about its “ rare Primula minkwitziae and a wide range of bulbs including lots of …

I visited this WHS in April 2017. I visited all the different locations spread out around Gyeongju over 2 half days which yielded no tangible appreciation from the sites themselves (apart from the oldest astronomical observatory). Each location of this WHS has a UNESCO stone marker. I'd recommend leaving some time for the impressive Silla collection at the National Museum of Gyeongju (free entrance).

However, I really wasn't that impressed by the ruins/sites in Gyeongju even though the gold Silla relics displayed in the Museum are exquisite. My perception changed after a full day of hiking from one hill to the next in Mt Namsan, hiring a taxi for the day to be able to cover more ground.

The Mt Namsan area is 8km long and 4km wide. It comprises Mt Geumo (468m high - peak reachable through a 4km trail), located to the south of the ancient Silla capital of Seorabeol, and Mt Gowi (494m high), including 40 mountain valleys. It really is somewhat of an open air museum with 112 temple sites, 80 Buddhist statues, 61 stupas, 22 standing stone lanterns, historic relics along with prehistoric relics and countless Buddhist remains and carvings born out of a marraige between Buddhist faith and the natural environment, epitomising Bulgukto, the ideal Buddhist land of the Silla people.

When arranging a taxi ride for the day, I was very lucky as the taxi driver happened to be collecting photos of several Buddhist carvings on his mobile phone so most of the …

I visited this WHS in April 2017. Overall, I have mixed feelings on this WHS. I think that the Seokguram Grotto alone surely possesses OUV and is perhaps one of the only truly iconic sites in South Korea. However, it is very difficult to appreciate its outstanding value from behind a glass!

I understand that it would be impossible to control the crowds without it, but at least a guided tour or specific time slot bookable online in advance shouldn't be impossible to organise. Being relatively small and just one 'grotto', in my opinion fuelled ICOMOS to suggest including Bulguksa Temple in this inscription, which is perfectly capable of catering for the crowds and possesses 2 important Silla stone pagodas among other relics. However, the majority of this temple has been totally reconstructed as recently as 1969-1973 so in my opinion it detracts rather than complementing the impressive grotto.

Bulguksa Temple was originally built in 751 AD but it was burnt down completely during Japanese invasions in 1593. Some of the buildings were rebuilt but the whole temple was completely restored or reconstructed in 1969-1973. The most important cultural properties from the Unified Silla period are located on site including the 2 stone pagodas of Seokgatap and Dabotap. The former is a 10.3 m tall three tier stone pagoda which was restored in 1925 and contained in its interior what is believed to be the world's oldest example of woodblock print. It is quite similar to the one found on …

I visited this WHS in April 2017. In Seoul I caught the Line 2 subway to Kangbyun Station. From Exit 3, I headed to the East Seoul Bus Terminal and bought an intercity bus (Tago) to Andong for 17100 won (2hrs 40mins) instead of a Korail train ticket which strangely enough takes longer (3hrs 15mins) and costs around 24000 won. Arriving quite late in the afternoon and travelling with luggages, we decided to catch a 30 minute taxi instead of waiting for the 50 minute bus ride to Hahoe and having to walk to our hanok. This way we also avoided paying the 3000 won entrance fee since we were sleeping there and got there in time for a splendid sunset. For dinner we had the local speciality, Andong-jjimdak (steamed chicken and glass noodles with various vegetables marinated in a ganjang based sauce) and a shot of Cho Ok Hwa folk liquor or Andong soju.

Hahoe Folk Village is made up of 9 tile-roofed noble houses or hanoks and 29 thatched cottages. To be able to beat the day tour buses (even on weekdays!) and to experience the old hanok interiors, we booked in advance to stay at the largest hanok and registered cultural heritage, Bukchondaek, built by the provincial governor Ryu Doseong in 1862 and owned by the same family ever since. We had the privilege not only to eat, sleep and stay inside the hanok but also to have a private tour inside the oldest part of the …

I visited 3 seowons in Andong in April 2017, namely Hwacheon Seowon, Dosan Seowon (already reviewed) and Byeongsan Seowon. The latter is strangely included in the core zone of the Hahoe WHS even though it is strictly speaking outside of the village.

Of the three seowons I visited, my favourite one was Byeongsan Seowon which is a formal Confucian academy founded in 1575. It was built with educational facilities for scholars and also for the younger generation and it also has a shrine for memorial services. In 1863, King Cheolgong bestowed a hanging board inscribed by the king's own hand with 4 hanggul characters that gave this seowon its name and making it one of the royally chartered private academies. In 1871, Daewongun, father of King Gojong, closed all but 47 private acadamies across the country. Byeongsan seowon was one of the 47.

Bongnyemun Gate, the main entrance, leads to the Mandaeru Pavilion and Ipgyodang, a lecture hall with dormitories called dongjae to the right and seojae to the left. Behind the dongjae stands Gojiksa, a residence for the academy caretaker. Behind Ipgyodang is Jangpangak, a storage space for wooden printing blocks and relics. Stairs lead to Naesammun (photo), the gate to Jongdeoksa shrine.

Byeongsan seowon is considered a model of architecture from the heydey of Confucian academies, built to be in harmony with the beautiful natural surroundings. Together with all the other seowons, I think they have potential to become WHS and it would make sense to remove the …

I visited Strasbourg a couple of weeks ago during my holidays in the Alsace. As always when I visit a UNESCO site I tried to figure out the exact parts forming the inscription.In Strasbourg that is quite easy: it is the Grande Île surrounded by the two arms of the river Ill . It is supposed to form the old city dating from the 15th to the 18th century. On the map this seems a very elegant and convincing solution. But while the area around the magnificent cathedral and along the southern shore of the island refers well to this description you have two walk just a few blocks north to find a mix from very different periods including buildings on the 19th and 20th century. Among them many modern buildings with no historical connection or asthetic value. Are they also protected by UNESCO and cannot be altered?

On the other hand you find just south across the river of the Grande Île the Krutenau, originally the fishers' quarter dating from the 13 century and one of the nicest areas of the city. Here you find many half timbered buildings, Renaissance palaces and especially the hospital. One of the oldest hospitals in France it forms a whole city block with the hospital gate from the 14th century, the last remaining gate of the old ramparts, the hospital chapel and a huge hospital building from 1725 that replaces an older building destroyed by fire. In its basement you can visit the …

Despite many times I have been to this region, I never have thought to visit Lyon’s historic center because my friends told me that there is nothing to see in this big city; however, when my friends and I decided to stop for a night at Lyon on our trip to Andorra because one of my friend want to have Lyonnais meal at his favorite restaurant, I decided to see this World Heritage Site city. Walking around in the area near its main train station, Part Dieu, Lyon really looked boring and nothing to see. When I crossed the Rhone to the old quarter, I started to see some nice buildings but nothing really outstanding, I went to see Place des Jacobins and Place Bellecour, again nothing special. I felt disappointed and almost decided to walk back to the hotel, but I thought that at least I should walk to the Saone.

The beautiful view of Lyon along the Saone completely changed my mood, the sight of La Basilique Notre Dame de Fourvière on the green hill and the row of buildings of Vieux Lyon and La Croix-Rousse were something that made Lyon to be interesting than other French cities especially for La Croix-Rousse that I really impressed since it was really unique to see such kind of urban landscape in France, hilly and lack of organized city design. When I stepped into Vieux Lyon, it was a totally different world, full of narrow streets of Renaissance buildings, …