All our reviews

This is a weird, though fairly interesting? Proposal. It's been quite a long time since I was in Sigüenza, plus this is supposed to be a cultural landscape and I've only been to one town, but seeing that there's no reviews and that It's pretty remote i'll add mine.

So...for those Who don't know Sigüenza IS a classic touristic medieval town in Spain. Wonderfully preserved with some interesting monuments. I especifically recall a mudejar House which I found somewhat remarkable and the Cathedral which is quite good.

The reasoning for the inscription seems to point in the direction of "filling a void". You see, there's a lot of WHS which can be describes as: central European medieval town along Major river. The state argues that this is different because the Rivers are minor and the "small medieval town along a small River valley" is not well represented in the list. Take that as you Will 🤷‍♂️

Overall I was very surprised when this site was proposed. It had never ocurred to me, but noticing the increadible ability of Spain (along Italy and Germany) to get very dubious sites into the list, i wouldn't be too surprised if this ends up inscribed. Mostly because Sigüenza is charming, well preserved, sufficiently different to make a point and, with a heavy dossier, It seems to actually bring a couple things to the table. Nevertheless i didn't grasp any OUV when I went.

For those Who want to see the …

I visited Bridgetown (August 8th) and its Garrison (August 6th) during my 5-week trip to the Caribbean island of Barbados. If you’re wondering why I chose to spend 5 weeks on this small island: My girlfriend is from Barbados and after the pandemic this was (after 2 failed attempts) the first opportunity for us to travel to Barbados together. 

In previous reviews, Bridgetown and its Garrison were not exactly positively evaluated by fellow World Heritage travellers. I would like to add some nuance, as I think that this site deserves a bit more. According to criterion ii, “Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison had a pivotal role in the development of the English colonies in the Atlantic World”. In fact, Bridgetown served as the main British base in the Eastern Caribbean, both militarily and in trade. It served as a link between the British isles and the other Caribbean island colonies. Sadly, not that much is left from this period. The UNESCO page states that “it has remained essentially unchanged for 200 years, and provides an outstanding glimpse into a pivotal period of British imperial rule and culture.” The first part of this statement is not very true, the last part, however, is. 

I must admit that it does require a certain understanding of its role in British colonial history to enjoy a visit to Bridgetown.

My highlights of this site: 

• The Parliament Buildings, which can be visited on a short tour for only 10 BBD …

Even though I had been to all WHSs and TWHSs in Germany, upon learning that Germany was offering a 9-Euro, monthly train pass in summer 2022, I decided to take advantage of it and to visit the north-east corner of the country, where I had hardly travelled before, for about 10 days. As such, the final destination for this trip was the Jasmund National Park, which includes the Primeval Beech Forests WHS.

I took a bus from the Sassnitz Busbahnhof straight to Königsstuhl National Park Centre.

At the NP Center I first checked out the multimedia exhibition with an automatic audio guide, which, as you might expect, did not work very well. On the other hand, the 20 min. movie playing continuously titled "Migration of Ancient Beech Forest," produced around the time of its inscription in 2011, was quite good and informative, I thought.

In the early afternoon there were 2 walking tours of the NP, one for families with children and the other for the little more serious-minded. So I decided to join the latter. It turned out that I was the only participant, and the guide, a park ranger, did not speak much of English. My German is certainly not good enough. So what do we do? Consequently, because the first tour had 2 guides, both of whom spoke decent English, one of them decided to join my tour because this woman, not from the UNESCO office but from the German office that takes care …

I honestly expected quite a bit of this site. Afterall these monasteries are widely regarded as some of the best orthodox works. I really hoped I wouldn't find some minor remains or worse yet repainted frescos.

I was very pleasantly surprised. These monasteries rank among the most beautifull I've ever seen. They are surprisingly monumental, with high ceilings; and they're covered in magnificent frescos. The structure IS also quite particular, with high square columns used as canvases. If I had to note a downside is that they feel somewhat like a testament to the past and not part of a living tradition. The churches are somewhat cold, with no incense and no candles. 

Now onto the specifics. I was Lucky to visit all 4 locations of the site, though I could not enter the churches in Prizren. Here's my overview of them:

Gračanica: It's sits just un the outskirts if Pristina. you'll know you're arriving when you start seeing serbian flags. I didn't check, but It very much looked like there was an important serbian community centered around the monastery. Here we encountered one of the most shocking side about visiting this site. All these churches are walled with barbed wire. In 2014 hundreds of monasteries, including some in this site, were burned. Since then they're all protected, mainly by the KFOR. Gračanica turned out to be a beautifull Monastery.

Prizren: as notes I did not visit the interior of Prizren's churches (which were burned). The …

[visited in April 2022]

Based in the town of San Agustín, it is quite easy to reach the three sites indicated as WHS. A two-day ticket for the entire archaeological area is on sale and can be purchased at the Museum located at the entrance to the San Agustin Archaeological Park, which can be reached on foot from the town along an asphalted road.This is undoubtedly the largest and most interesting site of the three and worth a day's visit.

The next morning I visited the other two sites: Alto De Las Piedras and Alto de los Ídolos, they are in Isnos and a ride by car is required to reach them. Less extensive than the main park of the previous day, especially the first, but in my opinion they are both worth a visit and you can do it in half a day.

In the afternoon I visited other sites around the town of San Agustín which, although excluded from UNESCO heritage sites, absolutely deserve attention: in particular La Chaquira, La Pelota and the nearby El Purutal (the last two for a fee because not included in the official ticket ). Very pleasant visit, I recommend to do it on horseback, it is an itinerary of 4/5 hours in total.

The level of care and maintenance of the entire archaeological area is truly commendable: really excellent!

[visited in April 2022]

Based in the town of San Andrés de Pisimbalá, it is quite easy to reach all the sites indicated as WHS. A two-day ticket for the entire archaeological area is on sale and can be purchased at the Museum located at the entrance to the Parque Arqueológico Nacional de Tierradentro, which can be reached on foot starting from the town along an unpaved road downhill.

The park and the indicated sites describe a circle at the highest point of which there is the town, at the lowest instead the museum.Therefore, the ideal is to have two days:- in the first visit the Alto de Segovia, Alto del Duende and El Tablon starting from the Museum and arriving in the town of San Andrés de Pisimbalá- in the second Alto de San Andres and Alto del Aguacate starting from the town and arriving at the museum (I walked it in reverse order but the climb from the museum to Alto del Aguacate is quite challenging especially if you find yourself in the middle of a sudden downpour, and it's not uncommon)

Of the area, Alto de Segovia is certainly the best preserved one, with the best and most illuminated tombs. Alto del Aguacate the most impressive, in my opinion.

In addition to the beautiful archaeological area, I would like to point out the beautiful landscapes with truly remarkable flora.

In my experience, even after having covered the WHS of a continent well, there are always those annoying little islands left at the fringes to ‘tick’. In Europe for example, I am missing St. Kilda, the Vega Islands, even Risco Caido on Gran Canaria! Skellig Michael as well has been a nagging thorn in my side for years, after missing out due to bad weather at my first try in 2019. On August 12 2022, my second attempt was successful.

I booked just 3 weeks before, as I surprisingly found open spots for landing tours available in August. Friday August 12 was forecasted as sunny with winds between 5 and 7 km/h in the morning (I believe anything below 20 km/h is low). I was on the 8.30 departure of the Jerdemar, booked via Skellig Michael Cruises. The boat, just large enough to fit the 12 passengers, has an overhead covering which was a blessing on this sunny day. The boat ride was uneventful and nobody got nauseous or wet.

The first bit of excitement came when we arrived at Little Skellig: this island is just littered with gannets. We observed them for a while from the boat, and we discovered a seal at its coast as well. The bigger Skellig next door, Skellig Michael, looks green in comparison. We started our visit there with a slow circumnavigation of the island. The skipper pointed out the various boat landings and stairwells that are not used anymore. Also, the …

I had previously visited the Verona WHS, and the below is only about my experience at one of its components, Arena di Verona, in summer 2022. 

It just sounded fun for me to attend the annual Arena di Verona opera festival and to watch its signature production of Aida composed by Verdi and directed by Franco Zeffirelli. So I bought a ticket for summer 2020. The festival was cancelled due to covid, and the full production of Aida was finally mounted again this summer in 2022. With my ticket I was able to just change the date of attendance from 2020 to 2022. 

I chose a seat fairly far from the stage not just because the ticket was cheaper, but also because I wanted a good view to observe this large production.

Now straight to the point. It was not a very good experience. What was the problem? First and foremost the problem was the sound. I should have known better. Roman amphitheaters (amphi- means circular) were not designed for performing arts. You know what they were designed for. For performing arts, the Greeks created Greek theaters, the Romans actually succeeded them and even built one right here in Verona, that is Teatro Romano. And there is even an opera festival at Teatro Romano going on concurrently!

No matter how many singers they brought on stage, which numbered several hundreds at times, it did not sound right. Then you can imagine what arias sounded like... I …

With the possible upcoming nomination of Niah Caves by Malaysia in 2024 (having only been added to Malaysia’s T List in Jan 2021) it seems worthwhile posting its first review – even if it relates to a visit way back in April 1997!!. To set the scene it might be worth explaining why we visited the site at all during our journey from Kuching across Borneo to Mt Kinabalu, since the visit was self evidently NOT because it was on the UNESCO T List!! As a National Park with caves and “natural sights” it was, and still is, very much “second class” behind Gunung Mulu but we were pushed for time and, to some extent, money. So that wasn’t on for us and Niah was easily accessible just off the road between Kuching and Miri. It also had a particular archaeological “claim to fame” for discoveries of late Pleistocene human remains made there in the 1950s. In this respect its star has possibly somewhat waned since those days with reinterpretation of the findings and the making of many more archaeological finds across SE Asia. Its other significant aspects for us were its use by locals for harvesting the nests used to make “Birds Nest soup”, for bat guano collection and for the evening flights of Swiftlets back to the cave and Bats going out.

The 1958 discovery in the Great Cave at Niah of what came to be titled “Deep Skull”, a c40k year old Homo Sapiens cranium …

I know much has been written about Christiansfeld already, but I don't yet see a review from the perspective of one who has visited a component of the proposed extension to the World Heritage Site before visiting Denmark. In the spring of 2021 I took a road trip to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, to learn more about the Moravian Church Settlements Tentative World Heritage Site extension to Christiansfeld. I came away from the trip with a much richer understanding of the role of the Moravian Church in early America, and the innovations they brought to the young country. The trip gave me high hopes for my visit to Christiansfeld when I traveled to Denmark last month, but unfortunately I left disappointed.

The most striking difference for me between Bethlehem and Christiansfeld was the lack of signage and information about the Moravian Church in Christiansfeld. Some of that can be attributed to the lack of an official tour at Christiansfeld, something I was able to arrange in Bethlehem. Perhaps because of that, but also because of the signs and onsite personnel, I gained a much better understanding about the history and impact of the Moravian Church, with its focus on mission and community and hard work, at Bethlehem than I did at Christiansfeld. Christiansfeld was built later than Bethlehem, but has many of the same components -- the simple and central church, the choir houses for men and women, God's Acre (the cemetery), the school for girls that was a novelty for …

ESMA, the ESpacio MemoriA y Derechos Humanos (Human Rights and Memorial Space), belongs to a difficult category of Site. Like Auschwitz, Hiroshima, and the proposed sites of genocide memorial in Rwanda and WW1 memorials in Belgium/France, ESMA is dedicated to preserving the memory of a significant 20th century crime.

Located on the campus of the Naval Warfare School in leafy northern Buenos Aires, the main part of the museum is in the former Officer's Quarters, an imposing four-storey edifice in one corner of the campus. It's here that during the military dictatorship of 1976-1983, both political prisoners and innocent civilians were taken, tortured, beaten, confined to miniscule cells, and often, ultimately "transferred" (murdered, though the act was done elsewhere). Incredibly, while this was happening, the rest of the campus continued to operate as normal, with the majority of naval cadets unaware of what was taking place just a few hundred metres away. Almost literally hidden in plain sight.

As a child of the early 80s, and not particularly well versed in Argentine history, I didn't know much about the military dictatorship era other than "it existed". So the extremely well-organised and put together museum was genuinely eye-opening, and very harrowing. I was astounded to read accounts from survivors, and to discover that despite being confined to a blacked-out building, most captives were completely aware of where they were being held.

The busy six-lane boulevard Avenida del Libertador runs directly past with its ceaseless rumble of traffic, aircraft …

You can book a tour for €10 between mid June and the end of August at:

https://www.doerz.com/rauma/retki-sammallahdenmaelle?list_id=32

Tours occur only on Thursdays at 2pm from Rauma’s main bus station. If you have a car it is only 20km from Rauma and parking is free. Don’t go in winter as there will be nothing to see but snow.

I went in late July 2022 and there were a dozen of us plus the guide. The guide spoke in both Finnish and English and was knowledgeable and passionate about his subject. The tour lasted almost one and three quarter hours and transportation was about 20 minutes each way.

Yes it’s a pile of rocks but they are a rather attractive pile of rocks. All three dozen cairns. Many were arranged into some discernible shapes and they present a rather colorful picture.

Originally a red brick hue to attract attention the stones have greyed over the years and are covered with various shades of black and white blotches. Original orange shows through on many as well as mottled spots of petrified green moss and white lichen.

The setting is in a lovely young green forest, carpeted with moss, white lichen and clumps of blooming lavender heather. It’s an easy walk along a trail from one end of the site to the other.

I’ve been to other Unesco sites that are also just piles of rocks, but none as attractive or in as pretty a setting as …

Initially when planning our stopover in Panama City (an easy and cheap option with COPA), we had planned to visit the Panama WHS and the Portobelo part of the Portobelo-San Lorenzo WHS, using public transport. But after seeing how easy driving is in the country (a whole swathe of the country was basically part of the USA for years), we decided to hire a car for the day to visit San Lorenzo and the canal.

Visiting San Lorenzo is easier than it used to be, thanks to the building of a new bridge north of Gatun, the Puente Atlantico. It's an impressive bridge to drive across, and there's no toll. Continue down the road past Fort Sherman, past the old military booth where no-one waved us down. The road is now nicely sealed all the way to San Lorenzo, at least when the road works present when we visited in June 2022 are finished. 

San Lorenzo itself was also undergoing renovations. There's a new video with a version in English from early 2022 that we watched before wandering around the site, with newish signs in both English and Spanish. We joked that they were preparing the site for sound-and-light shows (about the pirates, of course), as the renovations involved more concrete than we thought was suitable. However, we noticed the restorations at Panama Viejo also involved more modifications than we expected, with signs explaining they were making the new parts distinct from the old. 

The fortress by …

I visited the Island of Saint-Honorat during my vacations in Cannes in September 2001. We did a day trip to the Lérins Islands by ferry from the port of Cannes in a same way as a lot of other tourists. I do not remember all the details but the tour included both islands. It means bigger Sainte-Marguerite with the fortress, where a small museum was located, and nice small beaches all around the island, where we spent most of our time. We also did a short stop at the Saint Honorat Island, where the monastery is located.

As the island is still inhabited by the community of monks not all the places are accessible for tourists. There are big church rebuilt in 19th Century, adjacent Monastery buildings surrounded by crop fields, and the most interesting component: the fortified monastery located direct on the shore. While the big church was built in eclectic "neo" style and did not attract me too much, I spent some time by walking on the ramparts of the fortified tower with views towards the inner arcades.

PHOTO: Sorry for very poor quality! In the middle, you can see the tower of the church and the fortified monastery is visible on the right side.

All in all, the island is quite nice, but cannot compete with other attractions of the Provence region. I cannot see even traces of the OUV, and I do not understand why this site was proposed. The Western Christianity including …

I'm surprised by the ratings and the statements of the community concerning this WHS. I understand the bad experience of Alexander, it could happen elsewhere. I agree with Zoe, troglodyte houses are not so uncommon.

The steep-sided village of Meymand, above all when the sunset is coming, is a very pleasant place. I passed a nice night in a troglodyte room without any problem (maybe i'm lucky?), and frankly speaking it was a good experience and a good souvenir.

I wonder now if I am not too easy to please, yet I have had other experiences less memorable...

We first visited a quiet, sunny Thingvellir in the summer of 2013, as a standard one-hour stop off on the aforementioned Golden Circle tour from Reykjavik, which also took in Gullfoss, Strokkur Geyser and some snowmobiling. The previous reviews are correct, in that a tour stop off didn’t bring the depth that the site otherwise could being a visitor. Yes, we got the magnificent backdrop and the importance and age of the parliament and its link with the sagas - what UNESCO terms “a unique reflection of medieval Norse/Germanic culture”. We walked the boardwalks and took in the cliff-top view from the unvisited visitor centre. But we have no memory of agricultural or parliamentary remains (outside of the Logberg) and to be honest, I don’t remember even reading any information boards at all! Always open and free to enter (which is not always Iceland’s strong point), it is a unique site that warrants more time than a standard tour can give.

A subsequent Silfra snorkelling trip was made several years later, which is reviewed in the tentative listing for the extension of the WHS.

In South America, there are at least 4 separate World Heritage Sites related to the Jesuits: the Jesuit Missions of the Chiquitos in Bolivia (which are still living towns and churches), the Jesuit Block and Estancias of Cordoba in Argentina, the Jesuit Missions of the Guaranis in Argentina and Brazil, and finally the Jesuit Missions of Trinidad and Jesus, the lone site in Paraguay. The latter two sites (all in ruins) could have actually been combined, they are even in the same tourist route, but then far fewer of us would have probably visited Paraguay. 

Initially, we had planned to do as others had done and visit the Trinidad on a half-day trip from Posadas in Argentina. But thanks to our preferred hotels selling out (a common occurrence during the Argentine holidays), we thought we'd spend a couple of nights in Paraguay (we also had a couple of nights free to line up with our "cheap" flight out of Foz de Iguazu). After all, it wasn't a micro-country and deserved at least a night's stay to tick off the country.

After our previous two overnight buses in Argentina arrived 1 hour early, our bus to Posadas arrived an hour late, not ideal considering it was scheduled to arrive at 9:20 and we hadn't packed breakfast. After a detour for breakfast, it was then a slow trip across the border on the international bus, meandering through Posadas and stopping at both sides. After checking into our hotel and changing …

I had the opportunity to arrange a 3-day visit to the holy site, which included a hike to Mt. St. Catherine - the highest point in Egypt, through the guidance of Ahmed, a Jebeliya Bedouin. He said his tribe has lived for centuries in the mountains of South Sinai. 

Perhaps for most travelers, St. Catherine Area means St. Catherine Monastery, and its impressive museum, church and the Burning Bush. But by venturing out in the valleys and canyon (property is 60,000+ hectares), one discovers other interesting chapels, ruins and archaeological sites most likely related to stories in the Book of Exodus. 

It took several hours and a great deal of sore muscles to reach the country's summit, the Chapel of St. Catherine (photo uploaded). On the way, Ahmed and I hiked through Wadi El-Arbaein (Valley of the Forty, in honor of the Forty Martyrs), numerous rock shelters, olive gardens and ancient wells. 

Two tentative sites, Raitho Monastery and Wadi Feiran, for their own unique heritage values can perhaps be nominated as extension to (or enhancement of) the St. Catherine heritage site.

I visited Alberobello in July 2022. The spread of the over thousand trulli in the town is remarkable. It is unique for the uniform collection of a singular design of a building and is interesting to walk around and spend time in. The previous generations who actually lived life in the trulli (before tourism) is all visible through photographs and shows a unique way of life.

Former industrial sites can be divisive World Heritage Sites. I'm not against industrial sites (partially as they can be interesting to photograph), although a multitude of mining and planned town sites being inscribed can be monotonous. Fray Bentos though stands out as a unique and key site for international meat exports (stock cubes and canned corned beef). In the modern era, you forget how big a development these were. The products from this factory were one of the most important exports of South America, shipped to Europe and used on expeditions of exploration and to supply armies in both WWI and WWII.

The site itself could do with an up-to-date website. Google Maps indicates it's open Thursday to Sunday, but the sign at the entry states it's open Tuesday to Sunday, only closed on Mondays except holidays, with free entry on Tuesday. We had planned to go on the twice daily tour (10am and 3pm, except on rainy or stormy days), but the lady at the ticket counter suggested we skip as we can't speak Spanish. Two of the participants on the tour later volunteered to translate for us, but we decided to still skip.

The tour is required to enter parts of the former factory, but with our museum ticket we saw both floors of the museum (rather adhoc and mainly in Spanish), plus wandered parts of the site. Our favourite part were the large photos dating back to the 1930s (look for the many workers without …