Clyde Profile

I love travelling to experience different cultures and new places. Apart from the well-known iconic places and landmarks, I love visiting UNESCO World Heritage Sites as the list also includes places that are quite off the beaten track or places I would have never visited or even read about.

My favourite WHS are a combination of cultural WHS and spectacular nature WHS. I'm not a fan of industrial WHS or modern architecture WHS but I'm always open to visit to learn something new. Since the last few years I try to cover as many top WHS as possible on the longer trips while I try to cover the remaining European WHS on shorter trips or as road trips.

Malta Last Update 21.02.21 505 WHS Visited 620 Reviews 505 WHS Rated 198 TWHS Visited

Visited Sites Clyde

Toggle Missing/Visited

Legend

●● Cultural
●● Natural
●● Mixed

Recent Reviews Clyde

Smahan's Mountain Nature Reserve (T)

Clyde Malta - 19-Jan-21

I visited this tentative WHS in December 2020 as a day trip from Salalah. To reach Jabal Samhan Mountain Nature Reserve, as it's known locally, I drove up the never-ending series of hairpins of Wadi Hanna just above the peculiar Anti-Gravity Point and dotted with the fine cluster of baobabs which make for interesting stopovers before reaching the signposted Jabal Samhan nature reserve proper.

Before reaching the highest panoramic viewpoint at 2100 metres, allow some time to acclimatise and perhaps be able to spot some of the countless birds of prey camouflaged on the greyish rocks instead of perched on the endemic Dhofar flora. Upon reaching the panoramic viewpoint over the many plateaus and gorges below, some of which are about 1000 metres deep, and which are home to several predators such as caracals, striped hyenas, Arabian wolves and which are one the last refuges for wild Arabian leopards. It really is quite incredible that such a practically uninhabited and undisturbed area exists so close to a desert region. All these predators prey on Arabian gazelles, Nubian ibex, Cape hares, rock hyrax, Indian crested porcupines, desert hedgehogs and several bird species

Read On

Bat, Al-Khutm and Al-Ayn

Clyde Malta - 19-Jan-21

I visited this WHS in December 2020 after having visited Bahla Fort. Prior to visiting Oman I allowed quite a lot of time to prepare well how to access the different locations that make up this WHS. Maps.me is still the best option as there are still different locations erroneously marked with the same name on Google maps and road signs are non-existent (which I find quite strange as even the tentative sites I've visited were clearly marked).

The best time to visit is in the late afternoon but I would allow much more time to actually get to the first location and then to reach the next ones before it gets too dark. Keep in mind that the sites' magnificent mountain scenery in itself means that the sun will set behind the opposite mountains much earlier than the usual sunset time

Read On

The forts of Rostaq and al-Hazm (T)

Clyde Malta - 18-Jan-21

I visited both locations of this tentative WHS in December 2020. The best way to visit is as an afternoon side trip from Muscat as the roads are perfect for any vehicle (the road from Al Ayn still requires a 4x4 vehicle and is not worth the hassle since the best time to visit, especially for photography, is in the early afternoon before closing time).

I planned to visit Al Hazm Fort (marked as Al Hazm Castle) first, followed by Rustaq Fort and Nakhal Fort and its several watch towers nearby (even though the latter fort and towers are not up for inscription) via a convenient loop on road 13. The Al Hazm Fort (top photos) was built in the beginning of the 18th century towards the end of the reign of Al Yarubi tribe in Oman, when Rustaq was their capital. The Al Yarubi tribe is most famously known for expelling the Portuguese from Oman. They are also responsible for constructing a number of other significant Omani forts and castles including Nizwa Fort and Jabreen Castle (which I visited towards the end of my trip in Oman in January 2021)

Read On

al Dimaniyyat Islands Nature Reserve (T)

Clyde Malta - 15-Jan-21

I visited this tentative WHS in December 2020. Nicknamed as Oman's secret Maldives spot, the Ad Dimaniyyat Islands Nature Reserve is made up of nine small islands and islets with a rich variety of healthy coral reefs, some of which are quite rare.

We booked ahead for a private tour with Blue Wave from 8am to 2pm for almost half the normal price inclusive of the 10 OMR nature reserve fee (possibly one of [...]

Read On

Aflaj irrigation system

Clyde Malta - 15-Jan-21

I visited 4 out of the 5 locations of this WHS on different days (sometimes doing repeat visits too) in December 2020 and January 2021. Although I had already seen some aflaj in the United Arab Emirates while visiting the Al Ain WHS, the aflaj in northern Oman are a much more elaborate irrigation network which was critical to the development of society and the agricultural economy.

Each falaj gathers water from one [...]

Read On

Profile Data

Name: Clyde
Country: Malta
Most Impressive: Borobodur, Komodo NP, Skellig Michael, Angkor Wat, Pyramids of Giza, Taj Mahal, Petra, Great Wall, Rome, Chichen Itza, Tikal, Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva, Khoja Ahmed Yasawi, Great Barrier Reef, Fraser Island, Tasmanian Wilderness, Galapagos, Machu Picchu
Proposal: Cappella degli Scrovegni, Drift Passes of Rangiroa

Recently Visited WHS

Update 21.02.21: Land of Frankincense

Visited WHS

Rating Stats

Angkor 5

Bagan 5

Borobudur 5

Bukhara 5

Florence 5

Galapagos Islands 5

Great Barrier Reef 5

Komodo National Park 5

Machu Picchu 5

Petra 5

Pyramids (Memphis) 5

Rome 5

Taj Mahal 5

Venice and its Lagoon 5

Ancient Kyoto 4.5

Ancient Thebes 4.5

Chichen-Itza 4.5

Great Wall 4.5

Itchan Kala 4.5

Pompei 4.5

Ravenna 4.5

Samarkand 4.5

Tasmanian Wilderness 4.5

Teide National Park 4.5

Tikal National Park 4.5

Acropolis 4

Ajanta Caves 4

Belem 4

Calakmul 4

Cordoba 4

Dubrovnik 4

Edinburgh 4

Ellora Caves 4

Fraser Island 4

Granada 4

Hal Saflieni Hypogeum 4

Hampi 4

Imperial Palace 4

Isole Eolie 4

Istanbul 4

Itsukushima Shrine 4

Kathmandu Valley 4

Kremlin and Red Square 4

Lagoons of New Caledonia 4

Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi 4

Medina of Fez 4

Medina of Marrakesh 4

Meteora 4

Nasca Lines 4

Nubian Monuments 4

Palenque 4

Paris, Banks of the Seine 4

Pico Island 4

Portovenere, Cinque Terre, and the Islands 4

Prague 4

Route of Santiago de Compostela 4

Sagarmatha National Park 4

Sceilg Mhichíl 4

Siena 4

St. Petersburg 4

Sukhothai 4

Temple of Heaven 4

Uluru 4

Uxmal 4

Verona 4

Vienna 4

Vineyard Landscape of Piedmont 4

Willandra Lakes 4

Aachen Cathedral 3.5

Agrigento 3.5

Arab-Norman Palermo 3.5

Assisi 3.5

Ayutthaya 3.5

Bali Subak system 3.5

Bryggen 3.5

Budapest 3.5

Burgos Cathedral 3.5

Caral-Supe 3.5

Cesky Krumlov 3.5

Changdeokgung Palace Complex 3.5

Chitwan National Park 3.5

Cracow 3.5

Cuzco 3.5

Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland 3.5

Etruscan Necropolises 3.5

Fortified City of Carcassonne 3.5

Giant's Causeway 3.5

Ha Long Bay 3.5

Haeinsa Temple 3.5

Hill Forts of Rajasthan 3.5

Humayun's Tomb 3.5

Hwaseong Fortress 3.5

Jaipur City, Rajasthan 3.5

Kotor 3.5

Land of Frankincense 3.5

Loire Valley 3.5

Luang Prabang 3.5

Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor 3.5

Mont-Saint-Michel 3.5

Mudejar Architecture of Aragon 3.5

Neolithic Orkney 3.5

Nikko 3.5

Old City of Jerusalem 3.5

Painted Churches in the Troödos Region 3.5

Piazza del Duomo (Pisa) 3.5

Plitvice Lakes 3.5

Pont du Gard 3.5

Prambanan 3.5

Pyrénées - Mont Perdu 3.5

Quito 3.5

Rietveld Schröderhuis 3.5

Riga 3.5

Sanchi 3.5

Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple 3.5

Seville 3.5

Sintra 3.5

Southern Öland 3.5

Statue of Liberty 3.5

Summer Palace 3.5

Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch 3.5

Sydney Opera House 3.5

The trulli of Alberobello 3.5

Trinity Sergius Lavra 3.5

Ujung Kulon National Park 3.5

University of Coimbra 3.5

Vall de Boi 3.5

Valletta 3.5

Vatican City 3.5

Villa Romana del Casale 3.5

West Norwegian Fjords 3.5

Westminster 3.5

Works of Antoni Gaudí 3.5

Aflaj irrigation system 3

Altamira Cave 3

Amsterdam Canal Ring 3

Ancient Merv 3

Aquileia 3

Arequipa 3

Atapuerca 3

Avila 3

Bamberg 3

Bat, Al-Khutm and Al-Ayn 3

Bellinzone 3

Belovezhskaya Pushcha / Bialowieza Forest 3

Bordeaux 3

Brugge 3

Brú na Bóinne 3

Castel del Monte 3

Chaîne des Puys 3

Cilento and Vallo di Diano 3

Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape 3

Costiera Amalfitana 3

Curonian Spit 3

Decorated cave of Pont d'Arc 3

Dolomites 3

Dorset and East Devon Coast 3

Epidaurus 3

Falun Great Copper Mountain 3

Grand Place, Brussels 3

Gwynedd Castles 3

Hahoe and Yangdong 3

Hallstatt-Dachstein 3

High Coast / Kvarken Archipelago 3

Hildesheim Cathedral and Church 3

Himeji-jo 3

Historic Cairo 3

Jeju 3

Kinderdijk 3

Ksar of Aït Ben Haddou 3

Lake District 3

Laponian Area 3

Las Medulas 3

Lavaux, Vineyard Terraces 3

Lumbini 3

Major Town Houses 3

Mantua and Sabbioneta 3

Mazagan 3

Medina of Essaouira 3

Megalithic Temples of Malta 3

Monastery of Batalha 3

Mostar 3

Museumsinsel (Museum Island) 3

Mycenae and Tiryns 3

Novgorod 3

Ohrid Region 3

Oporto 3

Plantin-Moretus Museum 3

Poblet Monastery 3

Provins 3

Rabat 3

Reims 3

Rock Carvings in Tanum 3

Saint Catherine Area 3

San Marino and Mount Titano 3

Santa Maria de Guadelupe 3

Santa Maria delle Grazie 3

Santiago de Compostela 3

Saryarka 3

Segovia 3

Selimiye Mosque 3

Split 3

Stonehenge 3

Strasbourg 3

Tallinn 3

Telc 3

Toledo 3

Tower of Hercules 3

Trier 3

Tropical Rainforest Sumatra 3

Upper Middle Rhine Valley 3

Vallée de Mai 3

Versailles 3

Visby 3

Volubilis 3

Vézère Valley 3

Wachau Cultural Landscape 3

Wadi Rum 3

Warsaw 3

Wet Tropics of Queensland 3

Wooden Tserkvas of the Carpathian Region 3

Yuso and Suso Monasteries 3

Agra Fort 2.5

Al Ain 2.5

Albi 2.5

Alcala de Henares 2.5

Alto Douro 2.5

Amiens Cathedral 2.5

Angra do Heroismo 2.5

Antequera Dolmens Site 2.5

Archaeological Site of Delphi 2.5

Asturian Monuments 2.5

Auschwitz Birkenau 2.5

Avignon 2.5

Baekje Historic Areas 2.5

Bahla Fort 2.5

Belfries 2.5

Benedictine Convent of St. John 2.5

Bethlehem 2.5

Bourges Cathedral 2.5

Canterbury 2.5

Cathedral of St. James in Sibenik 2.5

Champagne 2.5

Chartres Cathedral 2.5

Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus 2.5

Church of the Ascension, Kolomenskoye 2.5

Churches of Peace 2.5

City of Bath 2.5

City of Luxembourg 2.5

Cologne Cathedral 2.5

Convent of Christ in Tomar 2.5

Donana National Park 2.5

Drottningholm 2.5

Durmitor National Park 2.5

Euphrasian Basilica in Porec 2.5

Ferrara 2.5

Flemish Béguinages 2.5

Forth Bridge 2.5

Frank Lloyd Wright Buildings 2.5

Frontiers of the Roman Empire 2.5

Fujisan 2.5

Gammelstad 2.5

Garajonay 2.5

Gondwana Rainforests 2.5

Greater Blue Mountains 2.5

Grimeton Radio Station 2.5

Guimarães 2.5

Gyeongju 2.5

Ir. D.F. Woudagemaal 2.5

Ironbridge Gorge 2.5

Jantar Mantar 2.5

Jelling 2.5

Jodrell Bank Observatory 2.5

Jongmyo Shrine 2.5

Keoladeo National Park 2.5

Khajuraho Group of Monuments 2.5

Kladruby nad Labem 2.5

Kronborg Castle 2.5

Krzemionki prehistoric striped flint mining region 2.5

Kunya-Urgench 2.5

Kutna Hora 2.5

La Lonja de la Seda 2.5

Laurisilva of Madeira 2.5

Litomysl Castle 2.5

Longobards in Italy 2.5

Luther Memorials 2.5

Lyon 2.5

Lübeck 2.5

Macao 2.5

Mafra Palace, Convent and Royal Hunting Park 2.5

Mahabodhi Temple Complex 2.5

Malbork Castle 2.5

Matera 2.5

Maulbronn Monastery 2.5

Medici Villas and Gardens 2.5

Medieval Monuments in Kosovo 2.5

Medina of Tétouan 2.5

Meknes 2.5

Mystras 2.5

Mérida 2.5

Naples 2.5

Old City of Berne 2.5

Olympia 2.5

Orange 2.5

Palmeral of Elche 2.5

Panamá 2.5

Paphos 2.5

Pattadakal 2.5

Pienza 2.5

Pilgrimage Church of St. John of Nepomuk 2.5

Pilgrimage Church of Wies 2.5

Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal 2.5

Potsdam 2.5

Primeval Beech Forests 2.5

Qhapaq Ñan 2.5

Qutb Minar 2.5

Red Fort 2.5

Reichenau 2.5

Risco Caido 2.5

Rock Art of Alta 2.5

Rock Drawings in Valcamonica 2.5

Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka 2.5

Roman Walls of Lugo 2.5

Roskilde Cathedral 2.5

Royal Exhibition Building 2.5

Royal Palace at Caserta 2.5

Saint-Savin sur Gartempe 2.5

Salamanca 2.5

San Gimignano 2.5

Sansa, Buddhist Mountain Monasteries 2.5

Schönbrunn 2.5

Seowon, Neo-Confucian Academies 2.5

Sian Ka'an 2.5

Silk Roads 2.5

Singapore Botanic Gardens 2.5

Skocjan Caves 2.5

Swiss Tectonic Arena Sardona 2.5

Syracuse 2.5

Tarraco 2.5

The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier 2.5

The Prosecco Hills 2.5

Town Hall and Roland, Bremen 2.5

Trogir 2.5

Urbino 2.5

Val d'Orcia 2.5

Val di Noto 2.5

Villa Adriana (Tivoli) 2.5

Vilnius 2.5

Wadden Sea 2.5

Wartburg Castle 2.5

Western Tien-Shan 2.5

Wieliczka and Bochnia Royal Salt Mines 2.5

Wooden Churches of Southern Malopolska 2.5

Zamosc 2.5

Abbey and Altenmünster of Lorsch 2

Abbey of St Gall 2

Ancient Nara 2

Arles 2

Australian Convict Sites 2

Australian Fossil Mammal Sites 2

Bardejov Town 2

Bauhaus Sites 2

Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe 2

Berlin Modernism Housing Estates 2

Blaenavon Industrial Landscape 2

Blenheim Palace 2

Bom Jesus do Monte 2

Burgundy 2

Caceres 2

Campeche 2

Caves and Ice Age Art 2

Chief Roi Mata's Domain 2

Churches and Convents of Goa 2

Cistercian Abbey of Fontenay 2

Classical Weimar 2

Coa Valley and Siega Verde 2

Cuenca 2

Derwent Valley Mills 2

Durham Castle and Cathedral 2

El Escurial 2

Elephanta Caves 2

Elvas 2

Engelsberg Ironworks 2

Evora 2

Fagus Factory 2

Fatehpur Sikri 2

Fertö/Neusiedlersee 2

Fontainebleau 2

Fortifications of Vauban 2

Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz 2

Gardens and Castle at Kromeríz 2

Genbaku Dome 2

Genoa 2

Gorham's Cave Complex 2

Hedeby and Danevirke 2

Heritage of Mercury 2

Holy Trinity Column 2

Horyu-ji Area 2

Imperial Tombs 2

Independence Hall 2

Kalwaria Zebrzydowska 2

Karlskrona 2

Kernavë 2

Lima 2

Madriu-Perafita-Claror Valley 2

Margravial Opera House 2

Messel Pit 2

Modena 2

Monastery of Alcobaça 2

Mount Etna 2

Muskauer Park 2

Namhansanseong 2

Nancy 2

Naumburg Cathedral 2

Nisa 2

Notre-Dame Cathedral in Tournai 2

Novodevichy Convent 2

Prehistoric Pile Dwellings 2

Pyu Ancient Cities 2

Qalhat 2

Quedlinburg 2

Rammelsberg and Goslar 2

Residences of the Royal House of Savoy 2

Rhaetian Railway 2

Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France 2

Royal Joseon Tombs 2

Royal Saltworks of Arc-et-Senans 2

Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy 2

Saint-Emilion 2

Schokland 2

Semmering Railway 2

Shakhrisyabz 2

Skogskyrkogarden 2

Speicherstadt and Kontorhaus District 2

Speyer Cathedral 2

Stevns Klint 2

Stralsund and Wismar 2

Su Nuraxi di Barumini 2

Temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae 2

Thang Long 2

The Four Lifts 2

Torun 2

Tower of London 2

Trebic 2

Um er-Rasas 2

Venetian Works of Defence 2

Vicenza 2

Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensemble of Mumbai 2

Vizcaya Bridge 2

Vézelay 2

Wooden Churches of the Slovak Carpathians 2

Würzburg Residence 2

Zollverein 2

Úbeda and Baeza 2

Aranjuez 1.5

Baptism Site "Bethany Beyond the Jordan" 1.5

Birka and Hovgarden 1.5

Botanical Garden, Padua 1.5

Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust 1.5

Causses and Cévennes 1.5

Choirokoitia 1.5

Christiansfeld 1.5

Corvey 1.5

Daphni, Hosios Loukas and Nea Moni of Chios 1.5

Defence Line of Amsterdam 1.5

Gochang, Hwasun, and Ganghwa Dolmen 1.5

Kew Gardens 1.5

Lednice-Valtice Cultural Landscape 1.5

Maritime Greenwich 1.5

Medina Azahara 1.5

Monte San Giorgio 1.5

Neolithic Flint Mines at Spiennes 1.5

New Lanark 1.5

Palau de la Musica Catalana & Hospital de Sant Pau 1.5

Quseir Amra 1.5

Regensburg 1.5

Rock-Art of the Mediterranean Basin 1.5

Salzburg 1.5

San Cristobal de La Laguna 1.5

Stari Grad Plain 1.5

Studley Royal Park 1.5

Villa d'Este 1.5

Völklingen Ironworks 1.5

Water Management System of Augsburg 1.5

Beemster Polder 1

Canal du Midi 1

Centennial Hall 1

Crespi d'Adda 1

Graz 1

Holasovice 1

La Chaux-de-Fonds / Le Locle 1

Le Havre 1

Mining Cultural Landscape Erzgebirge 1

Mining Sites of Wallonia 1

Nord-Pas de Calais Mining Basin 1

Saltaire 1

Sangiran Early Man Site 1

Stoclet House 1

Struve Geodetic Arc 1

Tarnowskie Góry Lead-Silver Mine 1

Tugendhat Villa 1

Van Nellefabriek 1

Battir 0.5

Ivrea 0.5

Liverpool 0.5

Par force hunting landscape 0.5

Reviewed WHS

Visited TWHS

Reviewed TWHS

Top 50 Missing Sites

Amritsar
Bagan
City of Herat
Dilwara Temples at Mt Abu
Drift Passes of Rangiroa, French Polynesia
Dzongs of Bhutan
Mecca, Kaaba
Mount Rushmore
Naica Cave: Cave of the Crystals
Neuschwanstein Castle
Panama Canal
Pharaonic Temples of Kom Ombo and Edfu
Scrovegni's Chapel
Shwedagon Pagoda
Sumbrungu Painted Houses
The Sacred Complex of Babylon
Torres del Paine National Park
Ur
Varanasi
Wooden Monasteries of Konbaung Period: Ohn Don, Sala, Pakhangyi, Pakhannge, Legaing, Sagu, Shwe Kyau

World Heritage Site

for World Heritage Travellers

Clyde Profile

Visited Sites Clyde

Legend

Recent Reviews Clyde

Smahan's Mountain Nature Reserve (T)

Bat, Al-Khutm and Al-Ayn

The forts of Rostaq and al-Hazm (T)

al Dimaniyyat Islands Nature Reserve (T)

Aflaj irrigation system

Profile Data

Recently Visited WHS

Visited WHS

Reviewed WHS

Visited TWHS

Reviewed TWHS

Top 50 Missing Sites

Top 200 WHS