UNESCO World Heritage

The world's most wondrous sights and sites, manmade and natural, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe! In other words, to paraphrase the bestseller, more than 900 places to see before you die (better get hopping!).

cover photo: Hans Reniers/Unsplash

52 Members

Join Us!

Forum

UNESCO World Heritage candidates in Gaza, Palestine

Ramez Habboub This narrow strip of land along the Mediterranean coast between Israel and Egypt is tiny – just 141 square miles/365 sq. kilometers (about the size of Las Vegas or the British city of Sheffield) – and with a population of nearly 2.1 million, making it one of the world´s most densely packed territories. And Gaza has of course massively been in the news since October 7 because of the tragic and horrific reasons with which by now we´re all too familiar. And when it comes to spots…

Started by David Paul Appell

0 Replies

Conquering Israel´s UNESCO World Heritage Masada

Itamar Grinberg/Israeli Ministry of Tourism Israel is truly a land of exceptional sights – and sites – from top to bottom. But roughly two hours south of Jerusalem, one of its most evocative (and popular) high points, so to speak, looms in the Judea desert some 396 metres (1,300 feet) above the shores of the Dead Sea. Masada (Hebrew for fortress) is an imposing UNESCO World Heritage Site, and after Jerusalem the most visited spot in the country. At this rugged fortress complex, excavated in…

Started by Iberia Airlines

0 Replies

Saqqara is just one of many UNESCO sites in Egypt

Witthayap/Dreamstime And now it's time to move beyond museum remnants to the actual tombs, crypts, statues, and pyramids which beggar belief. Furthermore, although excavation of these ancient sites began in the early 1800’s, they still continue to this day with new archaeological discoveries being made all over Egypt. In fact, just several months ago in Sakkara (also spelled Saqqara), a sprawling complex of temples, pyramids, and crypts amid miles upon square miles of monochromatic…

Started by Tripatini

0 Replies

Cuba's photogenic UNESCO World Heritage Viñales Valley

marcin jucha For visitors to Havana, one of the most popular day and overnights trips besides colonial wonder Trinidad is a visit to the far west of Cuba, the mostly rural province of Pinar del Río (whose locals, by the way, have over the years endured much teasing by other Cubans as guajiros – "country-bumpkin" peasants – though at least these days inaccurately, as far as I’ve been able to tell). It’s home to not only the eponymous city – which makes for a charming visit in its own…

Started by José Balido

0 Replies

You need to be a member of Tripatini to add comments!

Join Tripatini

Comments are closed.

Comments

Riccardo R October 3, 2023 at 7:44pm

UNESCO recently designated 42 new sites as World Heritage, and it seems that the designation is actually a mixed blessing. In the days after 1,500-year-old site of Si Thep in Thailand´s north was added to the list, 20,000 tourists descended and caused havoc https://www.insider.com/tourists-swarm-ancient-town-in-thailand-aft...

Tourists quickly swamped 1,500-year-old ruins in Thailand after they were named a UNESCO site, prom…

Tourists descended on Thailand's Si Thep, an ancient town around 1,500 years old, after it was named a UNESCO site this month.
Paul Varmuza July 31, 2023 at 12:58pm

In researching one particular UNESCO site, I came across this BBC piece from several years back about what exactly makes a heritage site worthy of its designation: https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/40557262

What is a Unesco World Heritage site?

A report has revealed that the number of World Heritage sites affected by climate change has nearly doubled in three years.
Jordan Simon June 12, 2023 at 1:29pm

As far as I can tell, Thrillist isn't in the habit of covering UNESCO sites, but find out why they made an exception for this city in Malaysia: https://www.thrillist.com/travel/nation/things-to-do-georgetown-pen...

Things to Do in Georgetown, Malaysia - Thrillist

Penang is a mix of Chinese, Indian, and Malay cultures with amazing cuisine. Here are the best hotels, street art, and restaurants in Penang’s capita…
María José February 7, 2023 at 11:42am

The traditional Romanian women's blouse, the "ia", was in December 2022 amongst the latest additions to UNESCO's Intangible World Heritage list, but its local manufacturers are under threat from cheap Chinese imports. Radio Free Europe recently covered the issue here: https://www.rferl.org/a/ia-blouse-romanian-traditional-clothing-une...

Romania's Traditional Clothing Makers Call For Action After UNESCO Listing

Producers of Romania and Moldova's traditional blouse, the ia, hope its recent addition to UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage will boost c…
Riccardo R January 26, 2023 at 11:05am

Sadly, UNESCO just added three sites to its "endangered" list, in Lebananon (the 1962 trade fair grounds in Tripoli designed by Oscar Niemayer), Ukraine (Odesa's historic centre), and Yemen (kandmarks of the ancient Kingdom of Saba - the last two because of conflict, the first because of neglect/lack of maintenance: https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/unesco-world-heritage-sites-...

Three sites 'in danger' added to UNESCO World Heritage List

The historic center of the Ukrainian port city of Odesa was added to UNESCO's World Heritage List as well as its list of sites "in danger" on Wednesd…
John Kipper November 24, 2022 at 11:28am

Last week the Washington Post recently marked the 50th anniversary of the UNESCO World Heritage Site program by publishing a look at two dozen sites in the USA: https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2022/11/16/unesco-world-herit...
David Paul Appell September 15, 2022 at 3:13pm

One of six UNESCO sites in Pakistan, in southeastern Sindh province a bit over six hours from Karachi, Moenjodaro dates back some 5,000 years to the Bronze Age, and is one of the world's oldest preserved human settlements: https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/moenjodaro-pakistan-floods-i...

Pakistan UNESCO site Moenjodaro badly damaged by flooding

One of the world's oldest preserved human settlements has been significantly damaged by torrential rain in Pakistan as the country battles the worst…
José Balido August 28, 2022 at 2:25pm

Tourism to Algeria is still fairly under the radar, but apparently in the past decade the country still ranks in the top five most visited countries in Africa. And part of its allure, besides the welcoming people, is its many historic, cultural, and natural treasures - and there are no fewer than seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites here, with another six on the tentative list. Learn more about them at https://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/dz/.

Algeria - UNESCO World Heritage Convention

Algeria - UNESCO World Heritage Convention
María José June 2, 2022 at 9:47am

Of the 1,154 sites on the UNESCO World Heritage list to date, 52 in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East are currently listed as endangered for various reasons, including war/civil strife, environmental degradation, neglect, and encroachment by development which compromises some sites' historical/cultural integrity. Here's that troubled list: https://whc.unesco.org/en/danger/

UNESCO World Heritage Centre - List of World Heritage in Danger

UNESCO World Heritage Centre
Riccardo R May 10, 2022 at 11:29am

Plenty of non-Portuguese have heard of fado, but very few of this country's other UNESCO World Heritage song tradition, called "cante alentejano" - polyphonic, a capella, and named after the region where it originated, the Alentejo, which borders Spain. Here's a UNESCO video which gives a good overview: https://youtu.be/_Pn53uSYwOM