Randi Thomsen

Norway \ Member since May 2013

#16 758 216 65

Together with Svein, we travel around the world to explore and enjoy new WHS, countries, culture and great food.  In 2010 we become WHS travellers, when we started planning our trips in order to visit WHS. 

Hunting for WHS makes us go off the beaten tracks and brings us to new and exciting places, trying to understand the OUV.  Travel is more than seeing new places, it’s  about learning history, new culture and enjoy excotic food and drinks. 

 

 

My most impressive site: There are so many impressive places in the world. I have a special feeling for Natural WHS like Galapagos, Yellowstone, Grand Canyon and Norwegian Fjords, but places like Machu Picchu, Angkor Wat and Rome is impressive

Recent Visits
  • 0
    3
    Aug. 3, 2025
    Sommer 2025 - Georgia: Ananuri, Samtavisi Cathedral, Uplistsikhe Cave Town
  • 1
    1
    Aug. 2, 2025
    Sommer 2025 - Georgia: Gelati Monastery, Vani
  • 1
    0
    July 31, 2025
    Sommer 2025 - Georgia: Upper Svaneti
Completed Countries

About Randi Thomsen

Member since
May 2013
Country of Origin
Norway
Visits
Rank
#16
WHS
758
Tentative Sites
216
Website Participation
Reviews
39
Ratings

Ratings

World Heritage Sites
Tentative Sites
760 44
Locations
0
Zones
0
Reserved for members.

Reviews by Randi Thomsen

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Palace inside the fortress

The Urartian Heritage of Yere… (On tentative list)

Erebuni museum and fortress

Erebuni Fortress was founded in 782 BCE by King Argishti I and is considered the birthplace of Yerevan. This ancient Urartian citadel once stood as a powerful military and administrative …

Dvin

The archaeological site of th… (On tentative list)

Dvin - doesn’t take long

Visit July 2025

Once a grand city — today, there’s almost nothing left.

A visit doesn’t take long. Not much has changed at this site since the last review.

There …

Streets of Stonetown

Island of Mozambique (Inscribed)

The forgotten capital in Mozambique

Visit July 2025. 

Although listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1991, Ilha de Moçambique, just a few handful of members from the community have made it here. 

We …

Freedom Towers

Nelson Mandela Legacy Sites (Inscribed)

Mandela Legacy Sites in Johannesburg

July 2025

We had the chance to visit three (four) locations of Nelson Mandela’s legacy in the Johannesburg area. This review focuses on logistics and practical experiences rather than deep …

Faya palace

Faya Palaeolandscape (Inscribed)

A bonus visit to Faya

Visit – June 25

This summer our first goal was Kenya. With Etihad we landed in Abu Dhabi a few minutes late to reach our morning connection to Nairobi. The …

Mulanje - mountain

Mount Mulanje Cultural Landsc… (Inscribed)

A timely visit to Mount Mulanje

Visit July 2025. When the nominations and evaluations for this year’s World Heritage session were published, we decided to carve out time in our itinerary for a short visit to …

Mijikenda Sacred Forests turned out to be one of the trickier ones to plan a visit to on your own. There are few helpful reviews or other visitor information online — and most available information focuses on Kaya Kinondo, which, as Els pointed out, isn’t

Mijikenda Kaya Forests (Inscribed)

Kaya Kambe

Mijikenda Sacred Forests turned out to be one of the trickier ones to plan a visit to on your own. There are few helpful reviews or other visitor information online …

Mount Kenya by Randi Thomsen

Mount Kenya (Inscribed)

Mount Kenya

As Els pointed out, there aren’t many reviews out there to help plan a visit to Mount Kenya. This is Africa’s second-highest mountain, reaching 5,199 meters, and most people associate …

Thimlich Ohinga by Randi Thomsen

Thimlich Ohinga (Inscribed)

Thimlich Ohinga

Tucked away in the far western corner of Kenya lies Thimlich Ohinga, hidden deep in the countryside. Although it’s been seven years since the site was inscribed on the World …

Centre historique de Praia by Randi Thomsen

Centre historique de Praia (On tentative list)

Centre historique de Praia

We stayed one night in the heart of Praia’s historic center, conveniently located for an early departure to one of the other islands. The city is perched on the naturally …

Odzala-Kokoua by Randi Thomsen

Odzala-Kokoua (Inscribed)

Odzala-Kokoua

We arrived the park after nightfall - it’s a 14 hour drive from Brazzaville.

Camp Impalanga, one of the few camps in Odzala, is a small facility run by …

Sangha Trinational by Randi Thomsen

Sangha Trinational (Inscribed)

Sangha Trinational

After a long day on the Sangha River from Oesso, we arrived at Dzanga-Sangha National Park we arrived at eight o’clock, the last leg in darkness. The speedboat journey through …

'Uruq Bani Ma'arid by Randi Thomsen

'Uruq Bani Ma'arid (Inscribed)

'Uruq Bani Ma'arid

This is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that I was very excited to visit, located at the edge of the legendary “Empty Quarter.” Desert landscapes have always fascinated me. However, …

Melka Kunture and Balchit by Randi Thomsen

Melka Kunture and Balchit (Inscribed)

Melka Kunture and Balchit

It’s likely we are the first visitors from our community to visit this site after inscription at the 2024 session.

On our southern Etiopia tour this was our first …

Andrefana Dry Forests by Randi Thomsen

Andrefana Dry Forests (Inscribed)

Andrefana Dry Forests

Els has covered this site pretty good, but we like to add a few comments. 

First of all, what an adventure to get here! We really enjoyed the drive …

Sian Ka'an by Randi Thomsen

Sian Ka'an (Inscribed)

Sian Ka'an

There are several reviews from this site, but the focus is on daytrips from Tulum. We opted for “the long drive” and an overnight stay at “the end” – at …

Niah Caves by Randi Thomsen

Niah Caves (Inscribed)

Niah Caves

Having visited the Niah Caves complex same year as Els we have almost “the same story” although with a few differences. The similarities were the Borneo Cultures Museum in Kuching, …

Yakushima by Randi Thomsen

Yakushima (Inscribed)

Yakushima

Having spent the last three weeks travelling “mainland Japan” we arrived Yakushima mid July 2023. The same means of transport (ferry) as everybody else took us from Kagoshima to Miyanoura …

Gusuku of Ryukyu by Randi Thomsen

Gusuku of Ryukyu (Inscribed)

Gusuku of Ryukyu

Visit June2023. It seems that most visitors of this site only visit the elements around Naha, the southern part of the Okinawa Island. Our Okinawa stay was three nights, and …

Hire Benkal by Randi Thomsen

Hire Benkal (On tentative list)

Hire Benkal

Visit December 2022 together with Philipp Peterer. On our way from Pattadakal to Hampi, we decided to check out this new tent site. So far no one in the community …

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