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Having visited the Niah Caves complex same year as Els we have almost “the same story” although with a few differences. The similarities were the Borneo Cultures Museum in Kuching, the Mulu site, the short river crossing with the 3 km hike om the slippery walkway before reaching the Traders Cave and the Great cave, but then some differences.

We rented a car at Miri airport round noon and arrive the visitor center at 1:15. We registered, paid, and went down to the river where the boat was supposed to be, but it wasn’t there. A guy told us to wait 10 minutes, but 10 minutes turned into 45 minutes. The boat was probably on an unauthorized trip to the nearest small town. On the other side at 2:15 the boatman told us that last departure is at 5 o’clock! Just too late we discovered that this would give us about 45 minutes at the site plus one hour back and one hour forth, which was very annoying! This would be a kind of a race!

All alone we were speedwalking on the slippery walkway even if it simply is not possible. After 40 minutes we passed the stall which was without any drinks, snacks, or people at all, we climbed the stairs to the first cave. Continuously rushing we entered the Great Cave on the path towards The Painted cave. We were all alone in the dark as there was no lightning. We were supposed to bring …

I visited Santa Ana and San Ignacio Mini on my way from Posadas to Iguazu Falls. Posadas, a city across the river from Paraguay, is a fine but unspectacular city, and I used it as a base to explore the worthwhile Parque Nacional Ibera, where you will see oodles of capybaras.

San Ignacio Mini, which sits in middle of the small town, boasts beautiful carvings. Although San Ignacio Mini is the most popular of the three Argentinian Jesuit missions among the Guaraní sites, I did not find it to be very crowded (July 2019). The visit itself can be done in an hour, unless you come across - as I did - a rolling swarm of caterpillars for the first time in your life and squat in middle of the ruins to observe it for longer than most people would.

Santa Ana (photo) is less grandiose and lacks the "wow" factor of San Ignacio Mini, but it is more quietly atmospheric. Very little of the Santa Ana structures have been restored, but they have been stabilized. Beside the ruins of the church is a more recent but neglected cemetery, which adds to the haunting feel of the ruins.

In summary, I found the two ruins to be very deserving stops (I spent a night in San Ignacio) on the way to Iguazu Falls. Although I enjoyed Santa Ana very much, if you only had time to visit one of them, I would prioritize San Ignacio Mini because …

Chelba-Tututi was the cemetery we visited after reading Woijtek’s recommendations. It is in the tiny village of Koti, about 40 minutes south of Dila. The guide was excellent; only men are buried here under phallus shaped stellas, they were recording 1506 pieces scattered allover, very few have inscriptions. British and a German anthropologist have unearthed in 1994 and 2011 gold bracelets and pottery. For circumcised men, it was customary to be buried with two. 

Having spent the last three weeks travelling “mainland Japan” we arrived Yakushima mid July 2023. The same means of transport (ferry) as everybody else took us from Kagoshima to Miyanoura Port and we started the visit by renting a small car at the harbour.

We drove immediately towards the Yakasugi Museum close to Anbo harbour. We had already decided that we wanted to do the long hike to Jomon Sugi the next day. At the bus stop close by there was a small kiosk that sold tickets for the hike.

We stayed the night in a guesthouse in Anbo called La Isla Tasse, very convenient for the hike. The next morning we left at 4:15, with packed breakfast and lunch. At the bus stop we had some trouble understanding the Japanese queuing system, but we finally found our place. At 5 we were on the bus leaving for the trail base. It started raining during the 40 minutes bus ride, so we prepared by pulling out our raincoats. Starting the hike with several others from our bus we were surprised by the Japanese culture of always using umbrellas, but only 5 minutes into the hike we understood! In this humidity a raincoat makes you more wet on the inside than on the outside, thus umbrellas for everybody – even on a long forest hike. Luckily the rain stopped after a short while.

The trail is on a narrow-gauge railway track which is not steep at all even …

Gondar is the third permanent capital of the Ethiopian Empire (the first was Aksum, the second was Lalibela, after which there was a period in which the capitals changed very often). Finally, Emperor Fasilides, who reigned from 1632 to 1667, moved the capital to the high-lying Gondar and built the first palace there, still named after him today. Subsequent rulers had no less ambitions, each of them added their own palace next to it, of which there are four in the complex of Fasil Ghebbi. In addition, there is a library, a steam sauna and cages of Ethiopian lions, animals that were the symbol of emperors.

The complex clearly resembles the style of medieval European castles or Moghul architecture, although our guide swore that it was built only by Ethiopians. It looks great from the outside, but inside it is much worse - there is nothing left but bare walls, the walls are covered with bird droppings. Additionally, some of the roofs were destroyed by British bombing during World War II (Italian soldiers were stationed in the complex). Nevertheless, the complex looks magnificent, having no equivalent in sub-Saharan Africa. Fasil Ghebbi was included on the WH List along with some other buildings from this period. And those buildings are not to be missed.

Some of them are located outside Gondar and we had no time for them. But we visited the wonderful Gemja Ber Marjam (or Debre Birhan Selassje) church, with unique paintings on the walls and ceiling. …

As the previous reviews already cover the most relevant facts about visiting the Hypogeum, I would like to focus on the experience of buying the Last Minute tickets and share some tips and observations that might be beneficial to other visitors.

We were visiting Malta over New Year's Eve and as we were not sure yet on which date we could visit the Hypogeum, all of the online tickets were already gone. Worthwhile to note: In the less busy winter season the urge to book weeks or even months in advance did not seem to be that bad. Whenever I was looking up if by chance a ticket slot might open online, you could normally buy entry tickets 2-3 weeks in advance. This timeframe was unfortunately not working for us, as we were staying only slightly more than a week.

Therefore we opted to try our luck with buying a Last Minute ticket, which you can get for the noon and 4 pm tours of the following day (unless the Hypogeum would be closed on this day, e.g. because of holidays) either at Fort St Elmo in Valletta or the Gozo Museum of Archaeology. The location in Valletta seems, in general, to be more busy and therefore being on time can be important. We arrived about 45 minutes before the opening time of the ticket counter at 9 am and were lucky enough to catch the last 2 tickets for the noon tour. To be on the …

If you spend some time to explore Hebron, you will find a city where its resident do their best to live a life of normalcy despite Israeli military control and restriction on freedom of movement and economic activities.

We visited the city of Hebron by public bus from Jerusalem - you can find the buses that go to the West Bank at a bus station near the Damascus Gate. The bus dropped us off in the commercial centre of Hebron, near and within walking distance of the old city. Although we did get lost initially, with the help of residents and shopkeepers, we eventually found the spot where we were to meet our local guide. Our guide was Hisham Sharabati, a Palestinian political analyst and human rights worker. As I only had passing knowledge of the historical and political context of the region, I greatly appreciated the expertise of our wonderful host. 

The old city of Hebron was both quiet and bustling. Quiet in that good portions of the neighbourhood was closed due to military orders, but bustling in that the residents were trying to rejuvenate the portions of the city that they still had control over (the photo attached to this review is of a shopkeeper in the old city).  

We also visited the Tomb of the Patriarchs or more specifically the Ibrahimi Mosque portion of the Tomb. The Tomb/Mosque looks more imposing from the outside. The inside of the Mosque is more austere than one …

Site visited in January 2024. Aksum is well covered by the previous reviewers, but since 8 years have passed since the latest review, I decided to add a new one.

Aksum is treated as the true cradle of Ethiopia, both in terms of state and religious power. State, because it was the first great kingdom in these areas, stretching from today's eastern Sudan to the footholds on the Arabian Peninsula. Religious, because Aksum in the 4th century adopted Christianity, which is still the dominant religion in Ethiopia. Aksum is home to the most important church in Ethiopia - the Church of Our Lady of Zion. In fact, there are two churches of this name - the old one, from the 17th century, and the new one, built on the orders of Emperor Haile Selassie in 1965. The old one is located within the monastery, so only men can enter it. The new one is available for women and men. In the Chapel of Tablets built between them, according to the Ethiopian tradition, there is the Ark of the Covenant, brought here supposedly by King Menelik I, son of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. No one except monks can enter it. And right next to the Chapel of Tablets there are the ruins of the oldest temple, dating back to the 4th century.

Opposite the church there are monumental ruins with several stelae of incredible size. The largest one, weighing about 520 tons, collapsed (perhaps already at the …

I visited all three components although Mawe Meru appears to be just the black rocks on top of Chasimba Caves which is even marked so on the map. Also I don't see ANY cave. Maybe 70,000 years ago this was a cave system and has now been eroded to just have rocks. Both cave sites are taken care of by the local family (unofficially?) and they'll be happy to take you on a small tour. By tour it means you walk over sharp karst and maybe fall if you aren't careful - honestly this is so not recommended to visit. My advice is to save you some money (not that it cost a lot to tip them) and just take a picture of the wall rock as you drive past it. The locals didn't have anything particular to show that would be significant for previous human inhabitants and if anything was here it was probably taken away to safeguard anyway.

As it was a drive through due to the nearby WHS I didn't mind too much but definitely not worth your time. 

Yeha is the remainings of the most ancient kingdom of present Ethiopia, which dates back to the 8th century BC. The Kingdom of Yeha maintained active contacts with Yemen and used the Sabaic language. In Yeha there is the oldest building still standing in Sub-Saharan Africa - the Great Temple once dedicated to Almaqah, the god of the moon (see photo). The temple was destroyed in the 6th century AD, when Christianity already reigned supreme in these areas, which, as we know, until recently did not like competition and actively suppressed it. The Christians did not turn the entire temple into a church, but partially demolished it to build their own place of worship nearby. In the Christian church there is a small museum with valuable artifacts, including over 1000-years-old liturgical books that the priest shows to visitors. It is also believed that the most ancient inscriptions of Sub-Saharan Africa were found in Yeha There are ancient tombs around the temple.

Next to it are the recently discovered ruins of the royal palace, where excavations are still ongoing.

Yeha is located about 50 km east of Aksum and is worth a short trip.

Our first “mainland” Japanese whs in our Japanese quest July '23 was Shirakami-Sanchi. The shinkansen took us from Hokkaido to Aomori Honshu and a local train further on to Hirosaki where we picked up a rental car and then spent the night. The next morning, we drove the 40-50 min to Shirakami-Sanchi Information Centre near Aqua Village Anmon. The map shows that road 28 could take us somehow into the core zone if we just went far enough, but we assumed correctly that driving was impossible. Road 28 has been totally closed since 2020 – probably due to avalanches and broken-down bridges. The remaining option was the hike to Anmon Falls.

At the beginning of the hike there is a nice plaque- For our Anmon Falls hike we passed a kiosk to register, and the guys insisted we needed helmets. It was to protect us from falling rocks. The path, in the beginning was more like a narrow road, but narrowed more along the way. We were at the bottom of a gorge or canyon with steep sides covered in lush green vegetation. The path started along a wide river which in time narrowed as well.

As the path got steeper and narrower – and even slippery with snow on the edges - the river current got stronger and soon we were crossing the small rapids on “homemade transitions”. The first waterfall we met was simply called Waterfall #3. A steep set of stairs took us to Waterfall …

Of the places proposed by the state party, I visited only one, although probably the most spectacular - Abuna Yemata Guh, part of the Gheralta Sacred Landscape.

The Eastern Churches were fond of building temples in difficult places, but Abuna Yemata Guh was probably the most inaccessible of those I had ever seen (a few hours later I visited Debre Damo, which is even more inaccessible). To get there, you have to climb an almost vertical rock wall. Fortunately, local residents make money by helping visitors and in this case they offered harnesses, rope support and personal assistance in the most difficult parts. Without this help from our family, only I would be able to climb, but I wouldn't feel good without any protection. This is definitely not a place for people afraid of heights, you walk along a narrow ledge where you can't even put two feet next to you, and a false move ends with you falling several meters lower. And next to the church you stand on a rock ledge without a railing, where you can fall not just a few, but at least several dozen meters down.

Somewhat exhausted, we finally reached the top. Fortunately, what we found there more than made up for all the hardships. Abuna Yemata Guh, according to tradition, was founded by Abuna (Abba) Yemata, one of the so-called The Nine Saints of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church as early as the 5th century AD And it is from this …

A natural extension to Rwanda’s Nyungwe NP, boasting the same floral and fauna. That park has already got a great review so I won't bump it down with my scribblings. Instead I can focus on the Burundi side which is easier to reach than the loooong drive from Kigali.

I dropped my bag off in town and took a bus from COTEBU market to Bugarama. It's a single road so you can't do much wrong. Just ask the drivers for Bugarama and they'll advice you. My empty bus departed soon and took 90 minutes, costing me 10k francs. Can't complain at all. I first went off to do other stuff but your eventual stop will be Bugarama where I highly recommend the Kibira Park Lodge (ask for room #1) with views to the park itself, a restaurant and there should be someone who can arrange trekking for you the next day.

Next morning we took a motorcycle to the park entrance (20min) and started hiking 4h. There are other hike options but this seemed most suitable especially as it was raining a bit. Don't expect chimpanzees although we found some nests. They travel up to 80km a day and this isn't a place for seeing them regularly and even if you do they'll just wander off quickly. Instead you will see a lot of birds and plants which the guide explained as much as he can. Waterfalls are also quite common with the park supplying 18% if the …

The Netherlands should be praised for limiting its Amsterdam nomination to the most beautiful part of the city, the Canal Ring. It is great fun to walk along the canals and admire the façades and details of the architecture. No two gables look the same. This is of course well known and has already been highlighted by previous reviewers. So why another review? The answer is: just to recommend also taking a look behind the façades of these impressive canal houses.

In June 2023 I had a scientific meeting at Amsterdam University and I was able to extend my stay to the following weekend. I had visited Amsterdam several times before, including the obligatory canal cruise and non-WHS stuff not to be missed like the Rijksmuseum and van Gogh Museum. This time I went to some of the smaller, lesser-known museums and tried to take better photos of the houses and gables.

My first destination was the Het Grachtenhuis Museum. Here you can learn how the formerly swampy area was drained and thousands of wooden pillars were driven into the sandy soil as foundations for the new houses. The multimedia exhibition is dedicated solely to the Canal Ring and tells its history using models, 3D animations and projections etc. It is very well done.Two of the canal houses have been converted into museums and are open to visitors (with regular opening hours): the Van Loon Museum on the Keizersgracht and the Willet Holthuysen Museum on the Herengracht. In …

Zimbabwe has been on our radar since we started visiting sub-Sahara Africa some years ago. Late September '23 we realized the trip.

Our trip was a road trip starting in Lusaka Zambia southbound and our first goal was (except secondary goal of Chirundu twhs in Zambia) Mana Pools National Park. It’s the site that really drives the cost on this trip. The park is a valley hosting the Zambezi River on the northern border to Zambia and is famous for its dry season wildlife gatherings. The WHS consists of three areas (Mana Pools, Sapi and Chewore), but we were told that Mana is by far the best area - for wildlife encounters.

Having spent the night just across the border from Zambia west of the park we entered the park fairly early one morning. Although it’s possible to see wildlife from the first gate we didn’t really have any encounters until we were way in the park. Camp headquarters (where we had to register a third time) are on the bank of Zambezi and from that point it was wildlife for three days. We experienced the famous “blue haze” although without Boswell (see Els’ review), but it was lots of other elephants and other animals.

The first afternoon/evening we spent mostly at the riverbank photographing lions, hippos, elephants, the pretty carmine bee-eaters, and other animals. The mandatory sundowner (which seams way over the top colonial I must admit, but it) makes the African sunset even more special.

We saw confirmation in December 2023 that Jamaica planned to submit The Underwater City of Port Royal as its 2025 nomination; whether they did so in time I could not verify. It will be their fourth attempt to get this site inscribed. It was rejected in 1988 (only the terrestrial area, deemed of national importance only), deferred in 2019 (more focus on the 17th century needed and worries about a cruise ship pier) and had an incomplete dossier last year. In 2019 ICOMOS did find some potential OUV though (“a possibly unrivalled illustration of an English colonial town in the 17th century”) and Jamaica may now have taken the right path of approach that will lead to an inscription. It will consist of a terrestrial and a marine part (comprising an underwater archaeological site). My review will only cover the terrestrial part, which I visited earlier this week.

Port Royal, a small fishing town at the end of a tombolo known as Palisadoes, is easily reached by bus from Downtown Kingston. The ride on bus 98 takes 45 minutes and costs 70 JD (0,40 EUR). This bus also stops at the airport, so you could theoretically combine a trip to Port Royal with your departure or arrival. Be aware though that it is a very hot area and you won’t want to carry any luggage. It’s a relaxed place to roam around for a bit, a random guy yelling out to me in the street “Hey! Do you wanna …

I wanted to point out here one possibility that has not yet turned up in the reviews so far.

I took an afternoon snorkeling excursion from Placensia to the Laughing Bird Caye. The excursion took about 3.5 hours, including a 35 minute choppy boat ride, a short stay on the tiny island and a round of snorkeling and came at a cost of 85 USD.

When our small tour group of three arrived at the tiny island, it was very busy with a big boat moored nearby. It was a strange contrast with the quiet beach in Placensia where we arrived from.

I saw a few corals and fishes during the snorkeling but visibility was not great and the quality of the corals didn't seem amazing either to my unexperienced eyes.

I would not pretend to have really appreciated the site as a whole by this short visit but after considering and pondering for a long time on all the possibilities and options, this came out as the least worst option to me.

In Placensia, also a tour to Glovers Reef was advertised at USD 125 but that tour company did not seem very motivated when I asked for more information so I gave this one a miss.

I took a regular 747 stagecoach bus straight from Edinburgh Airport that dropped me at the slip road to the south of old road bridge. I crossed the road under the pedestrian passage and climbed the viewpoint arriving there just after sunset. This is also the site where the Unesco plaque is displayed these days. 

I walked around admiring the bridge from several viewpoints in South Queensferry, then walked accross the old road bridge to the north side. Luckily the railway bridge is illuminated at night so it was still worthwhile to do this in the dark. On the north side one can appreciate the cantilever construction better as on the south side it starts further offshore.

After that, my phone battery died from the January winter cold and I took a train that took me back over the bridge to Edinburgh. 

Gedi is to be nominated very soon and I wouldn't be surprised if it slides through even though the visitor centers are all "Kenyan style" half built and then left forgotten. It can do without so just seeing the ruins is enough.

You arrive at the main gate where you can pick 3 tickets. If you are into snakes and butterflies stolen from the nearby forest then be my guest. They also guilt you into thinking you are supporting the local community this way. What you could do it hire a guide for the Gedi ruins alone. I chose not to because Gedi is like Angkor Wat and you explore overgrown ruins on your own. Zoe Croft was not going to miss out on this one!! (Don't want a sidekick for that!)

There are two areas which totally will take about an hour to see. It is true that you won't understand much of what you see but I felt that I don't need to know. "Here used to be a mosque" is enough for me. Very picturesque.

I do recommend to inscribe the property but I have to think if it should connect with Lamu in some way. It is also coral buildings and from the same time period but it is ruined instead of lengthy cultural use. 

It seems I'm going to be the party pooper here with my "thumbs down". But now that Palaces of King Ludwig II have been nominated for decision in 2025, one critical view may be appropriate. The nomination was controversial among the local population. In a ballot in the municipality of Schwangau in June 2023, 56% of citizens voted in favour of the nomination (with a turnout of 56%), so not really overwhelming. The residents near Neuschwanstein are mainly concerned about a further increase in visitor numbers. Those in favour of the nomination argue that the number is already 1.5 million per year and that more can hardly be expected.

King Ludwig II of Bavaria is well-known far beyond the Bavarian borders, romanticised as the "Fairytale King", his castles attract visitors from all over the world. He was undoubtedly a fascinating character. His idea of kingship was based on absolutism and the divine rights of kings. But this conflicted with political reality, which saw a change towards a constitutional monarchy. And thus, he dreamed himself back to the past times of Louis XIV and the fictional worlds of Richard Wagner.In a way, his life reflects this period of political and social change. But does this also mean that his architectural heritage - the Dreams in Stone - is of such outstanding value that it justifies inscription on the World Heritage List?

I have visited three of the four locations twice. First as a child decades ago, then a second …