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I visited Okinawa island in March last year. According the locals, March-April would be the best time to visit and explore the island in order to avoid winter cold, summer hot&humidity, monzoon of May, and typhoons of fall.

The Yanbaru forest is located in the norden part of the island, and Nago is the best place to stay&go further to north. This part of the island is quite remote, and due to the infrequent public transport - which I used to visit Hiji falls protected area, renting a car would be better and more efficient alternative.

It was a bit rainy day, however for visiting of subtropical rain forest it was an appropriate choice...

I like very much such areas, and I can compare my experience to Laurisilva of Madeira, or in a certain extent also to beech forests of Slovakia (both are WHS). So, I enjoyed my visit a lot, but I have to admit that no everyone would enjoy seemingly boring densely forested areas with a minimum of viewpoints or spectacular flora and fauna.

In the summary, I strongly support the inscription to protect the forested area inhabited by numerous endemic species that might be endangered mainly by military preasures in the area.

The events related to Normandy 44, the operation Overlord and the WW2 in general, are of primary universal significance. These events shaped today’s world. The proposed sites in Normandy provide a clear testimony in the sense that they are well preserved and that the events and facts associated are clearly stated and explained.

In my opinion, this site deserves to be part of the WH list for its universal significance and as a testimony of one of the worst period in history. However, the idea of a transnational site, gathering several symbols of WW2, should be privileged. First, it would carry the idea of gathering people and nations. Second, it would provide a better, wider and clearer testimony of this period and the events that occurred over a decade. Finally, it would show the global nature of the conflict.

In order to retain the most complete testimony, such a site should include, among the symbols and in addition to Normandy, memory sites of Bastogne, Pearl Harbour, Okinawa or Kanchanaburi as well as other sites in North Africa, Asia and Europe.

The sites related to WW1 are of great universal significance. The conflict had a huge impact not only for the people who were involved in it but also for all mankind. It took human people from the era of artisanal and local war to industrial and global war. The site also embodies the need, following the conflict, to honour and remember, on a large scale, those who fought and suffered. For the first time, anonymous fighters were honoured as much as famous heroes.

I have visited sites in Verdun, Somme, Chemin des Dames, Westhoek and other parts of Belgium. To me, the most striking testimony of the conflict is around Verdun. The whole landscape around the city has been modified by the conflict, from fully destroyed villages to forts, from forests in which traces of bombs are still visible to cemeteries.

The basilica of Saint Denis, in the immediate suburbs of Paris, is a masterpiece of religious architecture and has been an artistic achievement and model throughout the centuries. The place has been the resting place of numerous French monarchs, as exemplified by its numerous sculpted tombs.

To me, Carnac is the most important “missing WHS” for France. The site bears a unique testimony of the Neolithic period and possesses a tremendous variety of remains. It is definitely a must-see. The different museums in the area allow to better understand the site.

I visited Sarlat in summer 2013, as part of my trip on the way to Santiago in France. The city is closed to Perigueux and not far from the Vezere valley.

Sarlat is recognised as one of the best examples of a medieval town in Europe. It retains a lot of monuments from the Middle Age and Renaissance periods. The city is a regional and national hub for cultural tourism. It is also a capital city for gastronomy.

O Jerusalem -- a city revered and fought over through the centuries by armies from three faiths, and which struggles today to find peace and stability amongst its diverse residents. This is a holy city, a city of pilgrimage, and it was one I had longed to visit since I was young. I finally had my opportunity in February 2015, and it was all I hoped it would be. As I think back on it now, I remember Jerusalem in a series of vignettes. An Orthodox Jew with a long grey beard praying as he walked down a narrow staircase in the Old City. Two older Arab men playing chess in front of the Dome of the Rock, ignoring background vocal protests. Crowds of pilgrims lined up inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a building maintained by several denominations. Israeli soldiers carrying supplies out through the Zion Gate. The views of the old city from the Mount of Olives after a storm. The quiet, reflective sites of the Garden of Gethsemane and the Garden Tomb, the latter frequented by Protestants. The lively underground markets in the well-preserved Roman Cardo. The well-secured and sobering Wailing Wall. There is so much to see in Jerusalem, and I wish I'd had more than two days, but I am glad for the time I had, and would love to return.

Logistics: The Old City of Jerusalem is easy to walk around; however, there are security checkpoints, and some sites may temporarily close depending …

The Andalusian twin towns of Úbeda and Baeza in the province of Jaén are considered the best examples of Renaissance style in Spain. However, these two small towns cannot compete with the major centres of Renaissance in Italy, and I would not rank them among the best Spanish WHS, but nevertheless we enjoyed our visit. In both towns, the inscribed area is rather small, just a historic square and a few cobblestone streets. There are no outstanding buildings, the charm is more in the harmony of the architectural ensemble. And that it is calm and sleepy, there are not many tourists, a pleasant change to other sites in Andalusia like Granada or Cordoba.

Coming from Granada by rental car, we first made a detour to the Jaén Cathedral, a possible extension that was withdrawn in 2014 after an unfavourable evaluation by ICOMOS. Well, it's a huge cathedral, quite nice, but it would not add much to the already inscribed parts.

In Úbeda, the inscribed area is a bit off the modern town centre, it consists essentially of the buildings and monuments around the Vázquez Molina Square: Basilica Santa María, Sacra Capilla El Salvador del Mundo, Vázquez de Molina Palace (the town hall), the Palace of the Déan Ortega (today a Parador), the Pósito (former granary, currently the police station). Both churches can be visited with an audioguide, the town hall is accessible during office hours and the Parador has a nice courtyard where we took a coffee break.

The view to the Alhambra from the Mirador de San Nicolas provides an impression of the size of the palace complex, the massive walls and towers appear austere and powerful, nothing indicates that the interior houses a gem of Moorish architecture. And even when you stand in front of the entrance gate of the Nasrid Palaces - the heart of the Alhambra - you see only an inconspicuous façade. In contrast to European palaces, a sumptuous exterior is not characteristic for Moorish architecture. But that changes fundamentally as soon as you enter the interior: abundant wall decorations, inner courtyards with fountains and water basins, coloured tiles everywhere, elegant columns, filigree stucco decorations. Unfortunately, large parts of the Nasrid Palaces were destroyed after the Reconquista, e.g. to build the Palace of Charles V.

We visited the Alhambra in September 2016 and I agree with other reviewers that booking in advance is highly recommended. You can print your pre-booked tickets at one of the ticket machines without queuing. In summer, you have to choose between morning and afternoon visit and you have to select a time slot for the Nasrid Palaces. However, it is hardly possible to avoid the crowds, there are tourists all year round, probably less in the winter, but this is not the best time for a visit, at least for the Generalife garden, beside the Nasrid Palaces the second highlight at the Alhambra.

Alhambra and Generalife are well described elsewhere, so just a few remarks on the Albayzín, …

Lisbon is a great city with many attractions, but for me, the clear highlight was the Monastery of Belém, properly called the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos. This huge building is the classic example of the Manueline style that is so widespread in Portugal and features a huge number of fascinating architectural elements of all kinds. It can take quite a while to visit all parts of the complex (and to find your way through the masses of visitors), including the fantastic cloister and courtyard, and the church with its tombs of many Portuguese royals, as well as of Vasco da Gama and the country's national poet Camoes. A part of the complex is occupied by the Portuguese Naval Museum, which has some pretty good exhibitions and is definitely worth a visit (including the very nice cafeteria at the end). The second part of the WHS, the tower of Belém, is just a short walk away and is probably the most famous landmark of Lisbon. Formerly used as a lighthouse, defensive tower (there used to be a second tower on the opposite shore so that hostile ships could be caught in the crossfire), and prison, it can be reached today via a small wooden walkway and is a nice addition to the monastery as they represent the highlights of Renaissance architecture in Lisbon. The best views of both the monastery and the tower can be enjoyed from the top of the nearby Monument to the Discoveries. Belém is some distance outside the …

If you have some free time after visiting Petra, going to Shaubak castle may be a good idea. The castle is located about 30 km from Petra and is easily reachable by car in 30 minutes. Shaubak Castle is one of the best preserved crusader castle in the Middle East and, as many other crusader fortresses, has a picturesque location on top of the mountain. The external wall is well preserved and even inside there is a lot to see. The ticket is 2JD, free with Jordan Pass.

Although I am not sure whether the castle has any chances to become a WHS, judging from other reviews of Israeli crusader fortresses, it is much more worth visiting. On the other hand, it is a pity that the best example of fortresses from that period – Nimrod Castle in Golan Heights, due to political situation is not even on T-list.

One year ago on a snowy night I watched the 1986 movie "The Mission", which covers historical events that affected the Jesuit Missions of the Guaranís in much warmer South America. The film highlights the love of music the Jesuits and Guaraní shared; at many of the missions the Jesuits taught the Guaraní people European choral music, as well as how to make instruments. The film also highlights the fallout from the Treaty of Madrid in 1750, in which the Jesuit missions faced the ceding of territory from the Spanish empire, which ostensibly outlawed slavery of the Guaraní, to the Portuguese empire, which allowed it. It was with this context in mind that I visited the San Ignacio Miní mission near Posadas, Argentina, in March 2016. The Baroque ruins are in spectacular shape, and show how impressive the main church must have been when fully intact. Around the periphery of the site were the remains of long barrack-style buildings, storehouses, and workshops. The Guaraní here were not directly affected by the Treaty of Madrid, since they were in Argentine territory, but I feel for the Guaraní who had to fight for their security at the missions in Brazil.

Logistics: The Jesuit Missions of the Guaranís can be reached by bus or private transportation in Argentina or Brazil. I took a day tour with a company from Puerto Iguazú to visit San Ignacio Miní.

I travelled to the UK's newest WHS at Gibraltar in October 2016, particularly enjoying walking across the airport's runway after having landed on it 30 minutes before! I have for some time wanted to visit one of those few former outposts of empire that remain under the sovereignty of the UK, so was glad when this site was inscribed to have a good reason for travelling to one.

Unfortunately my experience of Gorham's Cave Complex was a fairly tangential. The visitors' centre is not yet open and I was unable to secure either a museum-facilitated tour or a boat ride to peer in from the sea. Given these constraints the best I could do was to walk down the Mediterranean Steps and have a look inside Goat’s Hair Twin Caves.

Nevertheless, the experience of reaching the summit of the Rock and beginning the descent of the Mediterranean Steps was one of the most memorable I have experienced in my 4 years of seeking out World Heritage Sites. With a pair of macaques eyeing us suspiciously and the wind blowing at several dozen knots the steep windy path down the edge of the Rock was both mysterious and daunting.

The twin caves felt very much like 'cave-man caves' - by which I mean I could have imagined Neanderthals living inside them as they in fact did. It was a shame I wasn't able to see the main complex, but I'll be glad to return to this British Overseas Territory when it …

My December 2016 day in Alcalá de Henares was not the most exciting one I've ever had, though I enjoyed spotting the storks that live all over the city's tall buildings.

Although this is still an active university city there wasn’t a lot to do on an overcast weekday in December. I took a look around the archaeological museum and the main university building, but that was pretty much it.

The city does have one of the better UNESCO logos I have seen, carved in along with its name in large stone blocks in the centre of a roundabout just outside the city walls.

Best WHS logos so far: Alcalá, St Lucia (large wooden carving across a valley from Gros Piton) and Cornish Mining Landscape (depicted in flowers in the town of Hayle).

Toledo, visited December 2016, surprised me to the upside. I had done little research on it in advance of my one-night stay so when we turned up and found a charming medieval city with more than its fair share of winding alleyways I was very impressed.

We caught a coach to Toledo from Madrid. The El Greco museum (reopened since Els's visit) is excellent - particularly the series of Apostles with Jesus in the centre. For food I can recommend the newly-opened Mercado de San Agustín.

As a culture-rich former capital, Toledo is a popular tourist attraction. To me it felt like Venice without the canals. On our second day we woke up to a city shrouded in fog, making it feel like we were travelling back through the mists of time.

Despite being a Brit this was my first time visiting Scotland when I travelled with friends in December 2016.

After checking in to our accommodation in the heart of Old Town we first visited the cathedral, named after St Giles. It is smaller than I expected from such an important city, but that probably stems from the fact it was built in an area that was already bustling, in the heart of Auld Reekie (as it was nicknamed for its smell). We stopped off beside a statue of Adam Smith, the father of modern economics and a face you can see on the £20 note (although ironically not on the Scottish version).

Highlights of my time in Edinburgh included a whisky museum, hiking up for the view from Arthur's Seat and enjoying some of the historic pubs in Edinburgh's New Town.

Madeira was my first stop on a December 2016 tour of Portugal and Spain. One experiences this WHS by hiking the ‘levada trails’, which are walking routes that follow man-made irrigation channels known as levadas. The levadas generally flow horizontally along the contours of the hills, with occasional descents down the slopes.

The most striking things about driving up from our hotel by the coast up to the laurisilva forests in Madeira’s uplands were the changes in weather and vegetation. The temperature dropped by about 10 degrees and the types of plants we saw changed as we ascended. It was as if it was still summer down at sea level but further up – as the temperature fell – the leaves had turned brown and autumn was well and truly underway.

I had only one full day on the island so was only able to hike two trails: Levada 25 Fontes and Levada do Risco - both shrouded in fog. If we had wanted to go walking in cold, foggy conditions we could have stayed in England!

These two routes, which start off as one but then fork off individually, led to waterfalls and give a good flavour of the sprawling forests of Madeira. We spent several hours walking along the trials before heading back via road on the north coast to our hotel in Funchal.

The levada trails are very pleasant and it is quite unique to experience the placid irrigation channels alongside the path interspersed with roaring waterfalls …

It looks like I am the first reviewer to have visit this site since it was inscribed and I can report that I didn't spy a UNESCO logo or information board anywhere (though that doesn't mean there isn't one). I spent a night in Hamburg in January 2017 and stayed in a waterfront hotel in the inscribed area.

The warehouses, which display a definite coherence of style, stand testament to the development of large-scale international trade in the wake of the Industrial Revolution.

My overall impression was of a pleasant enough place but not a terribly exciting World Heritage Site compared with others. Of the 105 I have so far visited it is most similar to Liverpool.

In January 2017, I decided to visit several sites in West Africa. Two things to consider are safety and travel hardship. Cote d'ivoire has both issues.

In March of 2016, terrorist from Mali killed 18 people on the beach in Grand Bassam. This incident has damaged tourism to the country and when we had our lunch on the beach in Grand Bassam, I noticed that the hotels were very empty, which may be a good thing as not to attract another incident. Also two days before our arrival in Abidjan, the army of the country decided to mutiny and block all the roads because they have not been paid their promised bonus since the civil war ended in 2011. Fortunately a deal was negotiated and the army returned to their barracks. Nonetheless the situation is always fragile.

Secondly, travel in West Africa is hard. Most of the roads are very bad with huge pot holes or incredibly bad if dirt roads. It makes for travel long and very uncomfortable. The hotels out of the major cities are rudimentary and some do not have water or electricity. Travel by public transport is only if you can tolerate a lot of hardship and have a lot of time.

I decided to hire my own car and driver and even that was an ordeal.

So after 10 hours of rough ride from Yamoussoukro to Kong and dirt road to Comoe, we checked into the best accommodation near the park, Kafolo Safari Lodge on …

Sintra is the classic destination for a daytrip from Lisbon, and I did spend a full day there, but it would be quite easy and tempting to take it slowly and dedicate 2 or more days to the area. There is definitely plenty to see to keep you occupied for quite some time. The site is a cultural landscape consisting of the centre of the town of Sintra plus several palaces in the surrounding mountains that were the favourite retreat for Portuguese royalty and nobility for many centuries. There are various types of buses available, and I chose a hop-on hop-off day pass for just 5 EUR that makes the rounds to all major sights (they arrive reasonably on time, but are often stuck in the massive traffic jams). The first stop after the station is the town centre where the National Palace is located. This medieval royal residence is quite an interesting building famous for its conic chimneys and wooden ceilings with beautiful decorations. After that, I took the bus up the winding mountain roads to Sintra's true highlight - the Pena Palace. This is really a fantastic sight, looking like a movie set or Disney attraction. As mentioned below, both Gaudi and Disney seem to have been inspired by its unique architecture and multi-coloured buildings. It is really a joy to walk around the site (still quite a long walk uphill from the bus stop) and enjoy the panoramic views over the mountains. Back in Sintra, I finished …