I visited Ellis Island along with the Statue of Liberty on a fine day in Dec 2024. I felt that it was timely to write a review of Ellis Island, …
Carlo Sarion
Member since January 2019
#313 175 40 1
My enthusiasm for UNESCO World Heritage Sites is rooted in my love for travel, geography, cultures, and conservation. I am originally from the Philippines but now live in New Zealand. I trained as a biologist, dabbled in human resources, and now works in policy.
https://www.instagram.com/carlo.sarion/
My most impressive site: Quite a few: Namib Sand Sea, Cappadocia, Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras, Ancient Thebes, Memphis and its Necropolis – the Pyramid Fields from Giza to Dahshur, and Te Wahipounamu – South West New Zealand, Machu Picchu, Iguazu Falls
Recent Visits
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10June 30, 2025Stone Town of Zanzibar
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10April 19, 2025Wet Tropics of Queensland
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10April 17, 2025Great Barrier Reef
Top 10 Missing
Completed Countries
About Carlo Sarion
- Member since
- January 2019
- Country of Origin
- None
Visits
- Rank
- #313
- WHS
- 175
- Tentative Sites
- 40
Website Participation
- Reviews
- 34
-
Ratings
Ratings
World Heritage Sites
- Namib Sand Sea 5.0
- Pyramids (Memphis) 5.0
- Persepolis 5.0
- Great Barrier Reef 5.0
- Göreme NP and Cappadocia 5.0
- Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras 5.0
- Bagan 5.0
- Iguacu 5.0
- Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks 5.0
- Machu Picchu 5.0
- Iguazu National Park 5.0
- Angkor 5.0
- Taj Mahal 5.0
- Te Wahipounamu 5.0
- Ancient Thebes 5.0
- Cuzco 4.5
- Borobudur 4.5
- Fraser Island 4.5
- Istanbul 4.5
- Gunung Mulu 4.5
- Ancient Kyoto 4.5
- Great Wall 4.5
- Tongariro National Park 4.5
- Mexico City and Xochimilco 4.5
- Teotihuacan 4.5
- Chichen-Itza 4.5
- Ephesus 4.5
- Medina of Marrakesh 4.0
- Gulf of California 4.0
- Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor 4.0
- Wet Tropics of Queensland 4.0
- St. Petersburg 4.0
- Meidan Emam, Esfahan 4.0
- Luang Prabang 4.0
- Huascaran National Park 4.0
- Fatehpur Sikri 4.0
- Hill Forts of Rajasthan 4.0
- Kremlin and Red Square 4.0
- Ouro Preto 4.0
- Ancient Nara 4.0
- San Miguel de Allende 4.0
- Brasilia 4.0
- Fujisan 4.0
- Québec 4.0
- Imperial Palace 4.0
- Kathmandu Valley 4.0
- Historic Cairo 4.0
- Trinity Sergius Lavra 3.5
- Trang An 3.5
- Guanajuato 3.5
- Greater Blue Mountains 3.5
- Vigan 3.5
- Jaipur City, Rajasthan 3.5
- Gondwana Rainforests 3.5
- Chitwan National Park 3.5
- Kii Mountain Range 3.5
- Uxmal 3.5
- Hierapolis-Pamukkale 3.5
- Prambanan 3.5
- Hoi An 3.5
- Anuradhapura 3.5
- Yazd 3.5
- Aphrodisias 3.5
- Cape Floral Region 3.5
- Arequipa 3.5
- Ping Yao 3.5
- Rani-ki-Vav 3.5
- South China Karst 3.5
- Oaxaca and Monte Alban 3.5
- Bali Subak system 3.5
- Sigiriya 3.5
- Sukhothai 3.5
- Rio de Janeiro 3.5
- Ksar of Aït Ben Haddou 3.5
- Qutb Minar 3.0
- Vat Phou 3.0
- Fossil Hominid Sites 3.0
- White Monuments of Vladimir and Suzdal 3.0
- Masjed-e Jâme' 3.0
- Persian Garden 3.0
- Dong Phayayen - Khao Yai 3.0
- Volubilis 3.0
- Rangiri Dambulla Cave Temple 3.0
- Kandy 3.0
- Nikko 3.0
- Novodevichy Convent 3.0
- Polonnaruva 3.0
- Horyu-ji Area 3.0
- Agra Fort 3.0
- Red Fort 3.0
- Himeji-jo 3.0
- Querétaro 3.0
- Puebla 3.0
- Caves of Yagul and Mitla 3.0
- Xochicalco 3.0
- Okinoshima Island 3.0
- Changdeokgung Palace Complex 3.0
- Classical Gardens of Suzhou 3.0
- Medina of Fez 3.0
- Itsukushima Shrine 3.0
- Ayutthaya 3.0
- Diamantina 3.0
- Congonhas 3.0
- Joggins Fossil Cliffs 3.0
- Summer Palace 3.0
- Temple of Heaven 3.0
- Lima 3.0
- Old Town Lunenburg 3.0
- Paraty and Ilha Grande 3.0
- Bolgar 3.0
- Humayun's Tomb 3.0
- Golestan Palace 2.5
- Aqueduct of Padre Tembleque 2.5
- Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region 2.5
- Pasargadae 2.5
- Tequila 2.5
- Rideau Canal 2.5
- Luis Barragán House and Studio 2.5
- Sviyazhsk 2.5
- Camino Real 2.5
- Central University City Campus of the UNAM 2.5
- Kazan Kremlin 2.5
- Stone Town of Zanzibar 2.5
- Hué 2.5
- Persian Caravanserai 2.5
- Ahmadabad 2.5
- Old Town of Galle 2.5
- Jantar Mantar 2.5
- Sydney Opera House 2.5
- Silk Roads: Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor 2.5
- Baroque Churches 2.5
- Sítio Roberto Burle Marx 2.5
- Rabat 2.5
- Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Valley 2.5
- Hwaseong Fortress 2.5
- Medina of Tétouan 2.5
- My Son 2.5
- Imperial Tombs 2.5
- Meknes 2.5
- Grand Canal 2.5
- Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution 2.5
- Kinabalu Park 2.5
- Pampulha 2.0
- Grand Pré 2.0
- Tomioka Silk Mill 2.0
- Central Highlands 2.0
- Singapore Botanic Gardens 2.0
- Church of the Ascension, Kolomenskoye 2.0
- Chavin 2.0
- Melaka and George Town 2.0
- Genbaku Dome 2.0
- Popocatepetl monasteries 2.0
- Elephanta Caves 2.0
- The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier 2.0
- Yogyakarta 2.0
- Australian Convict Sites 2.0
- Royal Joseon Tombs 2.0
- Jongmyo Shrine 2.0
- Keoladeo National Park 2.0
- Namhansanseong 2.0
- Mozu-Furuichi Kofun 1.5
- Royal Exhibition Building 1.5
- Macao 1.5
- Thang Long 1.5
- The Persian Qanat 1.5
- Valongo Wharf 1.0
Tentative Sites
- Ellis Island
- Chocolate Hills Natural Monument
- Nasqsh-e Rostam and Naqsh-e Rajab
- Etosha Pan
- Shwedagon Pagoda
- Hikone-Jo
- That Luang de Vientiane
- Sites of Saytagrah, India's non-violent freedom mo
- Salt Mines of Maras
- El Nido-Taytay Managed Resource Protected Area
- Mt. Pulag National Park
- Inle Lake
- Waters and seabed of Fiordland (Te Moana O Atawhen
- Archaeological site of Laodikeia
- Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo's Home-Study Museum
- Waitangi Treaty Grounds historic precinct
- Napier Art Deco historic precinct
- 166 17
- Photos
- N/A
- Locations
- N/A
- Zones
- N/A
Reviews by Carlo Sarion


Mount Vernon (On tentative list)
Mount Vernon
It just seems appropriate to visit and write a review of Mount Vernon after doing so with Monticello, as both were the residences and plantations of two prominent American presidents …

Monticello (Inscribed)
Monticello
This site was the first of the few UNESCO sites I visited during my trip to the US in Dec 2024. It made for a great stop on my way …

Uxmal (Inscribed)
Uxmal
I visited this site in January 2025, my first for the new year. I had initially planned to check out Labna, Sayil, and Kabah as well, but after all the …

Sítio Roberto Burle Marx (Inscribed)
Sítio Roberto Burle Marx
We visited Sitio Roberto Burle Marx in Sep 2022, when Rio was experiencing several days of torrential rain. I had to cancel our first two attempts to visit due to …

Red Fort (Inscribed)
Red Fort
Three reviews out of 400 visitors, with the last review written more than a decade ago… Surely, the Red Fort Complex deserves better, given how important and popular this site …

Jantar Mantar (Inscribed)
Jantar Mantar
Jantar Mantar in Jaipur is an 18th-century observatory built to study the sky with the naked eye (yep, no telescopes). It's a small, accessible, and quite straightforward site to visit, …

Qutb Minar (Inscribed)
Qutb Minar
This complex of mosques, tombs, towers, and other structures was the first site we visited on my “revenge” trip to India in Dec 2023, having missed this back in Dec …

Namib Sand Sea (Inscribed)
Namib Sand Sea
I visited this site in the summer (Dec 2015) as part of an organised tour to Etosha Pan (Etosha NP) and Sossusvlei (Namib-Naukluft NP). This was one of the best …

Tongariro National Park (Inscribed)
Tongariro National Park
Tongariro National Park boasts a couple of records. First, it is the first national park in New Zealand and one of the oldest national parks in the world. Second, it …

Bahá'í House of Worship at Ne… (On tentative list)
Bahá'í House of Worship at New Delhi
Despite having flu that was worsened by the awful smog, I decided to visit the Lotus Temple on the morning of our last day in Delhi in December 2023. I …

Humayun's Tomb (Inscribed)
Humayun's Tomb
My visit to Delhi in Dec 2023 was part of my mission of retracing my steps back in 2013, when I first travelled to India and missed visiting Humayun's Tomb …

Elephanta Caves (Inscribed)
Elephanta Caves
The previous reviews pretty much described what to expect from a visit to the Elephanta Caves, a collection of rock-cut cave temples dedicated to Shiva. Here are some observations and …

Sites of Saytagrah, India's n… (On tentative list)
Sites of Saytagrah, India's non-violent freedom mo
First TWHS review of 2024? If so, yay! :D
I did not give much attention to this TWHS simply because it was overshadowed by all other outstanding WHS and …

Ahmadabad (Inscribed)
Ahmadabad
Immediately after visiting the dusty cities that make up the Golden Triangle (Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur), arriving in Ahmedabad seemed to be a breath of fresh air, literally and figuratively. …

Salt Mines of Maras (On tentative list)
Salt Mines of Maras
We decided to move to Urumbamba after a week-long stay in Cusco during our trip to Valle Sagrado in August 2022. We thought that this was a good base to …

Rural Temples of Cusco (On tentative list)
Rural Temples of Cusco
One of our day trips from Cusco was spent visiting Valle Sur, located southeast of Cusco, with the intent of hopping between churches and archaeological sites. Said churches belong to …

Fraser Island (Inscribed)
Fraser Island
K'gari (Butchulla for Fraser Island) is undoubtedly as exceptional as it could be. It satisfies 3 of the 4 natural criteria, and the increased recognition of Butchulla people as …

Waitangi Treaty Grounds histo… (On tentative list)
Waitangi Treaty Grounds historic precinct
The Treaty of Waitangi was signed in 1840 at what is now called Te Pitowhenua Waitangi Treaty Grounds, perhaps Aotearoa New Zealand’s most important historical site. How the principles of …

Palais de la Culture, Rio de … (On tentative list)
Palais de la Culture, Rio de Janeiro
Edificio Palacio Gustavo Capanema is a pioneering modernist building located in the heart of Rio De Janeiro. It is just a short stroll away from other interesting buildings around Centro, …