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I stayed three nights in Liberia in March 2024 and used the full first day to visit the Rincon de la Torre national park. I took an uber taxi there for around $22. The driver gave me his number in case I needed a pickup for the way back at the going rate of $30.

One has to book the tickets online, they cannot be bought at the park itself, though there is wifi and it shouldn't be a problem to book there for the same day.

I was there a bit before 8am and I had to wait to be registered. It was a windy day and I started off with the trail to the waterfalls. There are several karst phenomena, such as an underground river shortly coming to surface.

The hike up to the Hidden Waterfall was quite steep plus the wind was so strong that it was difficult to keep my balance on the rocks. Also, there was a spray of water a few times, and I wasn't sure if it was from the clouds or from the river. In any case, this mountain wind is partly responsible for the dryness on this side of the mountains, so I considered myself lucky to be able to experience this feature of the world heritage site so intensely. The last part down to the waterfall was steep, but there is a rope. I hadn't met anyone so far but was soon joined by a family. The …

I visited San Andrés Island in February 2024 during my trip to Colombia. I spent four nights there. After the arrival day (from Cartagena), the next three were scheduled for scuba diving. I flied back to the continent to Medellín.

For my first day of scuba diving, following the recommendation of a diver I met in Cartagena, I opted for Sharky Diving. This agency, based near the military base on the west side of the island, offers transportation from the city. We did two dives from a boat, at West Point and Point PADI. We saw some beautiful corals and plenty of tropical fish, but few particularly remarkable specimens. During the second dive, moray eels (including one that had completely emerged from the rocks), nurse sharks and flying gurnards were observed. Flying fish jumped out of the water as we moved from one site to the next.

A storm was threatening my other two days on the island. Since the winds were coming from the west, Sharky Diving's dive masters couldn't assure me that they'd be able to go out for the rest of my stay, while the east side of the island was sure to be calmer. So I switched to Divers Team (an agency based in a hotel directly in town and therefore with easy access to both sides of the island) for my second day (the weather ended up being quite nice and both companies were able to go out on their own). We again …

Of the four components of the tentative WHS "Trading town of Julfar", I only visited the old town of the Emirate of Ras Al-Khaimah, where the Sheikh Al Quasimi Mosque is located, the National Museum of Ras Al-Khaimah, and the port area.

I visited that area in february 2023 after I had visited another nearby tentative whs site,the Jazīrat al Ḩamrā pearling town.

I took the bus from Jazeera al-Hamra bus stop and got off at the Corniche Al Qasimi bus stop.I walked along the entire beach promenade to the end and then turned left to the National Museum. The beach promenade was pretty empty as the locals usually only go there around 6/7 p.m. when the sun has become milder. But that day it was only moderately hot. There are numerous cafes, fast food shops and other establishments on the promenade .It took me about an hour to walk to the National Museum, which turned out to be only moderately interesting. Lots of human-sized dolls, little didactic work, poorly explained exhibits. From there I walked to the Sheikh Mohammed Bin Salim Al Qasimi Mosque.

The Sheikh Mohammed bin Salem Al Qasimi Mosque, called the Grand Mosque, is one of the oldest and largest mosques in the city of Ras Al Khaimah. This mosque was built by Sheikh Sultan bin Saqr I in the old town of Ras Al Khaimah, which overlooks a high hill on the Arabian Gulf coast and lies north of Fareej Al Ali.

The site was a bit of a challenging visit, mostly because of the palace. A significant portion of the front area was under renovation, which made navigating the entrance quite confusing. There was no clear signage and at the ticket purchase point someone dressed as Spiderman along with a local tried directing us to an alternative entrance, it all felt a bit like a fever dream. We did manage to get the right tickets in the end.

Once inside the palace grounds, we saw the main pavilions at the back and the museum. But as Frédéric M mentions the lack of info made it difficult to understand the relevance of the things on display. Similarly as we left the palace grounds there were lots of people offering to take visitors to batik workshops, which seemed to be quite a common thing all over Yogya. We got taken to one from someone hanging around in a 7 Eleven at one point.

We also went to the Taman Sari Water Castle. As others have said, this was a lot better than the palace. Nothing spectacular, but it was nice to wander around and get a bit lost in the grounds and its surrounding streets/pathways.

As for the site itself, you really don’t need more than a few hours to see the Kraton area and it’s quite underwhelming. But all in all Yogyakarta is a fascinating city and worth a couple of days. I can’t quite explain why that is …

I visited Arequipa in May of 2024, possibly very close to the time that Dennis was there as well, and truth be told, I have little to add to his review. Arequipa is a type of town I usually label "not without interest" - a different way of saying "pleasant but not exceptional". The volcano peaks and the volcanic rock material used in construction add a bit of appeal. Mestizo Baroque church portals offer occasional eye-catching details, as do a number of buildings within the historic core grid. The overall ensemble, though, is no more than fine.

Santa Catalina Monastery is one unmissable attraction, a colorful city within the city. The painted Capilla de San Ignacio at La Compania is another highlight. Santa Teresa Monastery holds a reasonable collection of viceregal art, and the painted Chapter Hall justifies the few dollars of entry price all by itself. Other churches are more or less similar to each other in having outstanding portal decorations, fairly muted interiors, and rich altars.

The main square is an impressive public space, surrounded by portico-ed buildings on three sides and presided over by the cathedral on the fourth. I was not able to go inside the grand church – unlike elsewhere, it was off-limits for tourists sporting large cameras during masses and closed at other times while I was in town. I suspect it would be another highlight. Puente Grau, a historic bridge built from sillar, is among many points with great perspectives …

When I started to look into the possibilities to visit one of the national parks, the climb up to Chirripo came out as the most attractive option. To properly enjoy the guarrapo, a principal characteristic of the world heritage site, one needs an overnight at the mountain guesthouse. When I checked the site around New Year, there was just one night available in March. I booked this quickly and then planned the rest of my trip around it.

One first books and pays the park entrance at the SINAC website, then one sends a whatsapp message to the mountain hut organisation with the SINAC reservation number. They will send a payment link for the accommodation The day before the climb one has to register at the SINAC office in San Gerardo de Rivas before 16.00h and book the meals at the mountain lodge office opposite. There are just few buses daily from San Isidro del General and I was in for a 2,5 hour wait there, luckily the square is quite lively and there are places for lunch.

When I arrived at the village, there was a heavy rain shower and I asked at the park office if I should be prepared for more rain, but the ranger said it was only the second shower this year, and it is very dry up in the mountains.

It is a climb of 2000 meters and 14 kilometers to the lodge which is at 3300 meters. I stayed at …

I worked hard to find an affordable way to visit this WHS. First, I contacted various tour operators in Manaus to inquire about a boat trip lasting a few days. However, I couldn't find any offer that didn't involve chartering an entire boat at an outrageous price. I then evaluated the possibility of spending a few days in a lodge rather than on a boat. Once again, the price put me off. I have the impression that the Uakari Lodge visited by Els would have been an excellent choice, but the price was high, and the logistics of getting to the lodge complicated matters considerably. Indeed, my Amazon journey didn't begin in Manaus.

It was from the Colombian town of Leticia, and its Brazilian neighbor Tabatinga, that I began my tour of the Amazon. From Tabatinga, it's possible to board cargo boats that also carry passengers on the Rio Solimoes. A few cabins are available, but most passengers bring their own hammock, which they hang on the hooks intended for this purpose. The price of the boat ticket includes three meals a day. My boat was also equipped with unlimited drinking water, toilets, showers and a small restaurant selling sandwiches, instant ramen and sweets. The trip from Tabatinga to Manaus takes four days and three nights (the reverse trip, against the current, is longer and more expensive). Passengers were mainly Brazilians, Colombians and Peruvians, but four other Western backpackers were also on board. We spent the four days of …

I visited the Al Jazeera Al Hamra Heritage Village in February 2023. I was on the way from the emirate of Sharjah to the emirate of Ras al Khaimah, the last emirate in the United Emirates that I had not yet visited. The bus stopped at the bus stop Jazeera al Hamra and several passengers left the bus; I decided very spontaneously to get out there, too. According to the schedule, I had two hours until the next bus. I bought a bottle of water in a small shop opposite the bus stop and walked for about 35 minutes in hot temperatures through dusty and fairly deserted streets. You hardly saw anyone, and when you did, they were foreign workers from India or Bangla Desh.When I reached the large parking lot in front of the Al Jazeera Al Hamra Heritage Village, two Egyptian guards approached me and informed me that the area was closed.I was sweating, in a bad mood, tired and simply refused to leave. I demanded to see the sites's manager or the person in charge. Luck was on my side. They automatically thought that I was part of the western camera team that was filming a documentary on the site with the senior local director in the middle.I could enter the Jazirat Al-Hamra area unaccompanied and without restrictions.

Within the fenced-off terrain, many areas were being built and restored; many areas were still in a very run-down and poor condition. You could see indian workers pottering …

Last review of the Great Wall on this site is from 2016 so I guess it's good to update how things look like at the wall in the 2020s. I visited the Badaling section of the wall in June 2024.

I took the high speed train from Beijing's Qinghe station which has the most of the high speed departures to Badaling. You can also depart from the Beijing North station. Tickets are very affordable, 20 RMB at the cheapest (one way)! You can book the train tickets even just the day before if you're visiting on a weekday. I booked both the train tickets and the Great Wall tickets through Trip.com on the Alipay app few days in advance. High speed trains have their own station at Badaling and when you exit the train station, you'll see the cable cars that will take you to the up to the north section of the wall. If you want to walk up the wall, you need to go to the opposite direction from the station and walk through the bus parking lot towards the main gate of the wall. The signage wasn't very good around the station as there was big construction going on but I had booked one-way ticket for the cable car so that's where I headed. There weren't queues at all on a Tuesday afternoon so I was very fast going up to the mountains, after picking up physical tickets from the ticket counter (no passport used here …

Ancient Sardis is best known for Croesus, the last king of Lydia, and his legendary wealth. Already in ancient times, Lydia was associated with immense wealth. Whether King Croesus was really the richest man of his time has not been proven. Perhaps this attribute is rather a symbol for the introduction of gold coins, which is attributed to the Lydians. The supposedly oldest gold coin was found during excavations in Sardis. But if you visit Sardis to find traces of its former glory, you may be disappointed. The present-day town of Sart does not exude any flair of pomp and wealth.Ancient Sardis and the Tumuli of Bin Tepe are nominated for decision in 2025. And I guess that an inscription is verly likely. Among the numerous archaeological sites still waiting on the Turkish tentative list, Sardis has probably the greatest historical significance.

Sardis was the capital of the Lydian Empire until the Persian conquest in the 6th century BCE. Located on the trade route from the Aegean coast to the interior of Asia Minor, today's Anatolia, Sardis was an important centre of trade and commerce. And its significance and prosperity continued even after the fall of the Lydian Empire, when Sardis was under Persian, Hellenistic and Roman rule.

Today Sardis is a little off the main tourist route that leads visitors from Pergamon via Ephesus to Aphrodisias and Hierapolis. Certainly, because the visible remains are less impressive compared to the already inscribed archaeological sites in western Turkiye. What …

I went here on a day trip from Yogyakarta, only visiting the main museum called Museum Manusia Purba Sangiran.

The museum was ok, nothing great, and I would probably be rating this much lower had I already been familiar with the subject matter, but it was cool to go in somewhat blindly and see the skulls, learn about the excavations, etc. for the first time. There are about 3-4 different rooms/halls some of which (particularly the 1st and last) are very focused on homo erectus as well as other animal remains, fossils, etc. I seem to remember the 2nd room being a bit of a mess, my memory fails me a bit but there were a lot of random displays about anything from climate change to Immanuel Kant in here. We also spoke to some international students who were studying anthropology (or something similar) and working in the area after finishing the museum, and they mentioned how some of the displays seem to imply that Javanese people today are direct descendants of homo erectus, which is obviously false. Also, as someone else has pointed out, it was difficult to tell in some rooms whether the skulls were real or not due to lack of signage, etc. Hopefully they can give the rest of the museum as good of an overhaul as the 1st room seemed to have.

As for getting to and from the site, there is a train from Yogya which goes to Solo, a town nearby …

After great time in Xiannvshan visiting Three Natural Bridges and Furong Cave, parts of the UNESCO listed South China Karst, we made a day trip with guide from Chongqing to Dazu for another World Heritage Site. At the outer entrance of Dazu, literally means big foot but also means plentiful land, we had to choose between 30-minute walk to the real entrance or 10-minute ride on electric golf cart, we easily chose the latter. Along the way crossing the large buffer zone, we saw impressive building museum, Chinese temple styled halls, Chinese Buddhist statues, gardens, so big so grand that almost like a pathway to imperial palace!

Unfortunately, when we reached the inner gate, rain started to pour down, so the entrance was chaotic with tourists rushed to take shelter. Luckily that we all had umbrella so we could continue our tour immediately. Like other review, the vivid color of all sculpture was the first thing to impress, really contrast to Longmen and Yungang Grottoes. The mix of Buddhism, local belief, Taoism figures and symbols is unique and explanation from the guide to understand is needed. According to my guide Baodingshan was initiated by Zhao Zhifeng, a local monk who wanted to create this holy land to glorify his hero Liu Benzun, a Buddhist saint, so the first scene from the entrance is the story of Liu Benzun. After that most of the scenes are depicting Buddha and many bodhisattvas, but also about local folklore and Confucianism value stories. …

Visited June 2024.

Many other reviewers have inadvertently visited one of the proposed locations for this site in Andorra, although noone yet on the Casa de la Vall, which is what I will focus on here.

The proposed OUV of this site has to do with the establishment of a "peaceful state in the Pyrenees." The historical accidents that led to the statehood of the Co-Principality of Andorra are doubtless interesting, but don't seem to me to reflect any unique interchange of values or real that would constitute OUV... I still think a couple of these places are worth a visit if/when you're in Andorra... if only to keep your sanity in the discount mall/duty-free area/tacky firearm shop zone of the capital!!!

The Casa de la Vall has historically been the seat of Andorra's government and housed all court proceedings and legislative activity for almost all of its history until the Legislative Council moved to the modern-looking building across the street. It remained a working house for its history with guest rooms, kitchens, etc. constituting the main part of the building. It was necessary to travel through these to get to the legislative chamber or courtroom.

At 3pm on the Saturday, I was the only visitor. I spoke to the people in the entrance in French (with which I had much more success in Andorra than English) and watched the panic in their eyes as they realised I was the first tourist of the day not …

I visited the quiet and pleasant little town of Veliky Rostov on a sunny and mild summer day in June 2018 during the Football World Cup in Russia. I took the train from Jaroslavl early in the morning to V.Rostov train station. From there I walked past the Church of St.Nicolas ("Храм Николая Чудотворца На Всполье") to my accommodation, a beautiful old palace that was converted into a hotel.Shortly afterwards I went into the city center to the Rostov Kremlin...to be honest, my jaw dropped when I saw this fantastically beautiful Kremlin...delightful...like something out of a fairy tale...a true joy and feast for the eyes...absolutely impressive.

I bought an entrance ticket and spent almost 2,5 hours inside the kremlin where I examined every nook and cranny, stuck my long nose into every corner and tried to open every door.The white and blue colors of the Kremlin are overwhelmingly beautiful to look at from the viewing platform of the Kremlin tower, which you can climb up.Within the Kremlin there were various exhibitions, hidden rooms (my advice, try to open every door, even in hidden places)and some small churches. I enjoyed the small garden of the Kremlin, where I had a coffee. Simply magical. There were hardly any visitors, not a single foreign one.

Then I left the kremlin and visited the nearby cathedral. After that I went to a cafe near the kremlin entrance gate where I had a bottle of tarchun and some very tasty bliny(kind of pancake) …

I love the Great Smoky Mountains. The best time to visit is in June when you can view the synchronized fireflies. This is an unforgettable experience. Camping there is also a great experience. The mountains are beautiful with an abundance of local wildlife. You will often see elk, and an occassional bear. It is conveniently located near resort towns that are also fun to visit.

It’s satisfying being positively surprised by a site, like we did on one of this lesser-known sub site of Tomioka Silk Mill!

According to our Japan quest of July 2023 we were going to visit Tomioka round halfway in our Honshu train crossing from northeast to southwest. But as the weather forecast didn’t agree, we skipped the site and went for nicer weather further southwest. Thus, this site was visited on our last full day in Japan as a day trip from Tokio. Our Japan Rail Pass took us easily to Takasaki. We considered using the non-JRP railway to Tomioka, but since we were two and we wanted to visit all the four sites we chose a rental car. We were certain that six hours with a car would be sufficient for the task, but … we were so wrong.

We started by aiming for the easternmost sub site first, the Tajima Yahei Sericulture Farm.

To our knowledge this would be pretty much a “closed site” and we would have to settle for some distant outdoor pictures before we moved on. The trip was about 24 km’s, but it took almost an hour because of small and winding roads. Arriving at the site we followed the parking sign and found a not to big parking area (almost empty). A guard gave us instructions and then he spoke on a walkie-talkie. We walked the 100 m to the gate of this property and there we were welcomed by …

Visit date(s): Wednesday, September 20, 2023. The same week, possibly even the same day, that the site was inscribed!Nearby sites on trip: Borobudur, Sangiran Early Man Site, Prambanan Overnight location: We left Borobudur that morning and stayed 3 nights just NE of Pasar Beringharjo after.

Location(s):

• Parts of outer walls, gates and fortifications. (We ate dinner inside the walls one night, so had an opportunity to see another way through the maze.)
• Inner complex of the Kraton palace and its squares.
• Tamansari royal garden complex. (See photo.)
• Northern cosmological axis including Jl Malioboro. 
• Beringharjo market.

Travel method(s): Taxi, walking, bicycle-rickshawTravel duration: Short, ~ 2 km or less per transferVisit duration: AfternoonOUV: Worthy. Good midsized site. Variety of structures. Culturally interesting.

Best of:

• Tamansari.         
• The walk along Malioboro, especially in the evening. It is a relatively wide, formal street, that does have some new buildings, but also very nice shops, including batik and regional specialties. In the evenings the road itself wasn’t busy, but there were people out everywhere.

Worst of:

• Trying to get between the Kraton and Tamansari, through the maze of alleyways. Do not try trusting a compass as most roads seem to curve around.                  
• (Also, bicycle-rickshaws are not sized for people over 1.7 m to share.)

Late June is when the young eider ducks first go swimming with their mums. I had hoped to see some moving around between the small islands and skerries that characterize the Vegaøyan landscape known as 'Strandflat'. But it was not to be, and neither did I see any Stone Age graves. I may have spotted an Eider house from a distance on one of the islands (it may just have been a pile of wood as well), and I did pass a few interesting older farmhouses on my 9km walk up from Rørøy ferry dock to the Vega World Heritage Center. It is mostly the landscape though that is memorable and the ferry ride alone makes a trip worthwhile.

The narrative of the eider down harvesting tradition is a compelling story, but this is not a great WHS. Both regarding (1) composition and (2) presentation:

1. As Nan already hinted at in his review, the core zone and the OUV don’t match – at least not on the main island of Vega (the other islands are practically off-limits, they seem “better” but how are we to know). The core zone on Vega island comprises everywhere where no people live and where there are no roads. The OUV however is purely cultural, about the traces people left behind such as old dwellings, eider houses. The photos in the nomination dossier mostly are either of natural features or of cultural elements in the buffer zone.
2. The island receives …

My trip to Peru in May 2024 had two full-day bookends in Lima, which gave me plenty of time to explore the historic center. I share the opinion that you can find more impressive ensembles elsewhere. "Ensemble" is the key word here. While there are plenty of eye-catching details, they do not add up to a consistent overall picture. Nor is there a killer must-see feature, as has already been stated.

Plaza de Armas and the San Francisco Convent are the main attractions, and the library at Santo Domingo is as impressive as any old library elsewhere. With good timing and extra effort, you can step inside historic palaces, such as Palacio de Torre Tagle or Casa de Aliaga, which are not without interest. The balconies throughout the historic center are the main visual highlights. The Mestizo Baroque church portal at La Merced rivals that of San Francisco. Plus, there is a Modernist façade or two and plenty of splashes of color everywhere, as is common in colonial architecture.

Unlike some previous reviewers, I encountered the main plaza completely off-limits to vehicular traffic. At noon, there was a changing of the guard at the Presidential palace, which started as a slow and tedious ceremony but eventually broke into a 15-minute routine of military choreography, performed to the medley of popular songs anchored by El Cóndor Pasa (which I never knew was written by a Peruvian composer).

I was advised by a tour guide not to go across …

Some Sites it is the Destination itself, however the Purnululu National Park is a combination of the journey and the destination. There are a number of ways to get to Purnululu, although Kununurra in Western Australia is the easiest gateway. We chose to drive there, however, many fly into Kununurra and hire a car to travel to the site or chose to fly to or over the site from Kununurra. A high clearance 4wd vehicle is essential to visit the site, otherwise you will not be able to get there at all. The first 220 kilometres is all bitumen paved road and will take you about 2 hours until you turn left onto the unpaved dirt road to Purnululu National Park. The Visitor Centre is 56 kilometres in and this journey will take you about the same time of 2 hours. In the main attributed to the numerous river and creek crossing, all of which have various length and depth of water still within the creeks. We travelled in on the 8th of June. Once at the Visitor Centre a small fee of $17.00 dollars for the vehicle and 2 persons is all it costs. The roads within the park are much more easily traversable with less river crossings. We planned to leave early in the morning from Kununurra to arrive mid-morning at the Visitor Centre, so we had ample opportunity to go to the North of the Park first. We did this as the midday sun shines through the …