Carlo Sarion Profile
I attribute my enthusiasm for UNESCO World Heritage Sites to my love of travel, geography, photography, and world cultures. I always thought it's the best way to travel--exploring UNESCO WHS takes you to a journey of the country's history, culture, and natural heritage.
I was a human resources professional for 12 years, before switching back to biology. I am now an MSc student in biology, specializing in taxonomy and ecology, based in Auckland, New Zealand.
Check me out on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carlo.sarion/
Recent Reviews Carlo Sarion
Napier Art Deco historic precinct (T)
Carlo Sarion Philippines - 10-Jul-20

The government of New Zealand lifted the lockdown restrictions a month ago, thanks to the country's competent leadership and highly disciplined population. This gave me a chance to plan for excursions to visit some of the country's UNESCO WHS inscribed and tentative sites this winter break. My first thought was to visit the different components that make up the Auckland Volcanic Field, but Napier proved to be attractive enough to make it my first UNESCO tentative site to visit while living and studying here in Auckland.
Read OnArchaeological site of Laodikeia (T)
Carlo Sarion Philippines - 17-Apr-20

I didn’t know I would become a fan of classical civilizations until I visited Turkey. In fact, Laodikea was not really part of my itinerary but because I was going crazy over ancient Greek/Roman ruins while I was there, I decided to visit Laodikea as my third ancient Hellenistic city within the area of Denizli, after Hierapolis and Aphrodisias. I thought it was a rewarding trip.
Date of Visit: August 2017
Description:
Based on its description in UNESCO website: (1) it was “founded as a city in the Hellenistic period” but was later assimilated into the Roman republic, and (2) the city was earthquake-prone and had been rebuilt several times until people had enough and settled somewhere else
Read OnDong Phayayen
Carlo Sarion Philippines - 11-Jan-20

I noticed that very few of the UNESCO WHS I have visited are natural. Hence, when I was planning my trip to Thailand almost 2 years ago, I made it a priority to visit Khao Yai National Park, the most accessible among the five protected areas that make up the Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai Forest Complex. Almost all of the other reviewers have visited Khao Yai in one way or another—as a day trip from Bangkok or as a tour from Pak Chong—so I am just going to add my review to share my experience taking a tour of the forest while staying in Pak Chong.
Read OnMeidan Emam, Esfahan
Carlo Sarion Philippines - 10-Jan-20

I thought of reviewing an Iranian UNESCO World Heritage Site in light of Trump’s recent threat to the country’s cultural sites, as CNN reported. Sheer insanity I thought, but thankfully, Pentagon just completely ignored him as blasting cultural heritage sites constitutes a war crime.
Date of Visit: December 2016
Description:
The UNESCO website states that Meidan Emam (also called Naqsh-e Jahan Square) is one of the world’s largest public urban squares in the world, and indeed a tourism icon, with its construction started at the beginning of 17th century
Read OnTehuacán-Cuicatlán Valley
Carlo Sarion Philippines - 08-Jan-20

Frederic M has done what I believe is the best way to really appreciate the OUV of this site--taking a multi-day tour. This was what I hoped of doing when I visited Mexico, but unfortunately, I did not have enough time and resources and I was traveling with my friend who was not too inclined to do such tours.
Date of Visit: April 2019
Description:
The nomination file indicates that the Tehucan-Cuicatlan Valley is an “arid or semi-arid zone with the richest biodiversity in all of North America
Read OnProfile Data
- Name
- Carlo Sarion
- Country
- Philippines
- Most Impressive
- There are several from those I've visited, but the most impressive would be the Namib Sand Sea, Cappadocia, Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras, Ancient Thebes and the Pyramids of Giza
- Proposal
- Our government must nominate the following sites for inscription soon and at all cost: Mayon Volcano National Park, Paleolithic Archeological Sites in Cagayan Valley, Chocolate Hills Natural Monument and Kabayan Mummy Caves
Recently Visited WHS
- Update 23.12.20
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Visited WHS
Rating StatsAngkor 5Bagan 5Ephesus 5Istanbul 5Great Wall 4.5Gunung Mulu 4.5Historic Cairo 4.5St. Petersburg 4.5Fujisan 4Vigan 4Anuradhapura 3.5Hoi An 3.5Ping Yao 3.5Prambanan 3.5Rabat 3.5Sigiriya 3.5Trang An 3.5Yazd 3.5Bolgar 3Kandy 3Nikko 3Puebla 3Red Fort 3Vat Phou 3Ayutthaya 2.5Camino Real 2.5Golestan Palace 2.5Grand Canal 2.5Hué 2.5Imperial Tombs 2.5Kazan Kremlin 2.5Kinabalu Park 2.5Meknes 2.5My Son 2.5Pasargadae 2.5Silk Roads 2.5Summer Palace 2.5Sviyazhsk 2.5Temple of Heaven 2.5Thang Long 1.5Macao 1Reviewed WHS
Visited TWHS
- Archaeological site of Laodikeia (T)
- Auckland Volcanic Fields (T)
- Chapultepec Woods, Hill and Castle (T)
- Chocolate Hills Natural Monument (T)
- City Walls of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (T)
- Delhi - A Heritage City (T)
- Desert National Park (T)
- Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo's Home-Study Museum (T)
- El Nido-Taytay Managed Resource Protected Area (T)
- Etosha Pan (T)
- Hikone-Jo (castle) (T)
- Historical City Centre of Yogyakarta (T)
- Human Rights, Liberation Struggle and Reconciliation: Nelson Mandela Legacy Sites (T)
- Inle Lake (T)
- Jame' (Congregational) Mosque of Esfahan (T)
- Monuments, Sites and Cultural Landscape of Chiang Mai, Capital of Lanna (T)
- Mt. Pulag National Park (T)
- Napier Art Deco historic precinct (T)
- Nasqsh-e Rostam and Naqsh-e Rajab (T)
- Persepolis and other relevant buildings (T)
- Shwedagon Pagoda on Singuttara Hill (T)
- That Luang de Vientiane (T)
- The Central Axis of Beijing (including Beihai) (T)
- The Historical City of Maybod (T)