I see, but no connection going from the extension to the current WHS.

We don't do connections for TWHS. Sometimes the State Party adds "Extension" to the name of te site. Maybe I can see whether I can add some kind of indicator, of course it is of interest to see the link the other way around too.

@winterkjm, just a quick note to say I'm really enjoying reading your reviews from Portugal and Spain. I hope you had a good time travelling around, it seems that you did.

Thanks! We had a wonderful time. Now with the new scheduled reviews, I feel like I will be writing and publishing WHS and TWHS reviews until the end of the month. I still have several to get to.

BTW, congratulations on hitting your 100th review! And I agree with meltwaterfalls -- I'm enjoying your reviews and the insights into Spanish WHS I have yet to visit.

Hi there everyone,

I was hoping you could help me with some advice/information.

In a couple of weeks I will travel to Barcelona on a long weekend for the first time to visit some friends and family ... and visit a few T/WHS along the way. I want to start off with some of the more out of the way places before exploring Barcelona and was hoping to hire a car to efficiently visit Tarragona (Tarraco), Poblet and El Cogul (Roca dels Moros, part of the Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin WHS, and, from what I have been able to find out, probably the most extensive such site within reach of Barcelona).

My question from those who have done this regards timing and feasibility. Ideally I would leave Barcelona early in the morning on Thursday, drive to El Cogul (the furthest location), visit the site and visitor centre, continue to Poblet, and then do Tarraco. My problem is that El Cogul is open from 10:00 until 14:30 (afternoons only accessible with reservation) and Poblet from 10:00 to 12:30 (and then again from 15:00 to 17:25) and it's about 40mins from one to the other. Given the very short opening times at Poblet is it realistic to visit El Cogul first and then Poblet, whilst still giving enough time for both? And is the 12:30 time for Poblet last entry or when it closes? Because if it closes at that time you probably have to enter by 11:30 at the latest to have enough time to visit, which seems ridiculous.

Or would you recommend Tarraco in the morning, Poblet in the afternoon and finally El Cogul on reservation (how likely is it that they will open the site for just one person)?

Any help and advice would be very much appreciated.

Thanks, Erik.

It depends what you want to see at Tarragona, most if not all sites are open 24h? From someone who has seen too many Roman ruins in Europe I found it hard to see something new at the theater, walls, aqueduct and the famous arch (the best thing to see although it's annoyingly on a busy road). The criteria of inscription are mainly for the urban planning and "testimony in the history" which isn't something exciting to see. Someone will probably tell you different but you can see it all in the morning before the other 2 sites. Getting to El Cogul before noon is easy (1h from Tarragona is you use the AP), then have lunch, finally Poblet in the afternoon. I think this isn't tough.

Hi Zoe,

Thanks for the tip. That may be the way forward then. I had initially thought to leave Tarragona last since usually a city has more places worth visiting (not just the WHS itself, but cathedral, old town, etc. - obviously how long a person spends at a place is entirely subjective and personal). However if you think that a morning is plenty then I'll do it that way.

On a completely separate note, I'm also planning on doing 2 tentative sites as well, namely Montserrat and Egara episcopal see (in Terrassa). I know I could do both by car quite simply, but I am trying to use public transport as much as possible (to compensate for my flygskam). How doable is it to reach Terrassa by public transport from Montserrat? I see that the railway branch line that goes through Terrassa has a station (Castellbell i el Vilar - Monistrol de Montserrat) only 4km from the base of the Montserrat cog railway, but there doesn't seem to be any connection between them (the road doesn't even have a path that you can walk along). Any advice?

I was wondering if Ronda was inscribed or not in the WHS list, and it seems not. Neither in the tentative list, is that correct? Have you ever discussed about it? I have never been in Ronda, but it looks quiet relevant to inscribe it, no?

For inspirational value or natural beauty?

I live near Ronda and although it's a pleasant town (albeit very touristy), I never thought of it as UNESCO-worthy, but I could be wrong!
They want to inscribe nearby Camino del Rey though.

It looks impressive, I confess I didn't check the the Added value of this site, it's only its beauty (pictures). I guess if it's touristic Spain can find a "UNESCO-worthy", no? So you confirm me there's no UNESCO project concerning Ronda?

Even in this old list of sites having been considered (from page 15), Ronda does not appear:

http://www.senado.es/pdf/legis6/senado/bocg/I0496.PDF

I see. It looks a nice place anyway, and if I have to go back to Andalucia i hope i'll visit it. I'm just surprised that nobody has mentionned its Worth, I am used to see almost all the impressive places around the world in the WHS list :) (not Always true, i agree)