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Gordion is Turkey's latest addition to the UNESCO World Heritage list as of June 2024 and one of the easiest to reach, thanks to the high-speed trains ("Yüksek Hızlı Tren"). While previous reviews have focused on its historical significance, I will concentrate on the logistics.

I started my trip from Istanbul, where my family lives. If you will do the same, then I have an important tip for you: book your train tickets at least a week in advance. Trains often sell out 3-4 days before departure, as I discovered the hard way. I managed to find two tickets in separate wagons just four days before my planned trip. The fare from Istanbul to Eskişehir was 280 TL (7.7 euros), and from Eskişehir to Polatlı, it was 145 TL (3.8 euros). Note that prices increased by 25% in July 2024 after my trip.

The physical heritage at Gordion isn't extensive; a visit, including the museum, can take around 2.5-3 hours. Add an hour if you plan to eat in the city. That's the maximum time needed in Polatlı.

Since summer days are long, we first visited Eskişehir, a lively and modern university city. Eskişehir also boasts a tentative World Heritage site, Odunpazarı, a beautifully renovated historical area from the Seljuk and Ottoman periods. We began our day with "Çi Börek," a pastry filled with ground meat, at "Kırım Tatar Kültür Çi Börek Evi," accompanied by "ayran" or Turkish tea. After a city tour, we took the …

I visited Agua-Ize one month ago (June 2024). We saw the beautiful, haunting structures along the EN -2 (main national road) and turned into the Água Izé complex itself. The factory owners of this large plantation-factory complex had apparently abandoned it after the chaos at independence (1975), leaving the complex to decay and fall into ruins. Huge and magnificent even in a ruined, dilapidated condition. That is when problem arose - our car was quickly surrounded by aggressive young people who demanded to be engaged as guides. In any case, we might consider the proposal if we speak Portuguese, but we don't. The whole atmosphere was quite intimidating with some of them demanding that we leave if we didn't agree to accept them as guides. We were passing on our way between the south and Sao Tome city, and did not have much time. So we decided to leave without exploring the roca. That was a pity. If the country is able to police the area, train jobless young roca residents to be proper guides and invest in restoring the area, Roça Água Izé has the potential to be revitalized into a heritage and tourism resort complex, restoring its former grandeur.

If you like taking photos of white columns against a blue sky, Laodikeia is the place to go.Laodikeia is located on a flat hill and offers panoramic views of the surrounding countryside, as far as to the travertine terraces of Pamukkale. The size of the archaeological site is impressive and gives an idea of the importance of the city during its heyday in the late Roman and early Byzantine periods. At that time, it was the second largest city in the province of Asia after Ephesus. Laodikeia was located on important trade routes and gained its wealth mainly through the production of cotton and the trade in textiles. And its proximity to the thermal springs of Pamukkale certainly contributed to its prosperity.

Laodikeia is really a large area. If you arrive by car, you can drive to the café in the middle of the archaeological site after you have passed the ticket office. Right next to the car park is the eastern end of the ancient street that runs through the former centre of the city. Here you should start your visit. Most of the visible remains are located along the remains of this street: the agora, temples and churches, the central baths etc. And all the white columns mentioned at the beginning (the photo shows the re-errected corner columns of Temple A). The best-known building is also located in the central district: an Early Christian Basilica from the 4th century. It was only discovered in 2010 and …

Visited in April 2024. I arrived to the parking lot of the Schokland Museum on a drizzly and grey Thursday. As I expected there wasn't many other cars parked there but when I entered the museum shop/ticket office, there were surprisingly many people browsing through the souvenir selection. However, I was the only one who was actually visiting the museum itself. After buying the ticket (the ticket seller was bit baffled to see non-Dutch visitor) I entered the museum area, which I had just for myself for the whole hour I spend in there.

The museum covers really well the history of Schokland from the Neolithic times to current times. The earliest history exhibitions however felt more geared towards children, and I enjoyed much more reading and learning about the "end times" of the island and how hard the life was back then, when the island was slowly turning more and more uninhabitable.

The rest of the museum area consists of the church of former Middelbuurt village, the remains of the sea walls and other remains of the Middelbuurt village (pictured are tombstones that were used to build the sea wall). Inside the church there was a temporary exhibition about hippos. The exhibition was only in Dutch but I gathered that ancient hippos roamed on Schokland at one point in history. Anyway, quite random exhibition topic, especially inside the church. I had received a brochure from the ticket office that had information about different objects that were lying …

Schwerin is a huge area and I have "only" been to the massive castle, it's gardens and the entire lake next to it. The castle costs entrance and unsure it's worth the costs, not that it was too expensive and kids are free, but since you are already here and the entire day will pass easily by spending hours in the castle alone you might as well go for it. I think the scope of the site has changed over the years too. At first it seemed to only be the castle, then add the lake around it, and finally it contains an entire area of the residence. I feel it's still enough to just go to the castle and walk around it and see the major parts of the site though.

If for some reason you don't want to see the inside of the castle, which is understandable if you saw many others, then the park will keep you busy for a while too. Just walking to the Lake Schwerin for the castle takes a while and then you walk around, see the picture some take from far away, and eventually you are back in maybe 1-2 hours easily. The main attraction IS the castle and I have to say it's beautiful to look at so if you are standing across then the images are better. Pictures online that have a drone go high are even better. The castle takes almost the entirety of the island which is …

To get to Vjetrenica cave you need a car, as the place is located far from large cities and the nearby village is not connected by public transport. Personally, I liked the surrounding area and the road to the cave more than the cave itself. It is open every day with the possibility of visiting every hour with guided tour. Translated from the local language, the cave is called Windy, although, as the guide explained to us (he spoke English very well), the wind blows inside the cave only in the summer time. Since our visit was in Marth we didn't notice any wind inside at all. In general, the cave is small and it is not different from ordinary karst caves in Europe. The real motive for including it in the list of WHS is not entirely clear. The entrance ticket includes a visit to a tiny museum located two kilometers away from the cave entrance. The museum staff is very friendly and they rent bicycles as well. There is a convenient parking space and a very large and clean toilet nearby.

I visited Umm al-Jimal by rental car from Amman on a trip in May 2019, that covered the northern WHS of Jordan. Access was easy, even though it is close to the Syrian boarder and neighboured by a Military Air Base and a huge refugee camp.Even though not as spectacular as nearby Jerash, the place has its charm. There is so much left from the Byzantine/Umayyad city, that it rather looks like a town recently destroyed by an earthquake than an archaeological site from the 6th century. On the other side I had a hard time finding something from the Nabatean and Roman periods. The real beauty of the city lies in the building material. The region was formed by volcanic activity and everything was built with local black basalt stones. The site can easily be combined with Quasir Amra, As-Salt and even a few TWHS. There is not a lot of traffic outside of Amman, so a lot can be achieved during a productive day.

With Niah’s UNESCO inscription means Malaysia have two paleontology sites making this country to be on the same league with South Africa and Ethiopia on center of humankind evolution study, something remarkable and mind-blowing facts you have never expected from this Southeast Asian country. Also with this inscription, Miri, the capital of Malaysian petroleum production, becomes the gateway of two World Heritage Sites, and surely will become the tourism center of Sarawak. After underwhelming experience at Lenggong Valley, I hoped that Niah will not be the same.

From Miri I drove my rental car to Niah in early morning, and surprisingly when I reached the park, few cars already there and there was a queue of at least 10 locals waiting for registration. However, with some reason after I got a ticket, I was the only one that went to the jetty and within few minutes the boat took me to the other side, so I was the first visitor of the day. Without hesitation I walked along the slippery pathway with my trusted hiking boots passing lovely jungle and swampy forest with many bugs and animal sighting, those were runaway when they heard my footstep. Within 50 minutes I reached the first cave, the Traders Cave where I could see two archaeological digs easily, bamboo structure for bird nest collecting, and thick layer of guano under beautiful caverns that so perfect for photography, a whole package of this World Heritage Site. Then I went to the Great Cave …

I visited El Tajin in March 2024 just before the Cumbre Tajin event and after a very near miss during COVID-19 times. All COVID restrictions have been lifted although the local museum on-site is closed more often than not due to the never-ending protests and strikes. Although this WHS does not receive the same amount of tourists as Teotihuacan or Chichen Itza, after renting a car in Mexico City the night before, I decided to rest at a motel just outside Papantla just a few kilometres away from the ruins to head there first thing in the morning. Surrounding the ruins are tobacco fields, banana plantations, apiaries and vanilla groves.

Just in front of the entrance to the ruins, every 30-60 minutes the voladores do their incredible ritual ceremony, itself a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage. Just after the museum and ticket booth, to the right is the brass UNESCO WHS inscription plaque. From there to the farthest point you can visit, it will take a good 20-30 minutes of non-stop walking, so even with very few stops for photos and to explore the site I would say that at least a couple of hours to half a day are required to view the whole ruins without any strict COVID restrictions in the year round rainforest climate. Keep in mind that El Tajin was named after the Totonac rain god for a reason, and all types of weather phenomena and natural disasters occur here.

El Tajin is one of …

I've visited the Humble Administrator's Garden in spring a few years ago, and it left a good impression. This weekend I re-visited it – apparently in peak season, according to the tickets – and, unsurprisingly, it was very crowded. Either way, this one seems to have the most reviews so I’ll focus on other gardens I visited instead. 

Nearby is the Lion Grove Garden. It is significantly smaller than the Humble Administrator’s, but interesting nonetheless. As soon as you enter, you will notice them: the rockeries. A LOT of rockeries. Clearly, they are the major landscaping feature of this garden. Unfortunately, it was impossible to make any good photos of Lion Grove, since it was very crowded, and people tend to stand on each and every rockery that can be climbed on. 

To the south is Canglang Pavilion. Apparently its layout is the oldest of all the Suzhou Gardens. Its elevation seems to vary a lot, and the garden area is partially overgrown. This garden seemed the most compact of the ones I’ve visited. The view across the lake would have been nice, if not for the group of cars parked right next to it. Directly north is the Ke Garden, and while it is not a part of the WHS, I enjoyed it as well. Its flatness and tidiness really contrast with the “wildness” of Canglang Pavilion, and it's not so crowded. It is possible to buy a combined ticket for both gardens at the same stand. 

Three generations of my family visited the Great Smoky Mountains at the beginning of June 2024, being in almost the four corners of the national park over four days out of our 10 day trip across Tennessee. This provided us the opportunity to take in the expanse of “scenic vistas of characteristic mist-shrouded mountains”, the “clear running streams” and the ancient and ecologically rich woodlands that see this site inscribed under four natural criteria. 

We flew into Knoxville, rented a car (is there any other option?), entered the park through the Townsend / Wear Valley direction before embarking on a 31 mile trip along the Foothills Parkway which closely matches the boundary of the park and racks up plenty of the aforementioned scenic vistas. One of them is Look Rock Tower which is actually an air pollution monitoring station needed due to extensive coal power plants in the Tennessee Valley. Since 2023, it is now required to have an official paid parking tag matched to a license plate number to park anywhere in the national park for longer than 15 minutes. Does this mean the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is still technically free? I suppose it’s OUV could still be appreciated in a series of small timeframes but it’s a hard argument to make. I picked my weekly tag up in a kiosk at Lock Rock Campground.

Next we drove what is advertised as America's number one motorcycle and sports car road with 318 curves over 11 …

There is a bus from Paramaribo 3 or 4 times a week, leaving for Casipora at 8.30h. It passes right by the access road to the Jodensavanne and takes around 2 hours, including a shopping stop of about 20 minutes at a Chinese supermarket along the way.

The driver told me the return bus passes around 12.10h but when I left Jodensavanne at noon, the caretaker said the bus will only pass the police checkpoint, which is close to the bridge over the Suriname river. So I walked there, arriving around 12.20 and waited and waited until a car stopped around 12.50h and asked me where I am going, and took me back to Paramaribo.

I spent a bit over an hour which is enough for the site. I would have liked to spend a bit more time at the very hot and steamy little visitor center with interesting written texts on the Portuguese-Jewish community in Amsterdam, the Jewish communities in Paramaribo and also on Curacao, and the links between them.

The site consists of a Creole forest cemetery with mostly wooden grave markers, slightly dilapidated, a Portuguese-Jewish cemetery with quite elaborately carved lying gravestones and the ruins of the synagogue near the river, along with a few fundaments of houses. There are information signs with good information, so I would say a guide is not necessary.

When I left, the caretaker had appeared and collected the entry fee of 200 SRD (around €6) and advertised …

I visited this WHS in June 2023. Since I visited before inscription I wasn't sure which components would be inscribed or left out, so to be on the safe side I picked the 200 million year old circa Triassic Gypsums (Gessi Triassici) evaporite karsts around the Alta Valle Secchia component, making sure to visit the Tanone Grande-Tanone Piccolo cave system which is mentioned quite a number of times in the nomination dossier. Not being a speleologist and usually not so comfortable in claustrophobic crawling and messy activities in muddy terrain, my target was to safely get to the entrance of the caves alone and explore a small area which is clearly in the core zone (a headlamp and a hard hat are a must).

Visiting on a sunny summer day, I followed the best stretches of the Sentiero Spallanzani route along the Secchia river streams and stopped at a number of panoramic viewpoints to see the Triassic Gypsums and the Bismantova outcrop of the Reggiano Apennines. Perhaps one of the best panoramic viewpoints, close to the Triassic Gypsums, is known as Ponte della Pianellina where one can gaze at the Monte Rosso, Monte Merlo and Monte Carù slopes together with the U-shaped karst valley, while also cool down in the freezing stream waters. This area is also part of the Parco Nazionale dell'Appennino Tosco-Emiliano and also part of UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme. It is also a Site of Community Importance and a Zone of Special Protection of …

We visited Bath by way of the beautiful Bristol Temple Meads station in February for our anniversary. It's not the best time to see it, as anyone familiar with the wet weather of these isles could surmise, but it was an enriching time nonetheless. When the sun did decide to rear its head on the last of three days, the already beautiful Georgian architecture became all the better. Our first stop was the famed Royal Crescent, more precisely the No. 1 Town House exhibit. It's an odd visit with projections and dialogue from actors playing historical inhabitants, which does at least make it stand out from the myriad other preserved houses that the UK has (YMMV on how tacky it is, I found it as tasteful as something of that nature can be). More than anything else it turns a visit to the crescent from staring at the homes of the upper-middle class to an actual historical experience. A walk back to the hotel via the Pultney Bridge capped the day off. Day two took us to the other obligate activity, the eponymous baths, which had been top of my UK bucket list for some time. It's an absolutely beautiful spot so long as you aren't too fussed about the later additions. The main audio guide is much too verbose and dry for my liking, so it wound up being skimmed through quite a bit by the time I had reached the pool itself. It seems that Bath loves a …

As it has been 5 years already since the last review, I can provide some updated information on visiting the location of Laosicheng – the "Machu Picchu of China".

When doing it all on public transport, be aware that it takes a full day from Zhangjiajie. The return trip (including 2-3 hours at the site) takes 9 hours at best; leaving 10+ hours between your departure from Zhangjiajie and any onward transport from that city upon return is even better.

I started from Zhangjiajie bus station (next to the Central Railway Station), where at 7.30 I caught the minibus to Yongshun (2h15). It is a beautiful route through the countryside, and the World Heritage Site is advertised with large signs along the road. You already pass the exit to the road to Laosicheng, but I stayed on the bus until the end to catch a Didi taxi as there were no drivers in the smaller towns. The driver who eventually picked me up in Yongshun wanted, in addition to the fare of 35 yuan, also 30 yuan for the return journey as he would have to drive back from this rather deserted place empty.

He dropped me off at the visitor center and museum, where the main feature is a grand video about the site’s history (as is common in any site museum in China). The main emphasis is on how remote this region has always been and in a certain sense still is. This is also …

I hadn't intended to review this site but after reading Frédéric's review I thought I will add mine as well as there are both similarities and a few differences that may be of interest to others. I visited the site end of June 2024.

I took the night boat from Iquitos to the Peruvian-Brazilian-Colombian border, stayed one night in Colombian Leticia and then flew from Tabatinga to Manaus. I had considered the lengthy boat ride but decided against it as it seemed not very plannable (I could not find trustworthy schedules on internet), meaning I would have to plan about a week for it to 'fit' reliably into my schedule. And it seemed rather boring too. The afternoon propellor flight provided good views over the rainforest and the rivers and was reasonably priced. After a night in Manaus and exploring the parks in the outskirts, I took a late Sunday afternoon shared taxi to Novo Airao from near the bridge which left within 5 minutes and took about 3,5 hours.

I stayed 2 nights in the local hostel, I was the only guest in the dorm. I had initially booked a hotel but they cancelled a week before stating urgent renovations. Next morning I looked for a captain to take me to Anavilhanas. Prices quoted were 400 BRL but one captain whose number I got from the hostel, seemed very keen, and I negotioted 200 BRL. It was a 2 hours private trip, the captain was a kind …

In May 2024 we revisited the Giants Causeway (GC) for the first time in many years. There is a confusing range of logistical/cost options/issues for a visit and, since 6 of the 10 reviews currently here predate the opening of the Visitor Centre (VC) in 2012 which created a new situation, and the others don’t address the options, it seems worthwhile trying to clarify matters as of our visit. I concentrate on those for arriving by car but some will also apply to those traveling by Bus/Train/Coach/Bike. 

a. Any visit to the GC itself is free - the beaches and cliff paths are open to all without any payment. The complexities/costs relate to the VC and to car parking.

b. The National Trust’s (NT) large and architecturally stylish modern VC is in a nicely hidden grass-topped building on the cliffs around 1km from the beach where the actual Causeway is situated. Although it might seem so from the positioning of its front doors, this does NOT have to be visited to get to the GC footpaths and, if you do, you will have to pay. Otherwise, just walk round or up and across its grass roof! Each person going inside for ANY purpose has to buy a “Visitor Experience” (VE) Ticket whose price “includes reserved on-site parking, guided tours with our award-winning storytelling team, use of hand-held audio guides, access to the Visitor Centre's exhibition and interpretation area, the shop, café, accessibility aids and …

I visited this site in late february 2023.The Sheikh Abdullah Al Jaber Palace (Diwan Khaz'aal) was incredibly difficult to find....why???

Well,first of all it is fenced off,but that is not the real reason why it is so inaccessible.

First things first. the palace,or better its ruins,are clearly visible from the viewing platform of one of the water towers (3 towers near the ocean and in front of the Kuwait Aqua Park) near the Dasman Palace. In the water tower in which the viewing platform is located, there is also a restaurant underneath. I saw a notice that there would be a buffet the next day for the equivalent of €35. I immediately reserved a table for myself. The water towers are also a tentative world heritage site. What could be nicer than dining in a perhaps future world heritage site?

From the ground the perspective is totally different. The day before I had wandered around helplessly without finding the palace. Google maps is too imprecise and inaccurate. I had even asked a group of young locals in tennis clothes (the indians and other foreign workers are of no help as they are not familiar with the history of Kuwait)., who had just been getting out of some luxury cars if they knew where the palace was. They had never heard of this palace. They had tried to help me by researching on the internet where the palace was . They had been quite surprised when they had …

I visited the Cathedral on a Friday just after 13.00h, it was probably still open after the noon mass, as the lady was closing up. I walked by also on Saturday and Sunday but everything seemed closed (and almost everything in Georgetown is closed on Sunday).

The renovations are finished and the whiteness on the outside is dazzling, except for the steeple. Perhaps they overdid things at the start and ran out of paint.

I walked around for several hours outside in Georgetown taking pictures with my old phone and did not feel unsafe at all, so it seems things have changed for the better.

As a whole I do think the old center of Georgetown has a potential to get inscribed, especially if they keep improving and renovating the public spaces.

Els has covered this site pretty good, but we like to add a few comments. 

First of all, what an adventure to get here! We really enjoyed the drive through wonderful lansdscape, small villages and the river crossings. We stayed three nights, two days and did the Grand Tsingy first. For the Grand Tsingy, our guide convinced us to do the Grand tour, combining circuit Ranotsara, Broadway and Andamozavaky. It will take about 6-7 hours and almost no one does it. And he was right, we didn’t meet any other people until at the end. The route adds one more viewpoint and a hanging bridge. And as Els explained, we used harness to clip on to safety ropes, up ladders and stepping stones, climbing our way to the top. I am impressed how they made this marvelous rocky terrain available to «common people». The view from the top is just fantastic. Besides the climbing the track is winding through caves,(several places we have to squeeze ourselves through), boulders, rocky terrains and sometimes easy hiking in the forest. We encountered four kinds of lemurs: the Deackens Sifaka, several groups of Red faced Brown Lemurs, Bamboo Lemur and the Red-tailed Sportive Lemur (nocturnal, sleeping on a tree in the afternoon sun). We used in total 7 hours, with plenty of photo stops and a lunch break. 

Day two we did the River Gorge and the Small Tsingy. It was well worth to stay an extra day

When you are …