I need 3 more to finish Japan (Ogasawara, Shiretoko, Tomioka Silk Mill). This should be possible within one more trip (and I'd be happy to go there again, would become the 4th visit to Japan)

Colvin
I visited 18 out of the 19 Brazilian WHS. The remainder is Pantanal. The inscribed area of Pantanal corresponds to 1% of the ecosystem and, guess what, is the hardest part to get to. The Pantanal National Park is virtually off-limits to the casual visitor... Other difficult WHS to reach in Brazil are Serra da Capivara NP and Amazon Conservation Complex but with some effort can be visited. Most WHS in Brazil are spread apart and I assume that 3 weeks to one entire month of travelling would be necessary to "complete" the Brazilian WHS or at least the 18 open to visitors.

The Ogasawara Islands seem like they might be the most challenging/time consuming of all the Japanese sites because of the long ferry ride. In addition to the natural component there, I'm intrigued by the WWII history of the islands. I see the Ogasawara Islands don't have a review yet, so it would be great if you do get there on a future visit!


That's awesome, aender! I didn't realize the Pantanal had such a small area of inscription, but looking online I see there's at least one tour that could make a visit there feasible, given enough time. Incidentally, thanks for all your Brazilian reviews. So far I've only seen Iguaçu Falls, and there's a lot more I hope to visit some day!

Countries I completed:
* Germany
* Austria (possible in one trip)
* Czech Republic (possible in one trip)

I do think "completing" a country has it's merits. With a mature list such as Germany's you will get a very good grasp of the culture and history of a country. I would enjoy it, if this site would have sth akin to badges to show on the user profile page, e.g. flags for completed countries, completed continents, ...

Thanks for joining the Forum aender (and for your Brazilian WHS reviews)!! We "need" more Latin American input (indeed, the wider geographical and cultural input we have, the better. Is there anyone out there from Africa and the Arab regions??). Until now, I believe, only vantcj1 from Costa Rica has "represented" your entire region.
I note that 8 of your 14 sites proposed as "Top 50 missing" were from South/Central America - and nothing wrong with that!
Any "news" or insights on WHS matters in general from your continent would be gratefully received. We have often commented in this forum on what seems to be "under-representation" of the region on the inscribed list. Do you have any news about what Brazil has done with the Paraty nomination for 2017 to try to overcome the previously perceived weaknesses?

Solivagant
Thanks, Solivagant. I totally agree on the subject of under-representation of South America in the WHS-List.
I don't have "inside" information about Paraty nomination. What I notice is that Valongo Wharf has already been nominated for 2017 and, should it be inscribed, it would be the second sucessive WHS for Rio de Janeiro State (after Rio city). Paraty also lies in RJ state and I have doubts the Federal Government would be inclined to nominate another tentative there.
The latest additions to the T-List favoured the inclusion of places in States with no WHS (e.g. Pará, Paraíba, Ceará and Acre), so, I guess, Paraty maybe has lost its timing in persuing its inscription. Let's see.

I made a list of the Top 100 WH travellers versus the Top 10 Countries:

http://www.worldheritagesite.org/statsc.html

Shows that there are a couple more completions: Atila & Nihal Ege have Italy complete, Pascal Cauliez France, Mikko Spain.

@Solivagant: also shows that you have work to do in Italy and China!

I am perhaps the only contributor to this forum who, based on previous trips, doesn't find travel in Italy a very satisfactory experience (sorry to any Italians or Italophiles - nothing "personal" intended).
We have however gritted our teeth and arranged a trip to Italy N of Rome later this year when we should be able to pick up most of the missing ones.
I must admit I am looking forward rather more to a return trip to Finland 1 month earlier!!

I am very much a believer that both individuals and countries possess "characters" which either "gel" together or don't and we and Italy are just "incompatible"!!

SG̱ang Gwaay is amazing. I have a feeling the site will be expanded soon to include all of Gwaii Haanas National Park.

Nahanni is amazing and I honestly feel that it is one of the greatest national parks on Earth....and this is coming from a guy who is trying to visit all 104 national parks in the US and Canada.


I search ever few months for trips to Midway. There hasn't been one in over 5 years now. I might contact the US Fish and Wildlife Service about hopping on one of their flights to take photos for a magazine (I'm a travel photographer).

I've seen your pictures of both SG̱ang Gwaay and Nahanni National Park on your website (as well as all of the other WHS you've visited); both of these WHS look incredible, and are on my bucket list of challenging WHS to visit. Papahânaumokuâkea is also on that list, so I'm keeping an eye out for options to get there. I hope everything works out for you to get a visit!

As far as I can tell, there is an undocumented way to get to Midway. The USFWS has monthly flights from Honolulu and the cost is $3,500 round trip. Your option would be staying on the island for a few hours or a month.

If you see anything about a charter flight next year for the 75th Anniversary, please post something.

@Solivagant: This is very interesting! I'm an Italophile and would sign up to anything Italian in a heartbeat. That said, I'm curious to know what characteristics might Italy have (or lack!) which would make it "incompatible" with a WH traveller (or anyone). I might understand someone saying that he's incompatible with China, India or Arab countries (mostly because of hygiene, traditions, poverty, safety, etc.) but how come Italy (from your reviews you seem quite a history/civilisations buff, which makes me even more curious what could have possibly gone wrong to make you incompatible).

Hi Clyde,
As Els had "highlighted" my low count of Italian WHS I felt that some "explanation" was required and it is a fact that, across many years, since my last significant visit in 1992 (which followed others since 1964) Italy has never "attracted" when I have perused the map of the world for that "next" destination.

A major part of the attraction of travel of course is experiencing and trying to appreciate different cultures and environments. All countries have their pluses and minuses including (especially??) UK - which you have just "undergone"! But, once one has experienced those of a particular country (and several times), it becomes an issue of whether one wants/needs "more of the same" or whether there are new un-visited places or more "compatible" places for a re-visit. But, since 1992 I certainly (unfortunately!) have "changed" and maybe Italy will have also - we will see this September whether these result in a different conclusion!

As for "incompatibility" - I am reluctant to indulge in national cultural stereotyping but there are "truths" inside them - if you listed the things which you find attractive about Italian culture I would probably go for the opposite in every case - Northern European v Southern European! "E Cosi" is not my ideal environment.

And what of the "sights" themselves. Leaving aside the World class ones, there are rather a lot of religious buildings and paintings etc etc. I was quite interested to read your review of Durham Cathedral ("If truth be told, there's nothing that special inside apart from the Norman elements of the cathedral.") - those stark minimally decorated and powerful architectural elements are what it is all about! You expect "more" inside a religious building? Conversely - coming from a non Catholic background I find it very difficult to enthuse about what seems to me to be excessive ornamentation. I also don't relate positively to Catholic works of art which, to my taste, tend to the mawkish. I go into the Uffizi and there is yet another room full of chubby cherubs! No thanks - give me a room of Dutch masters any day! And all those paintings/statues of Christ "do" as little for me as a cave full of Buddha statues in China - they are worth seeing a few times but then begin to merge into "sameness" without the religious impetus to help appreciate the message which led to their creation. I am not wanting to offend, but it is worth pointing out how different viewpoints can impact "appreciation" of religious art once one has accepted/understood the skill involved and the historical context in which they were created.

As for "what could possibly have gone wrong?". Well these examples might amuse and are in no way a "reason" for avoiding Italy - indeed they had their "interest" as experiences at the time - but you did ask!
a. Milan is the ONLY city in the world where we had our rental car towed away - totally incomprehensible parking regulations which seemed to be randomly imposed! Yet we experienced tremendous help from an Italian stranger who shepherded us through the bureaucracy to pay the fine and recover the car and even drove us out to the pound on the outskirts of the city!
b. I remember being awoken at 2 am one night by Carabinieri poking their guns through the flap of our tent just to find out who was in there!
c. Try arguing with an incorrect bill in a restaurant and you will get nowhere but leave some of the food and the chef will be mortified and will move heaven and earth to satisfy you!
E Cosi!!

One of the incompatibilities between you and Italy that I immediately thought of is indeed using a rental car versus the many narrow city centres with haphazard parking. Many of the Italian WHS indeed are (in) city centres, so you'd need to be more of a city (and art) person to enjoy it.


I also don't have a Catholic background, but I feel that the high doses of it in Italy just adds to experiencing "a different culture" (while Denmark bores me to death as it is so similar to Holland).

But it's all a matter of personal taste of course, and maybe past experiences. I believe I am incompatible with Australia.

I really enjoyed this discussion, and this quote could be directly from Mrs Meltwaterfalls:
I'm personally rather fond of Italy, but can certainly identify with some of Solivagant's notes, though on the whole I think I am too easily swayed by standing for an espresso at some marble topped counter.