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Visit December 2022 together with Philipp Peterer. On our way from Pattadakal to Hampi, we decided to check out this new tent site. So far no one in the community had been here. Not very popular among Indians either. We didn't meet a single person during our two-hour visit to site.

The first step was to figure out how to get there. Google maps is not to be trusted on this. On our third attempt and a little help from a local, we found our way through a narrow dirt road and rice fields. We parked the car at the end of the road, walked through a passageway underneath the train and voila! We found an information board and a map of the site! It requires some effort to get to the tombs. The hike up the hill was about 2 km and 45 minutes. A nice hike through very scenic karst-landscape. In about two third of the distance, we passed by a rock-art shelter. The path is rocky, but well-marked with painted green arrows. 

The site itself turned out to be amazing, a “village” of megalithic tombs setting in a magnificent landscape. We saw different kinds of tombs at two locations

Thumbs up for the OUV of the site, but an upgrade of the visitor infrastructure needs to be done before this site can be put forward for inscription. 

How to get there

Location for start of the hike is Hirebenekal Megalithic Moryar Gudda …

Put this one on your to-do list, as Banteay Chhmar may be nominated in the next few years by Cambodia. Serious restorations and improvements of the visiting conditions have taken place, especially since 2017. A lot of money and effort has been put into what is still a remote site not far from the border with Thailand. As with the other Cambodian sites, most of the work is being carried out by local workers and paid for by the Cambodian government. In the earlier stages of its rediscovery and preservation, both the World Monuments Fund and the Global Heritage Fund have been active here as well to mitigate the effects of structural instability and looting.

The Archeological complex of Banteay Chhmar is the focal point of the contemporary town that bears the same name. The ancient site is encircled by a wide moat, still filled with water. The modern town is much smaller and feels like a temporary set-up at its fringes.

My visit to Banteay Chhmar was organized by the local Community-Based Tourism (CBT) group. I stayed overnight in one of their homestays (in a fine room on the second floor of a traditional wooden building) and had lunch and dinner at their CBT clubhouse. A local guide showed me around the archaeological complex. And one of their drivers brought me to the border with Thailand at Poipet the next day. When tourism picks up, the question is how long this CBT structure will continue to exist: …

I visited this WHS in 2022 visiting en route the uninscribed Zica monastery. The latter monastery is red no more, at least at the time of visit, but it still looks good without paint both outside and inside. Likewise, Studenica Monastery's red painted dome had its paint removed, but this seemed quite temporary as I noticed a number of buckets of red paint on the side.

The Studenica Monastery was built between 1186 and 1196 in a once desolate region, on the fertile slopes of the Radocelo mountain. Its founder, Grand Prince Stefan Nemanja, could be compared to Noah from the Old Testament, because with Studenica Nemanja created also the ship of salvation by which he brought his people to the Lord, as glorified in the hymns of praise echoing inside the monastery. Stefan Nemanja abdicated in 1196, took the monastic vows and a new name, Simeon. He is represented really well on the south wall of the church, as a monk with the Studenica church in his hand, a recurring theme I had also noted at the Zica Monastery and at the Gracanica Monastery in Kosovo. The crown on Stefan Nemanja's head reminds believers that he left the earthly treasures of fame, power and wealth, for the skae of a modest monastic life and in that way he became an unrivaled model for his descendants.

Stefan Nemanja built the gorgeous church of Studenica remembering his former imprisonment in Constantinople, and dedicated it to the Virgin Benefactress. Excellent …

I visited this WHS in 2022. This WHS is made up of four completely different locations and sites, and is one of those WHS which turned out to be a sort of mini treasure hunt to complete, reminding mostly of the Val de Boi churches in Catalunya or the Romanesque churches of Andorra, probably because of the Sopocani Monastery which stands out from all the other locations.

I must say I enjoyed my visit overall but I didn't have high expectations. I based myself at the comfortable and cheap RAS Pazatiste also mentioned in Philipp's review, away from the hustle and bustle of Novi Pazar. Just opposite the parking lot there are a few foundation remains and graffiti of what was once the Ras Medieval Town and Market Place. If it weren't for the brown sign just opposite the hotel's parking lot I wouldn't have even noticed. Near the wooden bridge entrance of the hotel, there is a UNESCO information board showing the tiny steep uphill trail to the Gradina Fortress wall remains on an outcrop high above the hotel. The trail begins from just next to the children's playground. Don't get startled as I did; there are a couple of stray dogs that made this trail their home. There isn't much to see if truth be told, not even a decent view. It is definitely the weakest location of the four.

Around 5 km away from the hotel, there's Sopocani Monastery, the highlight of this WHS (together …

I visited both components of the site in December 2022 while on a layover in Panama City. I will agree with the previous reviewers that Casco Viejo (or Casco Antiguo - both names apparently can be used) is not exactly exceptional in the absolute sense, and probably lacking in OUV, but being a visual person, I liked it more than I liked the Panama Viejo archaeological component. On the negative side, some streets remain clogged with cars and a non-trivial percentage of buildings is in a less-than-perfect state. On the positive side, fine details abound, and the overall ensemble of architectural styles is pleasing to the eye. That is in no small part due to the various balconies that adorn upper floors - Casco Viejo is sometimes rightly called "the city of a thousand balconies".

And the occasional juxtaposition of ruins or otherwise abandoned buildings with well-maintained colonial houses actually adds a measure of interest. You can see that at Iglesia de la Compañía de Jesús, at Arco Chato, and throughout the neighborhood.

As befits a predominantly-Catholic country, churches are the most impressive sights. La Merced, with its timber roof, thin support columns, and exuberance chapels is one. Saint Joseph is home to the incredible Baroque Golden Altar and no less incredible Nativity Scene in its treasury, the most elaborate I've ever seen. The Metropolitan Cathedral is as close to an architectural standout as anything else, with its gleaming-white towers flanking the weathered-stone faςade; its colorful marble altar …

The inclusion of the Transatlantic Cable Ensemble: Valentia-Heart’s Content in Ireland’s updated Tentative List brings a bit more spice for WH travellers to this corner of Ireland, County Kerry. It gives you something to do while waiting for a boat to Skellig Michael. I have been there twice, both for that reason. Valentia Island lies a 2.5h drive from Cork Airport on roads where you always have to be on guard – they are busy and narrow, and there always is some goat fair going on at Killarney or Killorglin; I hated the drive both times.

During my first visit in 2019, there still was very little information about which spots on Valentia the TWHS would cover. The cable station was the best bet, but it wasn’t accessible then as it was in private use and I had to make do with a couple of small memorials across the street. One is a slab of stone displaying the text of a telegram sent via the cable during WWI, another is a black-and-white pole (symbolizing a cable?), and the third is a commemorative stone bollard (its partner stands 3,071 km away at the other end of the ocean).

In June 2022, I visited Newfoundland as part of my East Canada road trip. It would have been an excellent chance to see the other end of the cable: Heart’s Content, a possible 11th WHS in the East Canada “cluster”, and the 4th WHS in Newfoundland. But it takes quite a detour from …

This is a new site and has very few visitors from our community so far. Dholavira is an old Harappan city dating back to 3000 years BC, so we didn’t expect to see much. But we were surprised!

We, that includes Svein and Phillip, were first on site this December morning and we even had to open the gate. The first structure was a very large reservoir in front of the castle’s eastern gate, impressive! It seems like the ancient civilization living here did very well in mastering the water. 

The settlement was at the beginning a small, fortified village, and was at its heights around 2600 BC. The city has a long history of rise and fall over 1500 years. Then it was abandoned and never occupied thereafter. They built monumental structures and amazing water management and storage systems. 

The site consisted of four distinct areas, the Castle complex, Bailey, the Stadium area, and the Middle and Lower town. There are some fine examples of gates (the north and east) to the castle area. The most interesting places was signposted, but they still have some work to do! We nearly missed the Middle town and had to go back to find it, after having studied the map at the museum. This small museum was at the gate, and it had some artifacts, pictures and information leaflets. It was closed when we arrived, apparently opened at 9:00.

We spend almost three hours at the site, the …

Visit December 2022 – I planned this visit together with Randi and Svein. As Randi described the site very well in her review, I will focus on the logistics.

How to get there

We arrived in Ahmadabad with an early morning flight from BOM. Svein hat prebooked a rental car with Europcar that should have been brought to us at the arrival. As nothing really works as planned in India, we finally took off with a car with driver and around 2.5h delay. The driver took us via Modhera TWHS and Rani Ki Vav WHS to Dholavira. It’s a more than 6h drive from Rani Ki Vav. After spending the night in Dholavira, we visited the site in the morning (around 8am to 11am) and spent the rest of the day driving back to Ahmadabad. The drive takes over 8h, plus lunch and coffee breaks.

Where to stay

We stayed at the Hotel Rann of Kutch. Location is great. Around 10min walk from the entrance. Look for Dholavira Tourism Resort when you arrive. As a room we had our own traditional hut with 3 beds. The room was very basic, had no Wifi and only accepted cash. Booking was a hassle, as they demand a bank transfer to secure the booking. We did not do that (transaction fees would be too high) and the first booking got cancelled. The room was completely overpriced. But there are few other options so close to the site. Bring enough …

Auschwitz is certainly special and there's been much reviewed about it already that I might not feel I can add much "new". When I visited in 2016 there were guided tours only and when I arrived late I was allowed to enter on my own in order to find the group. Naturally that was quite hard because listening to the audio doesn't indicate where the group is suddenly located and only the quality will give you an idea how close you are. I eventually found the group and the reason I mention this is because I wonder if I want to have the group. Sure, you see everything and get lots of info, and most of it is important but I also found it very depressing to listen to the guide. One of the people in the group then asked out of the blue: "how can you do this kind of tour every day?" and "aren't you too sad to be here all the time?" She gave a good response but it made me think.

If I were here without a guide it would still be depressing as hell but it would just give me an overall "oh these were shoes from the workers" idea. I think I don't need the deeper sadness attached with the private stories the guide can relay to us visitors. I know what the site stands for and I didn't come here to get the satisfaction to know it better.

So another issue …

Visited first week of January 2023. 

Before arranging this visit, I consulted a number of tour operators, checked blogs, travel tips to figure out how to arrive at the "supposed" core/heritage zone of the property. I managed to reach Omorate, the southernmost point (of my trip) in the area, where I visited Dassanech village and attempted to walk further west, hoping to at least get a glimpse of those mysterious land formations. 

Did I manage to visit the property? 50/50 - perhaps in the future, a more definitive map defining core & buffer zones will decide whether I (and many other travelers) did manage to tick off the site. Did I have fun visiting the area? Very much so. The visit to the villages (Karo, Morsi, Hamer and Konso) is the highlight of travel to Ethiopia's southern region. 

The fact that 'living root bridges' in Meghalaya state haven't made it to UNESCO list yet, and that Indian government only put them as candidate last year, is surprising. The main criteria - outstanding universal value - is obvious from the moment we see these unique structures. They're created by slow - taking several dozen years - shaping of growing tree roots by Khasi and Jaintia tribes in Northwest India. Once mature, they can serve the pedestrians for ages - holding up to 50 people, with such wonders as 'double decker' and double-lane bridges. They blend into surrounding jungle, resulting in a mood that we'd rather expect from a fairy tale scenography. Haven't seen anything similar in other parts if the world and I doubt it can be matched for uniqueness by other 'living' structures (although I appreciate that shaping a bonsai tree also takes hundreds of years :) ).

The logistics there is a bit inconvenient as the 'seven sisters' states in North-Eastern India are off the beaten track - but nothing too complicated: we flew from Delhi to Gujarati, took local transport to Shillong and arranged a private car with driver to take us to the place. Just please remember that the surrounding area is called 'valley of 10,000 stairs' and the name comes for a reason! We visited in 2011, so the practicalities may have changed - although the entire region seemed to be running at pretty slow pace, so I doubt they're much different today. …

In December 2022, my brother and I went south of Tunis to visit Zaghouan, along with Uthina and Zriba Olya, an abandoned Berber mountain village. On the way to Zaghouan town, one could stop by and visit portions of the aqueduct.

The property has OUV potential, given its claim to be one of the longest aqueducts ever built in the Roman empire - 132km from the Zaghouan sacred spring and temple (pictured here) to Carthage, using the natural contours and topography of the landscape. The properties however need significant restoration.

I have visited 11 (Paris, Amiens, Mont Saint-Michel, Vézelay, Asquins, Clermont-Ferrand, Poitiers, Bourges, Toulouse-2, Gavarnie) out of the 78 components, but here I will talk about just one of them, Hôtel-Dieu Saint-Jacques in Toulouse, as it has not been much talked about previously.

If you are in Toulouse, you would want to visit both the two components, right? I was in Toulouse in summer 2022 and visited Basilique Saint-Sernin but failed to visit this hospital. So when I found myself again in Toulouse in winter 2022, I made sure to visit it.

I tried to find the best way to see this place and did some research. The building, still used today as the administrations for the Toulouse Hospitals and Toulouse University Hospital, has a website where they mention its WH status, even with a virtual tour of the three historical rooms.

Hôtel-Dieu Saint-Jacques

But it does not say how we can actually see them in reality. 

So the first thing I did in Toulouse was to visit the tourist info office behind Le Capitole / City Hall and to enquire how. They said that it was a working hospital and not normally a place for tourists to visit, but only once a year, on the World Heritage Day in September, they opened it up for the public.

OK, well, I'd still go there to see the hospital from outside anyway and to take photos.

I walked around the courtyard (top photo) with …

Srirangapatna is a medium-sized town (c150k population in 2011) situated around 30 minutes north of Mysore by road and is eminently suitable for an afternoon excursion from that city – which is what we did way back in 2004. It didn’t get added to India’s T List until 2014 and we were certainly NOT betting on even the possibility of a UNESCO future! No, we visited because of its significant role in the history of British imperial expansion in India…….. “The Battle of Seringapatam, 1799”

Now that event is not of course the reason for its addition to India’s T List. The UNESCO description finds plenty to say about the history of this 7.2sq km island in the River Cauvery before it even reaches the period of the battle. The Cauvery is another of India’s “Holy Rivers” and, among others along its banks, Sriringapatna (“SRP”) is a significant Hindu pilgrimage site with its Ranganthaswamy Temple dating back to the 9th C. The fort, located in a highly defendable location surrounded by the river on 3 sides, was first built in the late 15th C by the Hindu Vijayanagara Empire (they of Hampi!) to consolidate its defenses against the Muslim Deccan Sultanates further North (Whose own “Monuments and Forts” are also on the T List!). The decline of that Empire (including the destruction of Hampi by the Sultanates in 1565) allowed the feudal family of the area to take over in 1610 and they made SRP …

I visited this WHS in 2022 as the first Serbian WHS en route from Pecs, Hungary. Upon arrival I chose to buy the combined ticket including an entrance to the national museum in Zajecar, since I had my hotel there for the night. Like Diocletian's Palace in Split, the palace was designed to be a representative imperial residence, and the fortification perimeter nowadays reminded me quite a lot of the Bashtava Fortress in Albania or the high walls of Villa Adriana in Tivoli, Italy.

In total, within the palace walls, there are the partially reconstructed remains of 20 circular towers and two gates, thermal baths, a number of temples with mosaic floors (only a couple visible in situ as like in Albania, the bigger ones are covered with gravel and sand, while the best ones are in the local museum (worth visiting as a value added addition to your visit)), and the remains of Christian basilicas. As such, Romuliana could be viewed as a royal palace, a church property, an early Byzantine settlement and a Medieval settlement. Entrance and exit to the site proper are through the Western Gate. Near both the Western and Eastern Gates, one can find the UNESCO WHS inscription plaques. Just behind and above the Eastern Gate, one can see the two mounds on Magura hill (with the foundations of two mausolea behind them), marking the place where Emperor Galerius and his mother Romula were buried and where the apotheosis ritual was done.

The …

One of the top sites in China. So popular with photographers, a new hobby that grew with wealth building up in the country that you will have a hard time finding a good spot at the photography spots in the morning. Also many girls in China like to call themselves "哈尼" as a nickname because Hani sounds like "Honey" and they think they are cute then - and no, I didn't do that ;)

I think the main reason this is not visited by more people in general is that the effort it takes can be quite big. You need to get a coach from Kunming to the nearby towns (very luxurious) and then onwards with small vans to where you are staying. The protected area has a ticket and with the ticket you get a one-time visit to the photography spot. If you were smart and got a good guesthouse in one of the villages you get free views anytime of the day which was actually better in my case because as you can see the sunrise photo was cloudy. The only downside is that you don't have the same panoramic heights. The aforementioned photographers would still stay at these spot for hours for the chance to get a good shot. After 90 minutes in the cold (I went in December maybe not a good idea lol) I went back to my resort for a hot shower and then just walked around the rice fields itself. The latter …

It's more of a "City with some walls" and it's rightly on the endanger list because urban development has made it seem like there are just remains and ruins in-between a modern city. It's not horrible in any way but I wouldn't call it a marvel of culture to be placed on the world heritage list.

Anyone coming to Azerbaijan is probably gonna set foot in Baku. It's the gateway to the country and the only thing you could avoid is the city center. The airport is a bit out of town and after you drive and marvel at the modern skyscrapers that reminded me off Dubai, built by gas money for sure, you can set foot in a sort of old town. There aren't many special things to see. The tower as seen twice in my pics is probably the biggest thing. Trotting around will take less than an hour and you will feel "oh it's another brick wall" here and there - nothing major. You find street peddlers, shops, food bazaars and it's all pretty enjoyable. As I said it's nothing bad and a stopover in Baku is easy and probably on the average Joe/Jane's itinerary anyway so just don't expect too much.

p.s. not sure how it is these days but as you can see from my pic I visited in 2017 and Google Maps didn't allow navigation so be prepared for alternatives if you want a drive app running (Waze probably works better).

Sambor Prei Kuk means "Many Temples in the Forest". And that precisely is what it is!

I spent 1.5 hours at the site, accompanied by a local guide, her dog, and my tuk-tuk driver from Kampong Thom who before had never been beyond the parking lot. The guides work for the area’s Community-Based Tourism organization, which also offers homestays and other activities (similar to those available at Banteay Chhmar). I found it worth it to hire a guide this time: the site is not really self-explaining and there are just a few boards with information. I also enjoyed hearing her take on tourism in this region and life in general in Cambodia’s countryside. The cost is 10 USD, in addition to the 10 USD entrance fee.

All temples here are Hindu and were specifically built for the worship of Shiva. The most common feature is the presence of the yoni. Unfortunately, a lot of the original interior statues have been looted or brought to museums in Phnom Penh and France.

The temples show some unique characteristics, as already pointed out by earlier reviewers. The octagonal shape of several of them for example, for which no Indian precedent is known. And the presence of 'Flying Palaces': carvings on the outer walls of the temples, which look like windows with deities or royal figures peering outside. 

Rainwater reservoirs, which supplied the temples with water for their moats and for agricultural irrigation, can be seen as well. …

July 2022 - Just after crossing the Simplonpass we entered Italy. As we had missed the Sacre Monti around the Lago di Como the last time we had it on our itinerary this time. Domodossola was pretty much the first town in the road coming from Switzerland. The Calvario depicts different steps in the life of Jesus, carved in wooden sculptures in different chapels. We were not the only people. But the place was quite abandoned and we had early Lunch on the lawn with takeaways from the local supermarket. Some of the chapels are in bad shape, but the sculptures are made with attention to many details. 

The next day we visited the Sacre Monte dOrta. This time following the steps of Franz of Assisi. The views at the Lago dOrta are wonderful and the carvings are significantly nicer. 2/9 is not a lot but I believe we have seen enough to get an idea of italian clerical Renaissance carvings in Northern Italy.

For this leg of the trip, Ivan and I met up with Thomas and his wife Vanessa who were also travelling around Saudi, testing out their public means of transport. We met up in Abha and spent three days travelling together. Our first outing was the Rijal Almaa Heritage Village located about an hour of a scenic route uphill from Abha. The road is alright, unlike the madness that is the mountain segment of the road from Jeddah to Abha, where I genuinely feared for my life for some really crazy overtaking.

Rijal Alma Village is a peculiar village with rich history spanning over 900 years - at one time or another, the local inhabitants helped to protect Medina and to fight off Ottoman invasions. It consists of about 60 multiple-storey houses made of local stone, clay, and wood, with additional watchtowers built on the surrounding hillside. 

The route to the village is signposted well from the main road, there are a few parking spaces on the street next to the large courtyard, but no dedicated parking from what I could remember (spaces available on the street where the entrance is). Entering through the large circular square, we passed along the large sign with the name of the village, then up the stairs towards the entrance. The entry is 20 riyals (5 euros) per person and it includes entry to the museum located on the other side of the village. The streets along the village vary, some are …