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This is a very unusual site - a major ironworks and one of the first industrial production sites in the world, yet it has a pretty idyllic location in the midst of a Swedish forest. Everything here is perfectly preserved, and there are guided tours (with English audioguides) to show you around. The complex of Engelsberg Bruk (also spelled "Ängelsberg" locally) not only includes the industrial buildings used for iron making, but also workers' residences and the manor of the owner's family. Visiting the site by public transport is a bit tricky, but manageable - Ängelsberg is on the regional train line between Västeras and Ludvika (with connections to Falun). From the station it is about a 25-minute walk to the site (the local tourist office is located along the way, and the staff there were friendly enough to let me store my suitcase there).

Falun is mostly famous for its copper production, once the most important in Europe and the source of Sweden's wealth and power in the 15th to 18th centuries. Today, production has ceased, and the remains of the mining operations make up one of the country's top attractions. The complex of the Great Copper Mountain makes for a very interesting excursion, and a walk around the Great Pit and a visit to the Mining Museum are definitely recommended. The major activity, however, is a visit to the mine itself. It's a rather cold and wet affair, and you will get a helmet and raincoat, but it's still a great experience to see how the miners actually worked down there. The mining complex is about a 25-minute walk from the city centre, which is a pleasant complement to the industrial part and also contains several components of the WHS, including St. Christine's Church, the large main square, and the Stora Kopparberg Church. The WHS also includes many mining sites outside of Falun (more like a cultural landscape), but the most important sites are in the city itself. Falun is on a direct train line from Stockholm, and should be included in any visit to Sweden.

There is only a handful of WH sites associated with the Vikings, and the major reason for this seems to be that they just didn't leave that many traces. Their buildings were made of wood, so the major Viking remains are runestones and burial mounds. These are also what you can see in this site, spread over 2 islands in Lake Mälar, just outside Stockholm. Birka, on the island of Björkö, is only reachable by boat, and there is a daily excursion boat leaving from Stadshuset. The island includes a decent museum with many findings (although most are in Stockholm museums), and the guided tours take you to the major burial mounds and modern additions (a chapel and a large cross dedicated to St. Ansgar, who - unsuccessfully - tried to bring Christianity to Birka). Birka was a large trading post in its heyday, and one of only a handful of Viking-age cities. The king, however, resided in Hovgarden, on the island of Adelsö, just a short boat ride away. I wasn't really sure how to include this in my travel plans, but in the end, it was pretty easy. Just 30 minutes after the boat to Stockholm left, another boat made the trip to Adelsö, and I could explore the site on my own. There are burial mounds there as well, plus a few scattered runestones, which I didn't see in Birka. So I think both islands are worth a visit, even if the bus trip from Adelsö back …

Am a student of usmanu danfodio university sokoto. I have been to surame landscape together with my course mates(biology dept.) on a field trip consulted by Malam Magami, on 26th july 2011. Indeed it was an amusement and historically area 19sqr km in diameter ruled by a hero, Muhammadu kanta(15 century), the founder of Kebbi kingdom. Kanta was a servant of Songhai who betrayed and conqured with his master and take over the leadership. Kanta was said to be a man of anxiety. By that time he has his own hell fire and paradise as a means of judgement for his followers. One miraculous thing about surame, is that there is only one Baobab three in the city. The wife of kanta as shown, died in the bush when she left home as a result of misunderstanding with her husband and never return.

This is one of the more unusual sites on the list (probably the only cemetery, apart from ancient necropolises), as well as one of the most easily accessible: just get off at the Skogskyrkogarden stop of Stockholm's metro system, walk a few hundred metres, and there you are. I must say that I didn't expect too much of it - I went there after a long and rainy day on Birka and Hovgarden, just to tick off another site. In the end, however, I liked it quite a lot. The weather improved, and walking through the large cemetery was a great way of ending the day. It is a fantastic combination of an idyllic city park and interesting modern architecture, while never forgetting that it is an active cemetery. As I had gone there on one of Scandinavia's long summer evenings, the visitor centre had already closed, but you can still pick up a map in a box at the entrance and find your own way through the immaculately landscaped grounds (and go find the grave of Greta Garbo). This is one of Stockholm's (and the WH list's) underrated sites (a friend of mine has been living in the city for over 4 years and never gone there), but definitely worth a visit in this great city full of interesting sights.

Lijiang, a town in northwestern Yunnan with its beautiful culture of Naxi people, unique old wooden houses along the canals, picturesque gardens and breathtaking surroundings, is truly one of a real gem of this region but also maybe one of the worst examples of tourism industry development in China. Lijiang has two faces, in daytime; the Black Dragon Pool Garden is the place to see, its Five Phoenix Hall in the middle of the pool with the Jade Dragon Mountain as the background, is one of the iconic views of Southern China. While the town is beautiful with Naxi architecture which has some details different from mainstream Chinese and along the street is full of interesting handicraft shops, and don't forget to go to the top of the hill behind the town for absolutely gorgeous view.

After sunset, Lijiang is brightly lit with red lanterns and spotlights, and I have to admit that Lijiang by night is very pretty; however, the town is full of clubs and bars with really loud Chinese music and dancers, some show is traditional or modern, but some is quite dirty. Almost everywhere is quite chaotic and packed with diners and fun seekers, the scene that you never expected to see in UNESCO protected zone! In my opinion Lijiang is maybe one of the worst examples of tourism industry development in China, and from my observation, Lijiang by night has more tourists than in the daytime, sadly that they don't come to admire fascinating …

I had the opportunity to visit all 8 cities being part of this WHS. Summer is hot in Sicily but one of the outcomes of such high temperatures is that you don't see a lot of people walking around especially during the warmest part of the day. I have good memories for each one of them. I was in Caltagirone during the Luminaria (end of July) and enjoyed the spectacle of lightning the scalinata with candles. I visited Militello in Val di Catania with the chairman of the local ArcheoClub who came to me just because I was taking pictures of one of the many churches that can be seen and wanted to share with me his knowledge of the town history. I combined the visit of Palazzolo Acreide with the old Akrai. I was amazed with the brightness of Scicli. I did find difficult to walk up and down hills in Modica. I couldn't avoid the fish market odours between the Duomo and the Ursino Castle in Catania. I found Noto being like an open museum, nice and clean. But the one I preferred was Ragusa (Ragusa Ibla more than the new Ragusa). Once I started visiting one I couldn't miss the other ones. My wife didn't cope with it and let me finish the tour alone.

My visit last week revealed that winter has left the frontage of this site even less inspiring than usual with the fountain surrounded by mud and looking particularly uncared for. And it is unbelievable that there is still a car park at the front of the building.

I have been to this site on 26 July, 2011. we went there as an excursion with my course mate from Usman Danfodiyo University Sokoto, biology unit. we were accompanied by Mallam Garba from National Monuments Commission of Nigeria.

it was a road trip to the outskirts of the town and we worked further.

Surame is the great ancient Kebbi established and lead by Muhammad Kanta in the 15th century, the city is 19sqr/km. Kanta a military man under the Songhai empire had a misunderstanding with his master and decided to leave and he settled in the area now known as Surame.

Muhammad Kanta was a great ruler he built an empire with several gates, there was only one source of water a well which also added to his power and authority. he had his slaves to build the well and about 10,000 slaves to build the great wall.Also in the city there is a three of baobab which after a quarrel with his wife, she went there and never went back home. she died an decomposed on the tree. According to the history, Kanta was a very strict leader; he created his own hell fire and paradise 4 judgment.After his death Moliki succeeded after his death.

My first visit in 2006 should probably count as a half-visit: I did go and see both churches but wasn't able to admire the art which has earned them their recognition as WHS. The Dom (St. Mary's Cathedral) was closed because of Mass, and St. Michael's was undergoing restorations. Viewed from the outside, both churches are very much alike. St. Michael's setting is a bit more impressive, on a hill just outside the city center.

In July 2011, while on my way back from the nearby Fagus Factory, I decided to stop in Hildesheim again. They still are very busy restoring these 2 Christian monuments: the Cathedral now is closed (until 2014 or 2015), and the St. Michael's Church is partly hidden under scaffolding.

Fortunately, they have finished working on the interior. The church is open to the public again. As Ian Cade has stated below, it looks almost too clean and fresh to be true. There's not much decoration inside, no miracle since this is a protestant church nowadays. But it holds some major works of art: the elaborate and colourful wooden ceiling, and two 11th-century bronze objects "on loan" from the Cathedral: its very fine baptismal font and the Easter column. Just realizing how very old these objects are, their state of preservation is amazing.

Two weeks after its WH designation, this still proved to be a pretty low-key site to visit. Alfeld an der Leine is a town somewhat hidden in the land close to the former GDR border, some 50km from the main North-South Autobahn. The Fagus Works is signposted from the town entrance, and indeed at first sight just looks like a factory. A very clean one that is – they develop wooden shoe lasts here.

I visited on a Saturday when no production was going on. By car, you enter the complex via the main factory gate. The gatehouse was also designed by Gropius in the overall style of the complex. I told the guard that I wanted to visit the exhibition, and he sent me on to a grey building at the back of the complex. This was a former storehouse, which was turned into an exhibition building.

There were about 15 other visitors around. One of the caretakers noticed the Dutch license plates on my car and called out - “all the way from Holland!” A foreign visitor clearly still is a rarity here. After paying the small entrance fee (3 EUR) I made my way through the four levels of exhibitions. The lower levels are mostly dedicated to the building’s history and architecture, while the upper levels focus on shoemaking. I really liked the historical photos of the factory – while it still was under construction and the photos by Albert Renger-Patzsch that made this work …

Torre dos Clérigos isn't the tallest building in Portugal, it's the tallest in Oporto. For instance, Lisbon has some buildings over 100 meters high.

About Oporto, it's well worth a visit for at least a weekend. Apart from the magnificent historic center where my personal highlight is the Igreja de São Francisco (Church of São Francisco), whose interior is richly decorated with lots of golden objects and altars, you shouldn't miss out the cityscape from the south bank of the Douro river, the Foz district (where the river meets the sea) and the modern building of Casa da Música (Music Hall). Don't forget to eat a "francesinha", a typical sandwich made out of many different meats, cheese, a spicy sauce with Port wine, beer and many other "secret" ingredients. Delicious!

Santarém has some nice monuments, especially in the gothic style (the city is often called the Portuguese Gothic capital), and there are beautiful sights over the Tagus River and its Lezíria, which is a huge area of plains stretching for dozens of kilometers alongside the river. However, I don't think that this city deserves to be inscribed in the World Heritage List. It's an interesting place to visit at a local level, but it's not a unique site in the world - not even in Portugal. The monuments are scattered everywhere and some of them are not very well preserved. It may be worth a detour to see some churches and have a short walk in some of the nice older streets, as well as in the Portas do Sol belvedere, but I think it's not worth to be considered a World Heritage site.

Marvão is a unique and beautiful small town near the portuguese border. It's located on the top of a tall hill from where we can have a breathtaking view over its surroundings. The whole town is surrounded by strong walls and ramparts. In its interior, all the streets are virtually unchanged since medieval times, and we can see lots of gothic architecture in its houses and facades. The castle is probably the town's highlight: a huge fortress with a moorish cistern and great views over the town itself and the surroundings. It's well worth a visit and it's a unique site in Portugal, and I guess that there are not many places like this in the world!

Jiang Nan, the name Chinese called for the Yangtze River Delta region, is the powerhouse of Chinese intellectual, art and economy since ancient time, and the main cities of Jiang Nan, Hangzhou and Suzhou, are well known for their beauty under the famous proverb "In heaven there is paradise, on earth Suzhou and Hangzhou". Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang Province, is celebrated by its landscape of West Lake or Xi Hu, the lake is decorated with arch bridges, zigzag pathways, causeways, mountaintop pagodas, lakeside pavilions, lotus ponds, carp pools, willow trees, bamboo gloves, etc., everything of classical Chinese landscape should be.

I visited the lake in summer 2011, the landscape was very beautiful liked Chinese painting; strolling around the lake and taking a boat to see the Small Yingzhou Island and its three small pagodas in the water were just relaxing and had many spots for good photo shooting while the misty cloud enchanted the beauty of the lake. My favorite area is located in the southwest area of the lake, Hua-Gang Gardens and Xi-Li Lake, the small area but the landscape is truly outstanding with many gorgeous pavilions, bright orange carp ponds, wandering peacocks, fantastic green lawns, lovely forest and countless beautiful trees under the shadow of Leifeng Pagoda.

In my humble opinion, West Lake is not an overrated tourist destination; the lake has major influence on landscape design in East Asia as gardeners want to duplicate or imitated the landscape element of the lake, …

Paradise in Peril Film Description

The Río Platáno Biosphere Reserve, Honduras – home to the highest level of tropical biodiversity in Central America, homeland of the Pech and Miskito Indians, and keeper of hundreds of unexplored archeological sites – is in danger. Non-indians are invading the Reserve from all sides, poaching endangered wildlife and fish, slashing and burning ancient forests to sow pastures, and forcing indigenous inhabitants off their ancestral lands. Paradise in Peril follows an expedition organized to document the destruction of this UNESCO World Heritage Site and collect testimony from the native peoples who rely on the Río Platáno for survival. Fewer than 400 individuals have ever completed this strenuous expedition from the rivers headwaters to the Miskito coast of Honduras.

Please go to http://skyshipfilms.com/paradise-in-peril or http://vimeo.com/skyshipfilms/paradise-in-peril to see this short documentary. Note: this film was shot in High Definition and should be watched on a computer with a high speed connection for best results. You may also see a short clip on You Tube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cF0-TbOXjsI

Thanks, Robert E. Hyman

We finally got there after many, many past trips to Rome and surroundings. We should have gone sooner!! Breathtaking and really an architectural marvel. It just goes to prove that tourists need to get away from the cities and discover sites on "the roads less travelled" like this one. I now recommend a tour of the Castelli Romani and Villa D'Este/Tivoli, in particular, to all my friends who are heading to Rome. It is well worth the effort to get there.

The main sight in Aquileia is the basilica. The oldest remains dated from the 4th century, but the basilica was destroyed, reconstructed and extended during the ages. The church, which can be seen today dated from the 11th century. The basilica is huge compared to the small town and one can image that Aquileia was a large and important city during the Roman Empire. My first impression from the outside was, that it looks similar to many other churches I had visited in northern Italy. However, I completely changed my mind when I entered the interior. Usually when visiting a church, one looks first to the ceiling. In Aquileia, the main attraction is the mosaic pavement from the 4th century. The mosaic covers the entire floor of the nave and shows animals, fishermen, marine animals, and Christian scenes. It lies below the current floor level, you can walk around on footbridges. The mosaic is magnificent, just like the well preserved frescoes in the crypt and the apsis. I also enjoyed my stroll to the remains of the Roman harbour, the Forum and the Via Sacra. All in all a worthwhile daytrip from Venice or, if you come from the northeast, a perfect start for a trip to the Veneto.

My last visit to Rauma was when I was child and only memory from there was shop selling moustache wax so it was time to go back and visit the city properly. After the revisit I was quite disappointed. The old town lacks authencity and was overcrowded by cars. It's so weird that all the locals drive through old town instead of driving around it which I'm sure would be faster way to get to the other side of city. I have never see so much cars in old towns where I have visited before. And I think the market square is totally ruined with those canopies. They look ugly and don't fit with the buildings around square.

But despite all these complains I think Old Rauma is worth of visit if you're staying in Finland. The buildings are absolutely beautiful and even for me it felt that I was somewhere else than in Finland. Outside of old town Rauma is also wonderful town. If possible try to visit the archipelago outside of Rauma.

If you want to choose one point to visit Struve Geodetic Arc the best place is probably the Tartu old observatory. The observatory is located on a hill next to the town centre. Inside of a observatory there was small exhibition about astronomy and 2 very helpful ladies who told about the history of observatory and the geodetic arc. There was big map of the Struve arc and some brochures and sign saying it's world heritage site.

Otherwise Tartu is very lovely town, worth of day trip from Tallinn for example. There's buses (and slow train) going all the time between the cities.

I have also visited the Aavasaksa point of arc in Finnish Lapland long time ago. It's right next to the road between Tornio and Kilpisjärvi and good place to stop on your way to north and see the beautiful views to Tornio River valley.