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Since 2004, the year I met my soon to be wife we have celebrated our anniversary at Serpent Mound. We usually make it a week celebration. We start at the Newark Earthworks in Newark, Ohio; we then travel State Route 23 South out of Columbus, Ohio to Ross County. Here we go to the Hopewell Center in Chillicothe and enjoy the museum and their movie, along with the grounds themselves. Then we head to Fort Ancient and Fort Hill, finally ending at Serpent Mound. During this trip, there are other mound sites to visit, Alligator in Granville, Tarleton near Lancaster just to name a few. One can never go wrong spending a weekend driving through the once great lands of the Ohio Native People.

As the author of “Follow the Blue Blazes: A Guide to Hiking Ohio’s Buckeye Trail,” I would like to express my appreciation to previous reviewers on this website. As these reviewers pointed out so eloquently, the site known as Serpent Mound is a realistic and powerful expression of a Native American people that existed almost 1000 Years ago.

For myself, who has returned to Serpent Mound many times over the years, I still experience an emotional feeling of wonderment and a reverential connection with the past. The lifelike serpent could be ready to engulf an egg or as one Native American explained: "the Snake Clan is actually being led by the Turtle Clan" (Cry of the Ancients by Little Pigeon).

Visitors to the site should also take the path down to Ohio Brush Creek that begins to the right and near the serpents head. Wildflower enthusiasts will enjoy the seasonal native plants along the walk. The walk will also show how fragile is the site, for the supporting rock is eroded and pitted with deep crevasses or caves. Also, the front of the cliff reveals a simulacrum (an image in the cliff) loosely resembling a serpents head. Perhaps this is the reason for the people of what we refer to now as the Fort Ancient Culture to build their effigy on this spot.

Another reason given for the site selection is that is on an uplift of a 10-mile wide bowl in the surrounding landscape. This huge depression was thought …

my family has had it's reunion at serpent mound for many years. i have been there so many times it's like visiting an old friend every time i go there. the scenery is incredible. the snake effigy is truly incredible, especially when viewed from the observation tower. in addition, there are hiking trails through patches of wildflowers that lead down to ohio brush creek. this site is a jewel,from an archaeoligical, historical, and natural beauty standpoint. it definetly deserves protection as a world heritage site. it deserves such protection on it's own merit, and doesn't need to be included with the newark or other earthworks to deserve such protection. i only hope it is granted world heritage site status quickly to give this site protection from developers and others who would exploit and destroy this wonder. i truly hope it's included on the list of protected sites. not to do so would be a terrible omission. serpent mound holds now and forever a special place in my heart.

I too went to Chitwan this new year and amazingly it was fantastic. Due to lack of time, I unfortunately could not enjoy the jeep safari, but anyways i enjoyed my elephant safari and the boat riding. I saw many animals and birds that include Rhinos, Deers, Wild Boars and birds like kingfisher and others whose name i actually do not know. I saw many alligators and crocodiles and had alot of fun. One thing that didnt suite my mind was the overexploitation of the elephants and beating them which also left alot of wounds and scars on them. Hope something could be made out !! :)

The Kailash Temple was perhaps the finest single site I saw on my whole 3 week trip in South Asia. It marks out the Ellora caves as a truly world class destination, and one that should not be missed if you are in central India.

There are three religions represented across the 32 of the complex. The Buddhist caves are the earliest, and have many similarities to those at Ajanta, but do not have the painted interiors of that site. The Jain caves have some particularly impressive carvings, they are not as large as the others but they are finely detailed.

The bulk of the highlights though come in the Hindu caves, which at times can be massive.

The Kailash temple was absolutely astounding, and could easily be a world class WHS on its own, even without the 30 other caves. The impressive style of the carvings, the monumental size and the great views afforded by the surround galleries and hill made this extra special. It was really worthwhile clambering up the hill surrounding it to get a birds-eye view of the whole ensemble.

I managed to visit the caves in the same day as Ajanta and I felt that I did each site justice, visiting every cave and having repeat viewings of the major highlights.

Astounding, don't miss if you are in central India.

[Site 10: Experience 7]

My family has been to Yellowstone twice, camping on both occasions. In addition to the stunning beauty and remarkable geology, it is simply the best place to watch animals in the United States. None of us will ever forget the morning we woke up with a very large bull bison in the campsite next to ours!

Hangzhou is about two hours by fast train from Shanghai. The second time I visited the city was during the spring of 2009.

A lot of tourists take part in bike tours, boat rides and the musical fountain show at night. Shops, restaurants and souvenir stalls are found around the lake area.

The beauty of the site is manifested through the harmonious mix of man-made constructions (like arch-bridges, pagodas and temples) with the natural scenery of the lake and the surrounding hills.

I have visited the Newark Earthworks in Newark, Ohio and they truly are a wonder of the ancient world. The enormity of the Great Circle and Octagon astounded me and I will never forget the feeling I had when I first walked within the walls of these two sites.

I encourage everyone to visit!

This site, known locally as El Morro, was easily reached from Santiago de Cuba at the time of my visit in February 2001. A local bus will take you to Ciudamar, a settlement on the southern shore of the almost enclosed bay with Santiago at its head, and from there it is possible to catch one of the little launches which shuttle between various points on the bay. I went first to La Socapa, a small village at the foot of the hill, from the easily reached top of which, excellent views of the castle across the narrow(400m?) entrance to the harbour, and indeed for miles along the coast in both directions, can be had.

I was surprised not to find any evidence of fortification on this side of the harbour entrance.

Once back in Ciudamar it's a walk of about 20 minutes to the foot of the hill on which the castle itself is located. It has grown over several different levels, the lowest being a little above the high water line with some of the rooms carved out of the soft rock.

At a higher level the castle is protected by a deep moat and bastions at every change in direction of the castle's hefty wall.The various levels are connected by staircases and by a series of tunnels which is fun to explore

Some of the castle rooms are now used as a museum illustrating local building techniques and telling the story of piracy in the region. There …

The Great Octagon - the finest example of an ancient lunar observatory. This site represents a milestone in human understanding of the solar system. No other lunar site in the world is so sophisticated or well preserved. It is one of the easiest earthworks to access and so present a prime opportunity to bring this little known chapter in human development to the public eye.

Ohio's ancient earthworks.

I loved the visit I had to Serpent Mound on a family vacation a few years ago. I had seen it in textbook photos many times, and viewed it in videos produced by Roger Kennedy of the Smithsonian.

We were thrilled and inspired as were our young children to have finally seen Serpent Mound in person. It is like seeing Monet in person rather than in a postage stamp reduction in a book. Years later we travelled to see the Newark Earthworks. I was an educator for three decades and never found a class that was not impressed by America's first architecture. It prompted a trip to see Cahokia near St. Louis to learn more about the past cultures of the United States.

I visited Dengfeng in 2009 and I didn't know it was going to be a WHS at that time. The reason I came here was the famous Shaolin monastery. Besides Chinese tourist groups, there was little tourist infrastructure for the individual tourist (it was hard finding a hotel and restaurant) so I didn't know about the other important places in the area. Visiting the Shaolin temple was impressive though. The complex is large and I especially liked the large wall with frescos (see picture). There's also a large pagoda forest and some other temples. Going up the mountain you will get to the cave where Boddhidarma meditated for nine years and where apparently zen Buddhism started and also Shaolin boxing

The Newark Earthworks are incredible. The Octagon structure, at night, illustrates the lunar calendar constructs. The Great Circle is smaller in size but easy to access and includes a small museum. I have enjoyed many earth structure in the United States, Brazil, Ireland, and Portugal and the Hopewell structures are worth visiting.

Having had the privilege of leading group tours and school groups around the Newark Earthworks for years, I never fail to be delighted and amazed by how these mounds and enclosures affect those who visit. Some come from far away with long considered intent, and their knowledge and passion are always inspiring, but I really enjoy the reaction from people who have been driving past the mounds for their whole lives, and then "come to visit," and you see them open up to the site and the stories within. There's a look on their faces as they start to take in what they've long seen but not noticed -- World Heritage status will enhance & increase that experience.

Mexico City already has 2 WHS built in the 20th century – and Mexico’s T list contains 2 more! On of these is described by Wikiarquitectura.com as “one of the most important cultural landmarks of Mexico City, both for being the place of residence and studios of two of the most important artists of the twentieth century, as well as being the first construction of the modern movement in the American continent.” : - “Diego Rivera and Frida Khalo’s Home-Study Museum”. We saw it in 2008 – on the same visit in which we visited the Casa Barragan and Rivera’s Anahuacalli Museum. What a feast of modern art and architecture!!

Anyone who saw the 2002 movie “Frida” will know the story of her and her husband Diego Rivera and will also “know” the house, since parts of the movie was shot there (as well as at 3 other WHS by the way – Teotihuacan, Xochimilco and central Puebla). Kahlo’s family house, the “Casa Azul”, was a replica however. It had become a museum of her life and work in 1958. From the 1980s she became something of a cult figure, first in Mexico and then more widely – a trend cemented by the success of the movie. Her house now has 25000 visitors a month and queues of people waiting to enter. This popularity has spread to the “Home-Study Museum” but, luckily on the day we were there, with rather fewer visitors!

The Home-Study museum was designed/built during 1929-31 by …

Very few of us are going to reach the summit of Sagarmatha/ Qomolangma/ Mt Everest (though news of 40 climbers passing a dying man during 1 morning in May 2006 seems to indicate that it is a bit like “Piccadilly Circus” up there in season nowadays!) but the “walk in” through the WHS park to the Base Camp is available to any reasonably healthy person – it qualifies as “strenuous” but is achievable with some appropriate fitness preparation. It is not the most beautiful of Himalayan treks and some regard it as a bit of a grind but the objective and the historical connotations make it, in my view, a particularly worthwhile journey. I did it in 1976 and have always regarded it as time, effort and money very well spent - though the trek will have changed immeasurably in the intervening years and almost certainly will not now be as satisfying!

The purist might want to do the full “walk-in” but those with shorter holidays will short-cut this by flying to Lukla to avoid the 8 day trek from the road-head at Jiri. You will still need around 12 days to/from Kathmandu depending on how many detours you take and how much acclimatisation time you want in order to avoid what might be your main potential problem – altitude sickness. This flight unfortunately also adds additional uncertainty both in the form of potential weather problems (either at Lukla or at Kathmandu) as well as in getting a seat …

The Fortress of the Immaculate Conception is better known simply as “El Castillo” after the small village over which it towers, and should be on the “see list” of anyone visiting Nicaragua, both for its own merits (even though it doesn’t seem possible that, at the time of its construction, it could have been the “second biggest fortress” in the entire Spanish American Empire!) and for the scenery of the San Juan River area alongside which it is situated.

The San Juan flows out of Lake Nicaragua into the Caribbean. It is navigable (despite the several rapids) and, historically, was used as a route to enter the lake itself from the sea, including by pirates such as Henry Morgan – indeed the historic city of Granada on the west side of the lake was plundered on several occasions. It was to prevent this that the Fortress was built in 1675. In 1780, the then 21 year old Captain, Horatio Nelson was part of an expedition which captured the fortress as part of an unsuccessful attempt to capture Granada and Leon and thus split the Spanish empire and give access to the Pacific after Spain had joined the anti-British coalition during the American War of Independence. The next time the area surfaced in world history was as part of the route by which people reached California during the 1848-55 gold rush with the steamer service run up the San Juan River by Cornelius Vanderbilt - this led to the river and …

Isn't it surprising that,almost 12 years after inscription, this is the first review of this site? It isn't as though getting to Patmos is difficult; it can easily be fitted into a Greek island hopping trip (in my case after Samos and before Mykonos). Accommodation on the island is plentiful too.

The WHS doesn't include the whole island (which has an area of 34km2 and a population of about 3000) just an Old Town, a monastery and a cave. These can easily be seen in one day.

Approaching from the sea the Chora(the old town) is seen occupying the highest parts of the hill rising above the harbour with, at its summit, the monastery of St John, protected by massive walls.

On a warm and sunny day in October 2004 I was pleased to be offered a pillion ride up the winding road to the top of the hill. Many parts of the monastery are closed to the visitor. What can be seen consists of small rooms and the courtyards between them with lots of intriguing passageways. Close by the entrance is the main church; it is small, atmospheric and rather gloomy with many of the frescoes all but obliterated by centuries of candle smoke. The Treasury museum contains the customary plate, silverware etc and is particularly strong on books, manuscripts, codices and the like.

The Old Town is in some ways like a small Arab town with houses showing almost blank walls to the passer-by, though a number of …

Dear people who view this site that deserves World Heritage Status

The management of the Serpent Mound site has just been changed to a group of knowledgeable volunteers with experience. All these state sites are suffering due to lack of funds coming to them for such purposes from the federal government. Cutting taxes has its costs in services to the public.

Ohio has so many sites and the Serpent Mound is one of the most famous for many reasons, from being the largest Effigy Mound in the world, to a mound that some think, works as a solar observatory. The curves in the body line up with some important dates at Sunrise and Sunset over the course of a year.

This is truly amazing geometry at work that was put down for all times in the form of this giant mound. Some additional information is in the small museum but it also available on line.

I always do research before visiting such a site, but even if a traveller happened upon the site by accident, they would realize that this giant mound is a special place. The Peabody museum, more than a century ago did work to preserve it so that it did not suffer the fate of many other lost mounds.

Mounds at the largest city in America built before Columbus were leveled for fill dirt and road embankments, even though it was recognized by the early explorers of this continent, including Lewis and Clark in their survey done …

‘Perhaps it is the ones that get away that prove the most interesting’ I thought to myself as my train trundled passed this magnificent 100 year old modernist shoe last factory, I think that was just a feeble attempt to console myself for the error that meant I missed a proper visit to this site.

I had been looking forward to visiting this site in Alfeld (30 minutes south of Hannover) for a little while; alas I contrived to miss it by catching the wrong train a few hours earlier. As such I was only able to admire the impressive glass curtain walls and iconic chimney stack from behind the locked gates leading into the compound. This is one to add to ‘almost visited sites’ as I was not able to get up close and have a closer look. Oh well, gives me a good reason to return I suppose!

The factory was the work of Walter Gropius and Adolf Meyer a few years before they took up prominent roles at the Bauhaus. Its pioneering use of glass walls set out design features that are still very influential; although they are now much refined as their implementation here at the Faguswerks and a decade later at the Bauhaus building was beset by problems of speedy corrosion and poor heat insulation. Even with these problems the building is still regarded as an early masterpiece in international modernism.

Germany has done very well in getting its modernist heritage onto the world heritage …