Alex Baranda Profile
I'm a nerd by day, but my passion is photography and travel. I'm currently based in San Jose, California. I was born in the Philippines, but my family immigrated to Louisiana when I was a teen. In 2004, I relocated to California for a job opportunity. I worked quite a bit, so I decided to learn photography to have a reason to explore California (and take photos). Technically, my first UNESCO World Heritage Site is the Statue of Liberty, which I visited in New York during my college years. But since my photography hobby, my first is Yosemite National Park, which I have visited more than I can count. I got into the UNESCO World Heritage Sites because of my sister and cousins. They've always posted on social media that they've checked off a site. So here I am with 164 sites (currently), trying to keep up with them. Last year, I was in a group photography show at a local art gallery featuring some of my UNESCO World Heritage Site photos.
Recent Reviews Alex Baranda
Hawaii Volcanoes
Alex Baranda United States - 04-Jun-25
September 2016
It was o-dark-thirty! The boat left the dock at dawn. A cup of some Kona coffee kept me awake. From a distance, I saw the fiery landscape as the lava flowed into the sea. Jack Johnson was playing over the loudspeaker, and made me want some banana pancakes! Sitting, waiting, wishing! Bubbly toes! The heat rose as the boat inched closer. The waves crashed into the cliffs, rocking the boat from side to side. Hot air bubbles collided with the boat from below. It was an amazing experience!
Read OnProfile Data
- Name
- Alex Baranda
- Country
- United States
- Ranking
- 449
- Most Impressive
- Galapagos Islands
- Proposal
- Chefchaouen
- Website
- website
Recently Visited WHS
- Update 04.06.25
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- Gulf of California
- Luis Barragán House and Studio
- Xochicalco
- Hospicio Cabañas
- Querétaro
- Popocatepetl monasteries
- Morelia
- Guanajuato
- Puebla
- Mexico City and Xochimilco
- Teotihuacan
- Lenggong Valley
- Melaka and George Town
- Vilnius
- Riga
- Luang Prabang
- Fujisan
- Nikko
- Ancient Kyoto
- Sceilg Mhichíl
- Brú na Bóinne
- Thingvellir
- Vatnajökull National Park
- Budapest
- Antigua Guatemala
- Tikal National Park
- Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt
- Upper Middle Rhine Valley
- ShUM Sites
- Lower German Limes
- Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust
- Cologne Cathedral
- Nice
- Taputapuātea
- Decorated cave of Pont d'Arc
- Fortifications of Vauban
- Lyon
- Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France
- Pont du Gard
- Avignon
- Paris, Banks of the Seine
- Arles
- Orange
- Fontainebleau
- Versailles
- Mont-Saint-Michel
- Fortress of Suomenlinna
- Tallinn
- Joya de Ceren
- Quito
- Galapagos Islands
- Roskilde Cathedral
- Kronborg Castle
- Prague
- Viñales Valley
- Old Havana
- Plitvice Lakes
- Split
- Dubrovnik
- Venetian Works of Defence
- Cartagena
- Macao
- Rideau Canal
- Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks
- Québec
- Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump
- Glacier parks
- Dinosaur Provincial Park
- Sambor Prei Kuk
- Preah Vihear Temple
- Angkor
- Stoclet House
- Major Town Houses
- Grand Place, Brussels
- Struve Geodetic Arc
- Danube Limes
- Trang An
- Citadel of the Ho Dynasty
- Thang Long
- Phong Nha - Ke Bang
- My Son
- Hoi An
- Hué
- Ha Long Bay – Cat Ba Archipelago
- Hopewell
- Frank Lloyd Wright Buildings
- San Antonio Missions
- Poverty Point
- Grand Canyon
- Carlsbad Caverns
- Taos Pueblo
- Monticello
- Hawaii Volcanoes
- Chaco Culture
- Yosemite National Park
- Statue of Liberty
- Great Smoky Mountains
- Cahokia Mounds
- Olympic National Park
- Mammoth Cave
- Redwood
- Independence Hall
- Everglades
- Yellowstone
- Mesa Verde
- Forth Bridge
- Kew Gardens
- New Lanark
- Maritime Greenwich
- Edinburgh
- Tower of London
- City of Bath
- Westminster
- Stonehenge
- Giant's Causeway
- Dong Phayayen
- Sukhothai
- Ayutthaya
- Kilimanjaro National Park
- Serengeti
- Ngorongoro
- Stone Town of Zanzibar
- Abbey of St Gall
- Skogskyrkogarden
- Drottningholm
- Palau de la Musica Catalana & Hospital de Sant Pau
- Works of Antoni Gaudí
- Singapore Botanic Gardens
- Royal Joseon Tombs
- Belem
- Kalwaria Zebrzydowska
- Wieliczka and Bochnia Royal Salt Mines
- Auschwitz Birkenau
- Kraków
- Warsaw
- Panamá
- Portobelo-San Lorenzo
- Bryggen
- Te Wahipounamu
- Van Nellefabriek
- Amsterdam Canal Ring
- Rietveld Schröderhuis
- Dutch Water Defence Lines
- Kinderdijk
- Bagan
- Pyu Ancient Cities
- Volubilis
- Meknes
- Ksar of Aït Ben Haddou
- Medina of Marrakesh
- Medina of Fez
- Aqueduct of Padre Tembleque
- San Miguel de Allende
- Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve
- Central University City Campus of the UNAM
- Tequila
- Prehistoric Pile Dwellings
- Vienna
- Great Spa Towns of Europe
- Hallstatt-Dachstein
- Schönbrunn
- Salzburg
- Sydney Opera House
- The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier
10 Best Missing
Reviewed WHS
Visited TWHS
- Ancient cities of Upper Myanmar : Innwa, Amarapura, Sagaing, Mingun, Mandalay (T)
- Beng Malea Temple (T)
- Big Bend National Park (T)
- Brooklyn Bridge (T)
- California Current Conservation Complex (T)
- Central Park (T)
- Church of Santa Prisca and its Surroundings (T)
- Civil Rights Movement Sites (T)
- Coron Island Natural Biotic Area (T)
- Dayton Aviation Sites (T)
- Early Chicago Skyscrapers (T)
- Ellis Island (T)
- Inle Lake (T)
- Jozani - Chwaka Bay Conservation Area (T)
- Kornati and Telašćica (T)
- Les Alpes de la Méditerranée (Monaco) (T)
- Les Plages du Débarquement, Normandie, 1944 (T)
- Monuments, Sites and Cultural Landscape of Chiang Mai, Capital of Lanna (T)
- Moulay Idriss Zerhoun (T)
- Mrauk-U (T)
- Phnom Kulen: Archeological Site/Ancient Site of Mahendraparvata (T)
- Phra Prang of Wat Arun Ratchawararam: The Masterpiece of Krung Rattanakosin (T)
- Rade de Marseille (T)
- Shwedagon Pagoda on Singuttara Hill (T)
- The Royal Sites of Ireland: Cashel, Dún Ailinne, Hill of Uisneach, Rathcroghan Complex, and Tara Complex (T)
- White Sands National Monument (T)
- Zadar - Episcopal complex (T)
Reviewed TWHS