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Kellerwald, August 2023

Kellerwald is situated in a very rural, bucolic area set against gently undulating hills around 90 minutes by bus and / or train to the west of Kassel, the transportation hub on the main north-south German ICE line.

The northern, more accessible part snugs gently against Edersee, a sinuous dammed lake dotted with many sailing boots on sunny week ends. The southern part of the core zone is more difficult to reach and would take more time to explore than I had.

I overnighted in Korbach, a Holzfachwerk-picture-perfect little town on the northern side of the forest, easily reachable by hourly train from Kassel. The recent influx of refugees has visibly augmented the local shopping and food options. Public transport in the area is excellent, and I was presently surprised to see that the town offers a bus as early as 05:30 on a Sunday morning to Harbshausen village on the north-western end of Kellerwald forest (call ahead for prebooking a day prior). It turned out the bus was actually a taxi (local bus fare rates still apply, though), and for a small tip the friendly cabby agreed to drive me right up to Wanderparkplatz “Himmelsbreite” at the very edge of the forest.

Shortly after the parking lot the core zone starts, and I proceeded to walk up to Ringelsberg which rewards with a scenic view onto the hilly forested landscape against the backdrop of Edersee in the valley below (see picture). …

Whatever the circumstances in Zimbabwe are, Great Zimbabwe National Monument is the country's main cultural attraction. The site saw 120,000 visitors in 1996, then the number dropped to 15,000 in 2008 and then it went back up again to 78,000 in 2018. I visited on a Saturday and encountered mostly Zimbabwean day trippers and even a busload of school children. The site is so big though that I mostly found myself wandering around the ruins alone. The refreshment area at the center was closed and a small troop of monkeys had taken over the picnic benches, probably wondering why no food-spilling people stopped there anymore.

I started my visit at the museum, having learned from Khami Ruins that although it may not look much, there still may be something worthwhile in it. This is true here: in the first room, explanation panels highlight the chronological development of the Zimbabwe tradition, their architecture and religion. The second room, at the back, houses 7 of the 8 original Zimbabwe Birds - divine soapstone sculptures that were found within the ruins and stood on top of monoliths. They are magnificent. The bird figures were cut off their pedestals and looted by various late 19th century ‘hunters’ and moved to museums in Germany and South Africa. I am happy that they have been brought back and are on display at the site museum.

To the right of the museum lies the Great Enclosure. It is accessed via a long walkway. This concentric …

To me, the Sansa embody the ideal and typical Korean temple. They may not have the historic significance of Bulguksa or the unique library of Haeinsa, but they are much better preserved, containing some of the oldest standing wooden architecture in the peninsula, and some of the most beautiful too. For that, I have to say they are a much-needed WHS, and I had a dilemma on which of the seven to fit into my trip to Korea in June 2023. Upon examining the evaluation file, I found that only four were actually advised for inscription - Tongdosa, Buseoksa, Beopjusa,Daeheungsa. Buseoksa and Beopjusa had been covered well by Kyle, and Daeheungsa I found to be too remote to fit into the trip; sadly, I even had to cut Unjusa last minute due to time constraints, so I never could've made it farther southwest. That left Tongdosa, and upon further research, I became more and more surprised that it hasn't truly been reviewed here yet. Tongdosa is one of the three "Jewel Temples" of Korea, representing Gautama Buddha, containing relics of the Buddha, and serving as the head temple of the Jogye Order. Of the three, it's definitely the best preserved, easily trumping Haeinsa and Songgwangsa in this metric, and it's even the largest, not just of the Jewel Temples, but out of all existing temples in Korea! And if that wasn't all enough reason to make it worth the journey, it's within easy reach of Busan, the second largest city …

The WHS consists of three components of which 2 are almost next to each other and in my opinion could be the same component. I can recommend staying in the hotel "Le petit clos" opposite of the museum and site "Colón 10". In the museum over 40 remainings of the Chinchorro people are displayed. The skeletons were found in 2004 when a hotel was supposed to be constructed in this place. They are over 2000 years old a give some ideas on the burial practices and life of the Chinchorro people. Some skeletons have mussels and sea snails as presents next to their bones. Others have human hair and red colour on hair and bones. There is a very good 28 minute audio guide leading through the excavation. It was even available in (very good) German. The hotel and also the museum are basically all part of the north front of the "Murro", the big hill next to the Pacific in Arica. It is inscribed as well as WHS because it is full of Chinchorro bones as it has been used as burial site by the culture. Surely the Colon 10 seems like a cemetery however from my point of view it's only part of the whole Morro north site which is an even bigger cemetery. Our host Daniel showed us that he can access parts of the UNESCO excavation side from his backyard. Currently no works are being done there. Just by walking here we found a lot of …

I get the charm and it's quite touristy when you arrive by ferry, walk along the cleanish port and enjoy the sunshine and breeze and hey, Freddie Mercury museum!! However, venture deeper and it is dirty, hazardous, on the brink of collapsing (word is the site will be placed on the in-danger list soon). I think the idea of the entire old town being inscribed doesn't quite cut if anymore. Sure there are random houses, doors and windows from the classic ages but they have either been destroyed or replaced with only a few spots being highlights. In its defense it rained the night before and even in the morning I visited so the roads were dirty and zero fun to walk around. There are also motorbikes and some roads allow cars meaning the car-free zone is mainly where the shopping alleys are. It doesn't help that the north end of town is the ever-busy fish market and the east side a bazaar (not the touristy kind, more of outdoor market for the locals).

The history of the old town is important but neglected care and financial commitment, plus from what I read the inscription was more or less a favor or acting in good faith that it will be handled by the semi-autonomous region. Fail.

As it's an easy visit and any visit to Zanzibar (especially by ferry) makes it an obvious itinerary inclusion, and even a day trip from Dar Es Salaam is doable. In hindsight …

The Meanders of the Upper Daugava is a fine excuse to visit the remote east of Latvia. Jarek’s review drew me there – as well as the opportunity to see a whole different part of Latvia, away from the mostly Baltic Sea-oriented and western-facing parts. Driving eastward from Jekabpils, orthodox churches started appearing by the roadside and the wide Daugava River is often in sight.

I covered exactly the same route as Jarek. The places of interest are also supported by the local tourism board and signposted from the minor road that follows the river (a detour from the A6).

The Dinaburg castle ruins probably take up the most time – you get there by walking a trail through a somewhat spooky forest, where woodpeckers were having a good time. The tiny model version of the castle is just cute and placed like the original on a strategic overlook over the river. On the way back I met two local grandparents with grandchildren in tow whom I would encounter at some of the other locations along the Daugava as well (the only other tourists).

The best spot I found was Vasargelišķu Skatu Tornis, which is a high sightseeing tower on a bend of the river from where you can have interesting views on both sides. At these upper reaches of the river, the river itself mostly stays out of sight from ground level because of the dense forests on the riverbanks.

After Kuldiga, this probably is …

I visited Abila in August 2023 during my extensive trip in Jordan. I visited it in combination with the others TWHS in northern Jordan making up the series of the Decapolis cities.

I had some expectation on this site based on other TWHS in Jordan (and on Google reviews and WHC description) but, unfortunately, Abila didn't meet them at all.

But let's start from the beginning.

I used Jerash as a base for the exploration of northern Jordan by rental car, as it seemed the easiest thing to do without the need to go back to Amman at the end of every single day and each TWHS in the area can be reached in about 1 hour from Jerash. Reaching Abila was relatively easy, it's clearly marked in Google Maps, although it isn't clear that the last part of the road is on an unpaved steep dirt road that goes through some crops. Nothing impossible though. My regular small sedan could make it easily. However, once I reached the first ruins of Abila, I realised that the site isn't managed or maintained properly. There is nothing, not even a sign marking the importance of the place. The main ruins are located in a valley, and they seem almost completely abandoned, although I believe there must be some sort of regular maintenance.

From the description on the WHC website the place seems full of things to see, unfortunately not much is left beside the main Basilica (in …

Seeing most photos of Preah Vihear with the clear blue skies, I can't help but wonder if my January 2023 experience visiting this great site might have felt different if the weather had been milder. Arriving at the top of the mountain after a long morning drive from Siem Reap, the fog and light drizzle gave me Machu Picchu vibes, especially as I approached the fifth gopura, the lowest one on the slope (you'll see the five in reverse order as you ascend). This fifth gopura was the least impressive and most ruined; the enchanting atmosphere, especially with the wide road sloping up into the heavens and the opposing stairs down into the fog of Thailand, was what made its appearance so exciting. Following the path up, each gopura revealed itself out of the fog slowly as I drew closer to them. Each one was more impressive than the last, and exploring them with the fog really made it feel like a lost wonder. However, the rain only got stronger, and I was eventually forced to use my raincoat to explore the rest. Sadly, with the fog, there was absolutely no view of the surrounding landscape and especially over the cliff of the Dangrek Mountains towards the Cambodian plains; the greatest thing to see at the viewpoint was the macaques playing in the puddles. So, while helping to instill the mystical vibe, I do feel like the fog and rain also detracted from savoring the beautiful setting of the site. …

I visited the Stari Grad Plain early August 2023 as part of my Balkans summer tour. I stayed in Split (a WHS) for 6 nights and decided to add a day trip to the island of Hvar and its WHS Stari Grad Plain. Before visiting, I read the reviews on this site on this forum. Previous visitors found this WHS to be quite underwhelming. To be honest, my experience was quite positive and I was pleasantly surprised. 

From Split one can take a ferry operated by Jadrolinija. This ferry departs from the Marina, which is conveniently located very close to the city centre, the central bus and train station. Ferries go multiple times a day, especially in the summer season. For a visit to this WHS, it is important to take the ferry to Stari Grad, a very quaint and quiet village, instead of Hvar, the largest settlement on the island with the same name, which is more popular with tourists and which is where the clubs and resorts are located. 

The ferry takes about 1.5 to 2 hours. Travellers can board 45 minutes before departure, so there is no need to arrive 1 to 2 hours earlier as Jadrolinija suggests. I don’t know about travellers who bring their car, though. Perhaps it’s best for them to be at the marina at least 1.5 hours before departure. The ferry costs about 7 euros one-way, 14 for a return ticket, which is very reasonable. I took a ferry at …

In our extensive coverage of Struve sites, the Latvian locations so far have been underexposed. On my recent road trip across Latvia I used the quirky city of Jekabpils for an overnight stop – it is large enough to have amenities such as a decent hotel, ánd it has a Struve location in the city center.

The marker is located in a small park, renamed “Struve Park” in 1992 after it had been known as Pushkin Park during Soviet times. The ‘shrine’ looks well cared for. From the information panel (upper photo) we learn that this site was measured by Struve and his team in May-June 1826 and that the process to determine the correct astronomical point took 3 weeks.

Struve put a brick post here with an iron pole in the centre, and the surrounding area was fenced off. In 1931 a 42m high wooden tower was built above the Struve point, which subsequently was used by Latvian scientists and students. Both historic markers have since disappeared; nowadays there are three markers next to each other: the small obelisk with a copper WHS plaque that we also know from other locations, a granite stone dating from 1931 that was put on top of the damaged original one by a local science teacher, and an artist’s sculpture from 2008 symbolizing a triangulation tower.

And the Struve excitement wasn't over yet: on my way to a supermarket at the other end of Jekabpils city center, my eye fell …

The Korean nation has been unified by just three powers in its history, the Silla in Gyeongju, the Koryeo in Kaesong, and the Joseon in Seoul. For that, these are probably the three most historically rich and significant cities on the peninsula. The Joseon cultural heritage is the basis for four different WHSs in Seoul (with a fifth one in nearby Suwon), but Gyeongju's Silla heritage has been somewhat strangely divided into two sites. Sure, I guess Bulguksa and Seokguram, being located a fair way away from the main city, in Tohamsan, do make a good single site together, but I personally feel like Gyeongju would be better off with either a single all-encompassing site to truly capture the greatness of the Silla capital or three or more to actually highlight the different aspects of its heritage; for example, I feel that the OUV of Namsan and Tohamsan are much more similar than between Namsan and the Tumuli fields. Actually, I see Namsan not as inferior to Tohamsan in granite carvings, but as a single world wonder of Silla stonework, with Seokguram as its crown jewel, but being just as worthy of its prestige regardless of it. Thus, a combined site of Gyeongju's Silla heritage would probably get a 4.5 from me. Nevertheless, I've found the main Gyeongju site to be well worth the journey, and despite the crowds and the underwhelming response you may have if you don't know what to expect and/or only stick to the central touristic …

Buses leave from opposite Mercado Centenario in Iquique, cost 3.000 Pesos and take 1 hour to Humberstone. Beautiful to see they leave on certain times independant of the amount of passengers after having lost some hours of my life for waiting for trufis to be full in La Paz for going to Tiwuanaku. You get thrown out on the wrong side of the highway but there is a pedestrian bridge over the big street and after 10 minutes more there is the entrance to Humberstone where the tickets for both sites- Humberstone and Santa Laura- are obtained. Currently they cost 6.000 pesos p.P.. There are tours offered in Iquique for 35.000 pesos half day Humberstone & Santa Laura and full day Humberstone & Santa Laura and some desert oasises like Pica further away. I would definetely NOT recommand these, as they're much more expensive for transport, guide and some food and they tear the focus from this WHS away. 3 hours is NOT sufficient to see and digest the Humberstone and Santa Laura sites. We have spent 5,5 hours in Humberstone and 1 hour in Santa Laura and have rushed a little bit. You can easily spend the full day here from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. if you want to read through all the information which you will find mainly in Humberstone. Between the two sites it's a 25 minute walk on a signed pathway. You will have to walk back for cathing the bus to Iquique from the …

In June, during my trip through the Balkan, I was wandering around Belgrade, Serbia searching for an interesting souvenir. I happened to stumble across a book on the Stecci, published in 1982 and written in Serbo-Croatian (Title: Umetnost na tlu Jugoslavije; Stecci). As a WH traveller I of course immediately recognised the topic as being one of the (relatively close) WHS. Such an interesting find and I bought it without thinking twice; this was the souvenir I had been looking for. 

Early August 2023, I visited Mostar (a WHS) in Bosnia & Herzegovina. A review of my visit to Mostar is forthcoming. Of couse, I had added a visit to one of the Stecci sites to my (/our) itinerary. Basing my choice on the reviews on this website and some basic research on the internet, I decided that I should visit the Radimlja Necropolis, as this is by far the biggest and best preserved Stecci necropolis. Furthermore, it is relatively close to Mostar, which is on the usual itinerary of both regular and WH travellers to Bosnia & Herzegovina. 

I had done some research on how to visit Radimlja from Mostar by public transport, but this seemed nearly impossible (unless you take a bus to Stolac, a tentative WHS, and then take a taxi). I decided to just go to Mostar and see if I could arrange a tour with some company. Luckily, the host of our apartment in Mostar generously offered to take us to whatever place …

As the capital of the Chenla Empire, Ancient Ishanapura is one of the greatest and most influential ancient cities in Southeast Asia. Today, it, along with all of Cambodia's other ancient ruins, lie in the shadow of the great Angkor; however, I would argue these oldest sites of the Khmer, along with those in Burma, being the oldest in the region, are just as, if not more, important than the greatest Thai, Vietnamese, or Javanese ruins. They are the reason the heights of such sites as Angkor and Bagan could be reached, and nowhere is this more apparent than in Sambor Prei Kuk.

Though Sambor Prei Kuk has yet to find its way into the itineraries of the masses, I'm pleased to see how well it's been covered by the World Heritage Site community. While it is quite isolated in its location, it is strategically nearly equidistant from Siem Reap and Phnom Penh, making for a nice halfway point to break up the 6-hour drive. Thus, if you're in a group of 3-4 (or 5 if you're all on the petite side), you might want to consider taking a taxi between the two cities, inserting Sambor Prei Kuk while you're at it. This is just what we did in January 2023, also stopping at a market to eat tarantulas and grasshoppers, lunch on a lakeside, and the Khmer bridge at Kampong Kdei (also a must-see!).

While there are many more temples in the ancient city, tours will generally …

Evaporite karst and caves of Emilia Romagna Region: Messinian Gypsum of Bologna

It was rather difficult to grasp the OUV of this nomination, so I thought there was no better way to recognize it than taking a tour of one of the caves.

The Spipola Cave is one of the two main caves in the core zone of this section of the TWHS. After my two failed attempts to take the tour in June and September 2022, I finally managed to take it in the Sunday morning on May 28, 2023. It was the last day of my 18 days trip through the UK, France and Italy, and indeed I had a flight from Bologna back to Wroclaw, Poland, in that afternoon.

Here is more about how I made the reservation:

I started thinking about incorporating this tour into my trip itinerary only after I purchased the ticket for the flight out of Bologna. So I knew that I had only Sunday morning for the tour, and very fortunately the tour was offered only on Sunday mornings. In fact the tour to the Spipola Cave and the tour to the Farneto Cave were offered alternately on almost every weekend morning over the summer.

http://www.parks.it/parco.gessi.bolognesi/man_dettaglio.php?id=104212

https://enteparchi.bo.it/escursione-speleologica-nella-grotta-della-spipola/

When I sent an email to make a reservation, the first thing they said in the reply mail was "Let us see if we can find an English speaking tour guide for that Sunday morning." Within a few …

We know the Vikings mostly for their formidable sailing and discovery of new worlds, but these five fortresses show them as nation builders and Christianizers of the Danes. I choose Trelleborg for my visit and will describe getting there on public transport and the overall visitor experience as I found it in August 2023. Regarding the question of whether this is WH material, I did some desk research as well.

The Visit

Trelleborg can be easily done as a day trip from Copenhagen Airport. There are hourly direct trains to Slagelse (1h15) and additional connections when changing at Copenhagen Central Station. The train also makes a stop in Roskilde, so you could take in another WHS along the way. Instructions for getting to the site by bus from Slagelse station are complex and the rides are not too frequent (and not exist at all during school holidays). So you have to take a taxi to cover the final 6 km, or walk. The latter is doable (I walked both ways), but not very enjoyable as you mostly walk on the shoulder of a B-road with frequent traffic.

I arrived around 10.40 and found a fair number of cars already in the sizeable parking lot. It seems to be a popular destination for families on holiday, and there were foreign visitors from the Netherlands, Belgium and Italy. The summer entrance fee is 100 DKR, which converts to a fairly high 13,50 EUR. The income seems to mostly go …

Suddenly we were alone. The last of the tour buses charged back towards Athens. Looking down over the theatre and the standing columns of the great temple of Apollo I could not see a single other soul. The ever-present drone of the cicadas was our only company. So, on the one hand, after 2pm seemed a perfect time to be visiting Delphi without the crowds. However, I thought as I drained the last of my water bottle, after 2pm in July in the middle of a Mediterranean heatwave when half of Greece appeared to be on fire was also a monumentally stupid time to be visiting Delphi. And I didn’t need an oracle to tell me that!

The ancient world was liberally larded with oracles and soothsayers, whether it is the ill-fated Cassandra in Troy or the haruspices sacrificing animals on Rome's Palatine Hill. So what makes Delphi the example par excellence of an oracular site? I would say it’s a perfect mix of supply and demand. In terms of demand, Delphi has a cracking set of origin stories with Zeus discovering that this was the omphalos or navel / centre of the Greek world, Apollo slaying the monstrous Python and Heracles being ordered to complete his famous Labours by the pythian priestess. It was hence fully integrated to the mythological worldview of the Hellenic world. And because of this it was sought out by historical kings and rulers only increasing its fame. So this created the …

I've been to seven of these eight sites, and I've been to four of them (Mound City, Fort Ancient, Seip Mound and Newark Earthworks) more than once. They never cease to fill me with a sense of awe. They are immense and at the same time remarkably precise; the circular earthworks are almost perfectly round, while several of the earthworks have almost perfect astronomical alignments. I particularly like that the people who constructed the earthworks lived in tiny hamlets in a society that was, so far as anyone can tell, remarkably egalitarian. These sites are a sixteen hundred year old testimony to the skill, passion, knowledge and ability to cooperate of the Native Americans who made them. I'm glad that they have been nominated and I believe that they deserve to be inscribed.  

Travelling in Georgia you get used to checking the daily weather forecast. Georgia in summer is hot and humid from the Black Sea and has high mountains: All the ingredients you need for subtropical (= heavy) rains and heavy thunderstorms, specifically at the coast. In Batumi it rains roughly 2.100mm each year. This has created a unique subtropical landscape along the coast, breaking down into two types of location as the site's name suggests:

• Flat wetlands around Poti.
• Subtropical rainforests in the mountains north-east of Batumi. Funnily, while the Georgians made a huge effort to give each wetland a separate location, they grouped the two rainforest National Parks into one location; a bit misleading.

Of the two types, the mountainous rainforests are the true gem. Exiting the car in Mitrala National Park, we immediately felt the air soaked with water like in a greenhouse. We hiked to the waterfall and were impressed with the scenery.

The wetlands meanwhile are rather mundane and pale in comparison to e.g., the Everglades or the Danube Delta on the western shore of the Black Sea. Our initial plan had been to visit the day prior, but thunderstorms that day meant that no boat was going to the national park, so we came back the next day.

Getting There

Stanislaw has a nice rundown of all the components and their respective accessibility. Accessible for tourists are:

• Kolkheti National Park: Boat tours can be arranged …

Jizera Mountains, July 2023

Giant boulders dot the landscape of Jizerské Hory, the Isergebirge of lore, making for rather spectacular hiking across an impressive landscape located in northern Bohemia, close the Czech-Polish-German tripoint

I’ve spent the night in Hejnice, a small town well-connected by hourly trains to lively Liberec, the nearest transportation hub. Hejnice lives off tourism and maybe the odd pilgrim visiting the rather grand church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, with an old Franciscan monastery attached next to it. Sadly, the monks are long gone, but the monastery offers basic but absolutely acceptable accommodation in a peaceful setting, save maybe for the quarter-hourly ringing of the bells which I did not mind at all. In the old refectorium tasty local cuisine is being served. The hostel has a very useful free map of the area with all the trails, a blow up of the official 1:25000 map which is also sold in local bookstores and the main tourist office back in Liberec. The area around Hejnice is popular with local day trippers, mainly for cycling and hiking; hence expect plenty of visitors even early in the day.

Right behind the monastery the Jizera Mountains Beech Forest rises up dramatically into the sky. Shortly after dawn I took the main “red” trail which serpentines steeply and rather strenuously some 350 meters up to Ořešník viewpoint, rewarding you with great views of the forest-covered mountain landscape and the valleys down below. Ořešník is a very craggy mountain …