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I visited this tWHS in Spring 2022 on a sunny day. The royal tombs of Selca e Poshtme are currently in a pityful state of conservation and access to the site is quite complicated and out of the way as "Gradishta e Selcës së Poshtëme" on Google Maps (not to be mistaken with nearby "Gredishtë".

Huge road works were underway when I visited so I had to drive for a good 10 km on a dusty main road in-the-making full of pot holes then a further 10 km through a narrow meandering tractor road up and down the hills of Albania. Unless things improve in the meantime, I would certainly keep away in rainy conditions. Even in sunny conditions, the 5 royal tombs are visitable on a short overgrown loop. There are a few columns, decorated and rock hewn niches, stone sarcofagi and eroded capitals but pretty much nothing more. The few temporary protection offered over some of the 5 royal tombs has corroded and/or collapsed and information boards are non-existent and the little restoration made has been done clumsily at best.

A better overview of the site and what has been found there can be had at the upper floor of the National Archaeological Museum in Tirana. There you will be able to understand how the previous regime attached great importance to this site and any ancient sites for political reasons. Ever since, the royal tombs of Selca e Poshtme have long been forgotten and if truth …

"El Toro" is definitely worth a visit, even if you dislike rock art or carvings. The scenery in the area is quite something and even though it's hot you are rewarded with some unique rock art that is worth finding. There was a family with kids nearby and the children were super excited each time they found a new boulder with art on it. I have to admit that was the same with me. You get two choices for the hike. There is a small circle trip just adjacent to the entrance hut and it will take you maximum of thirty minutes to get around. The custodian made it clear that's for "kids" and the real thing is further up the hill. He said you start seeing some rock art in 20 minutes which is indeed the case. The walk up is a little frustrating as there isn't anything to see for a while and you get the feeling he's lying or inaccurate about the rock art coming up but once you start spotting it there is no end in sight.

Before getting into the rock carvings, this site is a bit way off the beaten track. There is no tourist bus that stops on the way and there is no real town closer enough to stay so your best bet without having your own car is to arrange transportation from Arequipa which is ~2h away mainly because town traffic is slow.

Once you get to see the …

Si Thep is about 250 kilometers (3.30h) northeast of Bangkok, and a bit tricky to reach with public transportation. From the Mochit BTS Northern Bus Terminal there are regular express buses to the province of Phetchabun, taking Highway 21 where I got off the bus shortly before the intersection in Si Thep village. After just a few minutes I made a deal with a Tuk-Tuk driver who spoke no English, but with the help of some photos, he understood what I was looking for. It was a leisurely 15 minutes drive. There is an entrance fee of 100 Baht for foreigners (about 3 USD) and that includes the ride in an electro train from the small museum at the entrance to the main site. You need about 40 minutes to have a look around. Khao Khlang Nai, the central stupa was a Buddhist monastery decorated with stucco figures (dwarfs and various animals), in the Dvaravati style of art of the 9th century. Prang Si Thep is the most impressive monument in Khmer style, built with brick stones. Smaller stupas have collapsed and only their platforms remain. The return trip to Bangkok was even more challenging. The long distance buses did not stop in Si Thep, and I had the take the Tuk-Tuk to the next bigger town, about 30km away, Chai Badan, where they have a bus stand, located at Sura Narai 14 Alley, with hourly departures to the capital. However, it turned out to be a slow minibus, taking …

I was fortunate to join ICOMOS international experts two weeks field trip to Cambodia and Thailand exploring pre-Angkorian and Dvaravati arts and this trip took me to Dvaravati Si Thep, an upcoming UNESCO nomination of Thailand. Si Thep is one of the four contemporary ancient kingdoms of mainland Southeast Asia mentioned by Xuanzang in his record to India, Sri Ksetra (Myanmar’s Pyu), Chenla (Cambodia’s Sambor Prei Kuk), Cham (My Son in Vietnam) and Dvaravati, so to fill the gap, no surprised why Thailand push this site to be listed as World Heritage Site.

The first thing I saw at Si Thep was the city moat, the layout of Si Thep is quite unique. Originally the city was built in round shape, in accordance with experts’ explanation, a typical style of Dvaravati cities, then there was an expansion with rectangular form in the east, so the city looks like a mushroom, or some expert said a big lingam! Then we saw small museum with some artifacts and historical explanation. After museum there were sightseeing cars directly took us to the main temples area. The main temple or Prang Si Thep, since it was built when Dvaravati Si Thep was a part of Khmer Empire, it was clearly like what I saw in Cambodia, it was nothing interesting or unique. Not far from Prang Si Thep is Khao Klang Nai Temple, this one is better as it was built as Dvaravati Mahayana Buddhist temple, the ruined stupa is almost like …

One of my favorite WHS! I think everyone should try to visit Cambodia and Angkor Wat during their lifetime. I think the country has done a beautiful job preserving this site, and I love that the guides are so accessible. You don't have to plan anything before arriving in Siem Reap. You can show up, find a guide, and learn about this area. Put this at the top of your bucket list!

I visited Berat and Gjirokastra in Spring 2022 staying a couple of nights in each. At the time of my visit both towns road infrastructures were undergoing major renovations which should be addressing the major problems related to sanitation and electricity systems of both towns in the near future. Apart from the dusty welcome, both towns were truly the highlight WHS in Albania and both complemented each other and were worthwhile visits.

Especially Berat is perhaps a bit comparable with Safranbolu, Turkey and Ohrid, North Macedonia with an excellent setting surrounded by mountains and hills, including the Tomorr national park on the east, and the river Osum. The 15th century historic centre of Berat can be divided in three: the Castle (Kala) quarter, the Mangalem quarter (with the Islamic centre known as "the City of a 1,000 windows") and the Gorica quarter. The latter lies opposite the Mangalem quarter and is reachable through the "modern" pedestrian bridge or the old seven-arched Gorica Bridge. Rather than for the Ottoman qualities of this WHS, the highlights of this quarter are the 19th century Church of Saint Spiridon and the 19th century Church of Saint Thomas and the remains of the fortifications of Gorica.

The Mangalem quarter is the heart of Berat with its very narrow streets and its four highlights are the former palace of the Pasha, the 14th century Church of Saint Michael, the Islamic Center and above all the 19th century Bachelors Mosque with its exterior and interior …

July 2022 - choosing the road via Switzerland was mainly due to visiting this magnificent Natural Wonder. There are two different approaches visiting this Site. Either from north via Grindelwald to experience the high Mountains Jungfrau, Eiger and Mönch, or coming from south to have a marvelous view at the Aletsch Glacier. We decided for the latter. We found a nice campground in Betten and still got the Aletschentdeckerpass (55CHF) which gives you unlimited rides in one day. Of you buy the Swiss Coupon Pass in advance you even get 2 for 1 and our children were included anyway.

Next morning we woke up early and took the train to Fiesch where we could directly take two cabelcars up to the Eggishorn. A few steps and you have a magnificent view at the upper part of the glacier. And the three significant peaks. The echoe of the wind whistling through the glacier Valley and the silence apart from this intensified the experience.

Back to Fiescheralp we hiked the few km to Bettmeralp which took is way longer than anticipated with our 3 year old daughter and especially on this outrageously hot day. The many cows we saw are probably also not When we finally arrived in Bettmeralp we were not only dehydrated but also badly sunburned. After some chocolate and rivella we took the next opportunity on top of the Bettmerhorn. From there there the views and character of the glacier were different again and especially the Matterhorn …

Site (or to be more precise: sites) visited recently, November 2022. Searching for future inscriptions in a country relatively new within UNESCO structures can bring such sites like Hejaz Railway. While preparing the trip I found that it could be easy to see some of the designated places on a way from Medina to Madâin Sâlih.

Visiting railway station in Medina was quite promising. The building was recently restored and converted to well-equipped and maintained museum. Part of exhibits are connected with railway and its history, most of others are about overall Saudi Arabia, all descriptions in Arabic and English. Very interesting as the museum provides basic information about history and context of constructing Hejaz Railway. Main problem starts if you want to visit station outside museum building. Unfortunately the area with other railway buildings and wagon (looking as open-air museum) was closed – probably open in the late afternoon (possibly from 5 p.m.). Unfortunately I was there around noon but luckily one of the doors were opened so I had a chance for a quick walk within station premises before being taken back to the museum.

Next stop was the first real railway station – at Makheet (outskirts of Medina) shown on Maps.me as mhtt mkhyt – qtar alhjaz. Located few hundred meters outside modern village it consist of the station itself (Mahattat Muhit) and a kind of fort / caravanserai . Both buildings are partly ruined, fenced with no access for visitors. No railways are preserved …

While Beijing is a great old city rich of cultural heritages, I find it hard to understand why the Central Axis can be nominated as a new World Heritage item.

The nomination contains these sites: Yongding Gate, Temple of Heaven, Temple of Agriculture, Tian'anmen Square complex, Imperial Ancestral Temple, Altar of the Land and Grain, the Forbidden City, Jingshan Hill, Bell Tower, Drum Tower, Nanluoguxiang, Yandai Bystreet historic area, and the Beihai water system.

The Forbidden City is already listed as World Heritage (Imperial Palaces); Temple of Heaven is also listed as an independent item; Beihai water system is part of The Grand Canal. We don’t need to give them another world heritage honor to emphasize their importance.

Imperial Ancestral Temple, Altar of the Land and Grain are royal temples connected to the Forbidden City, and similarly Jingshan Hill is also a royal garden connected to the Forbidden City. They all can be an extension of Imperial Palaces.

Temple of Agriculture is near by Temple of Heaven at the south, and they are for the same purpose basically: Praying to the Sky (Heaven, same word in Chinese) for good weather in order to have good harvest (Agriculture). Thus Temple of Agriculture is better to be an extension of Temple of Heaven.

The government demolished Beijing City Wall and only left behind a few gates. While Yongding Gate is great, does it still have sufficient OUV? At least Xi’an and Nanjing have the whole city walls …

I have visited Peninsula Valdés beginning of December 2022. I was staying in La Tosca Hostel in Puerto Madryn with my girlfriend and we decided to rent an (expensive) car for two days to visit the Península for two days. The car cost 56.000 ARS which was at this time about 80€ per day with the beneficial Westerm Union Blue Dollar rate to obtain Pesos. Petrol for 2 days would cost around 10.000 ARS for about 500-600 km that we drove. In the hostel we were able to take two other travellers with us for the first day so we could share the experience and cost with them which made it for this day slighly less expensive for us than a guided tour in addition to the fact that we do not like guided tours that much as we prefer to take our own speed. 

The drive onto the peninsula is already almost an hour from Puerto Madryn. You will pass by an entry point on which you need to pay the entry fee for the park. After another half an our of driving you will reach the info center which will give you information on flora and fauna of the peninsula. However the information e.g. on Orcas in the water is even within the info center contradictory. So we found it a bit tricky. There is also a viewpoint from which you can see over the landscape which looks pretty much like the rest of the region (many …

I visited Mtirala National Park, which is located in the mountainous hinterland of the Adjarian coast and is one of the wettest places in Georgia. It is characterized mainly by its rainforest with many endemic species.

I took a taxi from Batumi. The road from Chakvi to the national park is paved throughout, passes a campsite and the national park administration, and ends at a restaurant. From there, there is a short hiking trail (about 5 km). First you have to pass the restaurant on the right. There is a small cable car over the river, which costs a small fee. The path then leads first along the river, past the high ropes course and then goes through the forest uphill to a waterfall. Back down the mountain there is then a detour to a small idyllic lake. The path is slippery and I recommend proper shoes. With the hike you only enter the edge of the national park - if you want to go deeper, you can also do a two-day tour with an overnight stay at a hut.

The national park is an attraction for day trippers from Batumi. I arrived early and was therefore relatively alone, but on the way back I met whole tour groups. Also, just outside the national park, ziplines, quad tours and the like are offered to tourists. So if you want untouched nature, you have to hike deeper into the park. But for a first impression even the short hike …

July 2022 - we planed a four week trip to Switzerland Italy and France and startest early in the morning in Berlin, as it was supposed to be the hottest day of the year. Hence, already at 9:30 we were standing in front of the margravial Opera House, not to be missed with the Festspielhaus, where Richard Wagners Nibelungen is played each year.

We booked the next tour and could marvel at the beautiful Opera interior for about 30 minutes. You get shown a small Play, classical music is beeing played and the tour guide told us quite a lot of interesting facts about Wilhelmine von Preußen who came from Berlin and got this Opera as a wedding gift. As well as, that it is the oldest italian opera house still existing (at least north of the Alps).

Except our 3 months old son, we really enjoyed the visit. A good start for a huge trip with some WHSs to follow.

I was fortunate to join a two-week field trip with ICOMOS international experts to Cambodia and Thailand, exploring pre-Angkorian and Dvaravati arts. One of the highlights of this trip was Sambor Prei Kuk, a World Heritage Site of great significance in Southeast Asian art history. To understand its Outstanding Universal Value, we first visited Phnom Da and Angkor Borei, currently on the Tentative List, to observe how Southern Indian art and architecture influenced the region during the Funan Kingdom. After the Chenla Kingdom, also known as Ishanapura, annexed Funan and built Sambor Prei Kuk, one of the greatest moments in Southeast Asian art history unfolded when Southern Indian artistic traditions were transformed into a distinctive local style.

There are two major art styles at Sambor Prei Kuk, the Sambor Prei Kuk style and the Prei Kmeng style. I had never heard of the latter mentioned in the ICOMOS report, so I asked the experts. They explained that the nomination dossier intentionally omitted the middle and late phases of Sambor Prei Kuk’s art history to avoid extensive comparative studies. This is because Prei Kmeng art can be found in Angkor and other sites from similar periods. Interestingly, experts consider Prei Kmeng to represent the apogee of Sambor Prei Kuk’s artistic development. Due to the depth of our discussions, we only had time to visit four temples during our four and a half hour stay at the site. The first was the Prasat Sambor group. The main temple still preserves …

Olinda is your typical cute colonial town, as there are so many in Latin America. Colourful houses, cobblestone streets, adorned with too many churches (Baroque of course!) for its size. I stayed there for 3 nights right in the core zone at the Hotel 7 Colinas, a splurge as I am now halfway through my tour of Brazil. It has lush gardens, a swimming pool, and a decent restaurant.

The town was rebuilt by the Portuguese after the Dutch burned it to the ground in 1630, so most of what you see dates from the late 17th or 18th century. It seems to have no street plan at all: roads are steep, with uneven cobbled stones, and are scattered across the hills. And it is bloody hot!

Buildings here are protected by fences and dogs, a security feature that I only started to notice since arriving in Recife – the North of Brazil that I had experienced so far (from Manaus to Sao Luis and Fernando de Noronha) was very relaxed. A few sketchy people hang about in Olinda’s mostly empty streets (again: hot!), and hawkers will try to sell you a painting or a guided tour of the city. Several of the houses carry a sign that they are for rent during Carnival, a major festival here in Olinda.

I walked around for 2.5 hours in the early morning and I think I have seen most of it. Noteworthy buildings are the Sao Bento Church (1761), …

As we already know, these serial locations in Serbia will be inscribed one day as an extension of the WHS that Germany, Austria and Slovakia already share. Without any surprise, the archaeological remains are globally poor and underwhelming (in my opinion, only Hadrian Wall should have been inscribed as the best Roman limes in Europe ; not even to mention the inscription of the different types of limes under different WH properties). We happened to see some of these sites without actually looking for them while touring Serbia in summer 2022, and still they tell something of this distant past that is worth mentioning I believe.

Danube river was the border at that time. The “tabula trajana” is a rock carved text on the order of Emperor Trajan in one of the narrowest place of the valley (we are here in the “Iron gates”, or Djerdap national park, also a TWHS). Dated from 100 AD, it lists some of the official titles of Trajan and reminds that he order the maintenance of the roman road along the Danube, which, at that place, was half carved in the rock and half supported by wood structure, to make large enough. The tabula can only be seen from the water and we came close to it during a short boat trip, which prime purpose was to enjoy the “iron gates” landscape. You could maybe see it from the Romanian side as well : there are small boats operating similarly from there, but …

The first thing we encountered at Vezelay was the long queue at parking meter, foreigners seemed to have problem with it and locals seemed to be happy with the situation. I turned out to be a hero who successfully got the parking receipt and had to demonstrate the whole process for everyone to follow! Then we walked into the old town of Vezelay, the town, to be honest, nothing special, just a row of restaurants and souvenir shops, except that along the way I noticed metal shells attached on the street, the symbol of Route of Santiago de Compostela signified that the main road of Vezelay is part of the pilgrimage route and a World Heritage Site. The main road leads us to the sole highlight of Vezelay, the Basilica Sainte Marie Madeleine de Vezelay.

The recent restoration really made this ancient building looks amazingly clean and new, hard to believe its old age. I had no idea what Burgundian Romanesque style is but one thing for sure, this basilica is really special piece of art especially from all those statues and motif that adorned inside. The most stunning object probably the statues and details that adorned the main interior gate. I heard some American tourists mentioned that they came here because of Dan Brown’s Davinci Code, I don’t think there is a mention of Vezelay on such novel or film, but probably the story of Saint Mary Magdalene intrigues them enough to visit this place. While I …

We can expect to see Lençóis Maranhenses National Park (LMNP) on the WH List within the next few years: Brazil already submitted a complete dossier for it in 2020, but it had two that year and gave preference to the Sitio Roberto Burle Marx. The park essentially is a landscape of sand dunes, dotted with lakes that form due to rainfall. It’s not a desert and there is no permanent water source.

I visited it on a half-day sunset tour to Lagoa Bonita. Entrance here is only possible via a guided tour by 4x4, as the roads inside the park are sandy, and muddy, and go up and down. The 45-minute drive goes mostly through a forested area and I was surprised to see people also living and farming there.  

We were let out of the car near the climb to the sand dunes area. Here we first had to wade some 300 meters through mid-thigh deep water, before a short sandy climb awaited. All is done best on your bare feet: it actually felt wonderful!

The rest of the tour was actually free time to swim or explore the dunes. Two large lakes had formed where we entered (I believe they're called Lagoa da Prata), and I hiked a full lap around one of them. For some of it, I walked on the pristine sandy dune ridges, but I also got my feet wet in the cool water by following the coastline for a bit. The …

I revisited the park in November 2022, exclusively exploring the "Painted Desert" North Entrance area of the park (after allocating more time via the South Entrance in 2010). Hiking the easy, yet rewarding Painted Desert Rim Trail (1.2 miles) from Tawa Point to the Painted Desert Inn/Kachina Point is an essential experience during the magical hour before sunset. The Painted Desert Inn (built 1937-1940) just off the original alignment of Route 66 is a historic gem of Pueblo Revival Architecture, which includes designs from Mary Jane Colter (also known for her 'Parkitecture' properties at the Grand Canyon). The Painted Desert Inn is a National Historic Landmark. 

The Petrified Forest National Park has doubled in size since the early 2000's. Much of the expansion land was already being authorized even as the 2008 nomination was officially added to the US Tentative List (from 93,533 acres to 221,390 acres). The values of the park are perhaps more diverse than the originally proposed criteria (vii, viii). I would much prefer the nomination (when and if it comes to fruition) to seek inscription based on cultural and natural criteria. Here is the US ICOMOS World Heritage Celebration Video highlighting the OUV of Petrified Forest National Park. 

For travellers wishing to explore the parks wilderness areas, such as Devil's Playground (three permits are available each week on a first-come-first-serve basis at the Painted Desert Visitor Center only). Additionally, there are also plenty of longer hikes that offer rewarding experiences, such as the Onyx …

Porto-Novo is the capital of Benin, but all government and trade is in Cotonou. Porto-Novo is all about colonial heritage, both from the French Colonial Empire and Colonial Portugal. I recommend having your private driver drop you at the botanical gardens and make your way from there, passing all places of interest, and finish at the house of the Nine-head monster.

After exploring the Botanical Gardens first go to the central square with the statue of King Toffa I. Continue to the cathedral and make your way towards the old mosque. You’ll pass some other churches, markets, and colonial buildings. You can also visit the inside of the old mosque, but you need someone to open it. That’s why I highly recommend getting a local guide who can show you all and more places of interest. I saw more as I expected. From the old mosque it’s a short walk to the Nine Headed Monster house. Make sure your driver is there to pick you up, so you don’t need to walk back and thus save time. Have lunch in Porto-Novo at one of the local places.

I think the Colonial heritage has some UOV but it needs a lot of attention and preservation. Many buildings are falling apart and the cathedral also has had its best days. I think it's a good addition to Benins WHS list.

February 2022 - after a long drive from Chauvet we arrived late at night and parked our camper at a local tourist office. The next morning the Landscape was covered slighlty in snow. We drove to the valley station of Chaine de Puy and my daughter and me took the train on to the top. The volcanic snow-covered landscape was just gorgeous from up here. We could als spot the black Notre Dame du Port built from local volcanic stone. On top we still took the chance to get our hands into the snow. As it was colder than anticipated, took the trainride right down again.

The visit in winter is definitely special and to recommend. We continued our drive to Vichy after that.