Nan Profile

Why?

If you enjoy spending your holidays in a club hotel in the Caribbean drinking Mai Tais, that's fine. It's your holiday and do as you please. And I personally enjoy the occasional Mai Tai on the beach, too. For me, though, spending more than a few days in the aforementioned Caribbean club hotel would be akin to purgatory. Because I like moving around, seeing new things and going to distant places.

As such I have read my fair share of guide books to figure out where to go and what to see. For instance, a few years back I visited Chile. A great place with astonishing nature to explore. Meanwhile Santiago de Chile, the capital, is fairly lackluster, having been destroyed by multiple earthquakes over the centuries. Still, any guidebook you pick up will spend a full chapter on Santiago extolling its virtues.

World Heritage Sites are different. They are as objective as it gets. They make you travel off the beaten path. I will always fondly remember my cab ride in a Czech winter landscape to Holasovice. And while Holasovice is just for the WHS connoisseurs, more often than not WHS are great sites.

Initially, I focused on quantity. And while this may seem stressful, it did give me a good picture and overview. Of late (ever since reaching the magical 300) I collect differently. Now I plan my trips on the truly great sites and pick up any site to the left and right I can visit on top.

So, should you become a WHS traveler, too? My honest recommendation is to do as you please. But if you are going to country anyhow (and be it in a club hotel), then use the map provided on this site and check out if any world heritage site is nearby. It may force to travel a bit off the beaten path, but trust me, it will be worth it.

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Germany Last Update 26.05.19 431 WHS Visited 151 Reviews 424 WHS Rated 98 TWHS Visited

Visited Sites Nan

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Recent Reviews Nan

Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve

Nan Germany - 10-May-19

The Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserves is one of those really unique world heritage sites. As far as I can tell there is nothing on the list that compares to it: a forest full of butterflies. Simply amazing.

With my mandatory guide, I hiked into the park. At first, there were scores of dying butterflies on the ground. Then we ran into larger clouds of butterflies swirling in the air. And eventually, we made it to the butterfly covered trees.

Unfortunately, I visited before lunch. The time wasn't perfect. The parks are in the mountains and before lunch, it's cloudy and potentially too cold for the butterflies to fly around. They even put up a sign (see picture).

Read On

Maltese Catacomb Complexes (T)

Nan Germany - 10-May-19

On my way to Mdina I visited the St Paul's Catacombs. These date from Roman times and were used as burial grounds. The site covers several small and large caves and makes for a nice visit. Watch your head as the height of the caves varies greatly.

To me the most surprising feature was how many caves there were. The whole area is dotted with them. The Maltase have done a good job in making them accessible. It is useful, though, to bring a flash light as lighting is poor.

After a while, though, the caves got to be a bit repetitive. The caves look more or less the same and any form of artistic expression is missing.

Read On

Knights Fortifications around the Harbours of Malta (T)

Nan Germany - 10-May-19

Valletta offers natural harbors on both sides of the peninsula on which it is located. Each harbor is protected by massive fortifications and forts along its shores. The fortifications were continuously improved by the local rulers (first the Knights of Malta, then the British) and repelled many attackers over the centuries.

Most noticeably, they repelled the Ottomans during the Great Siege of Malta. The event marked the end of Ottoman naval supremacy in the Mediterranean.

OUV I fully concur with Ralf's assessment. This would be a obvious and well warranted extension to the Valletta WHS. Honestly, without researching the proper boundaries of the Valletta WHS, it feels like the surrounding forts are already part of it anyhow. A separate inscription meanwhile would be redundant. So yes for an extension. And no for a separate site

Read On

Popocatepetl monasteries

Nan Germany - 09-May-19

Similarly to Els and Ian I ended up visiting both Cuernavaca and Tepoztlán. I say ended up as my original plan was to only visit Cuernavaca. Cuernavaca has the benefit that you are passing through the town in any case when travelling from Mexico City to Xochicalco by bus. So it's really quite a simple and quick visit.

However, Cuernavaca is underwhelming as a site. Of the inscribed monasteries, Cuernavaca is the one which was redone and remodeled the most over the centuries. So much so that little original 16th century constructions remain. The oldest part is the open chapel, the Capilla abierta. And frankly I barely noticed it.

Read On

Kii Mountain Range

Nan Germany - 09-May-19

As a day trip from Nara I visited Yoshino to see the Kii Mountains. From the valley where the train station is located I took a cable car up the hill. I arrived in a tourist village with plenty of shops and restaurants. The village also contains Kinpusen-ji, an important temple of the region.

From the village I set out to hike along the pilgrim path into the Kii Mountains. On my way I crossed multiple temples and everything quieted down; there were not that many hikers, but that may have been caused by me visiting outside vacation season.

Read On

Profile Data

Name: Nan
Country: Germany
Most Impressive: Petra, Machu Picchu, Angkor
Proposal: Seoraksan, Korea. Okefenokee, USA.

Recently Visited WHS

Update 26.05.19: Gammelstad

Laponian Area

High Coast / Kvarken Archipelago

Visited WHS

Rating Stats

Ancient Thebes 5

Angkor 5

Florence 5

Iguazu National Park 5

Los Glaciares 5

Machu Picchu 5

Mesa Verde 5

Palenque 5

Petra 5

Pyramids (Memphis) 5

Rapa Nui 5

Rome 5

Teotihuacan 5

Vatican City 5

Venice and its Lagoon 5

Amsterdam Canal Ring 4.5

Chichen-Itza 4.5

Cordoba 4.5

Dubrovnik 4.5

Fatehpur Sikri 4.5

Granada 4.5

Grand Canyon 4.5

Great Wall 4.5

Jantar Mantar 4.5

Meteora 4.5

Paris, Banks of the Seine 4.5

Piazza del Duomo (Pisa) 4.5

Pompei 4.5

Prague 4.5

Ravenna 4.5

Sceilg Mhichíl 4.5

St. Petersburg 4.5

Versailles 4.5

Vienna 4.5

West Norwegian Fjords 4.5

Yosemite National Park 4.5

Aachen Cathedral 4

Acropolis 4

Agrigento 4

Ancient Kyoto 4

Arab-Norman Palermo 4

Brugge 4

Budapest 4

Castel del Monte 4

Cueva de las Manos 4

Dolomites 4

El Escurial 4

Everglades 4

Giant's Causeway 4

Guanajuato 4

Ha Long Bay 4

Haeinsa Temple 4

Hal Saflieni Hypogeum 4

Himeji-jo 4

Humayun's Tomb 4

Iguacu 4

Imperial Palace 4

Istanbul 4

Itsukushima Shrine 4

Keoladeo National Park 4

Kew Gardens 4

Kinderdijk 4

Kotor 4

Kremlin and Red Square 4

Los Alerces National Park 4

Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve 4

Nasca Lines 4

Oaxaca and Monte Alban 4

Peninsula Valdes 4

Portovenere, Cinque Terre, and the Islands 4

Rietveld Schröderhuis 4

Riga 4

Selimiye Mosque 4

Siena 4

Sintra 4

Skocjan Caves 4

South China Karst 4

Studley Royal Park 4

Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch 4

Teide National Park 4

Temple of Heaven 4

Trang An 4

Tugendhat Villa 4

Upper Middle Rhine Valley 4

Valletta 4

Vicenza 4

Wieliczka and Bochnia Royal Salt Mines 4

Wooden Churches of Southern Malopolska 4

Wooden Tserkvas of the Carpathian Region 4

Works of Antoni Gaudí 4

Assisi 3.5

Auschwitz Birkenau 3.5

Bordeaux 3.5

Bryggen 3.5

Calakmul 3.5

Central University City Campus of the UNAM 3.5

Cesky Krumlov 3.5

Champagne 3.5

Churches of Chiloé 3.5

Churches of Peace 3.5

Cracow 3.5

Cuenca 3.5

Danube Delta 3.5

Fagus Factory 3.5

Fortified City of Carcassonne 3.5

Fujisan 3.5

Grand Place, Brussels 3.5

Gyeongju 3.5

Jesuit Missions of the Guaranis 3.5

Kii Mountain Range 3.5

L'viv 3.5

Malbork Castle 3.5

Matera 3.5

Megalithic Temples of Malta 3.5

Mexico City and Xochimilco 3.5

Mountain Railways of India 3.5

Museumsinsel (Museum Island) 3.5

Reims 3.5

Rhodes 3.5

Sambor Prei Kuk 3.5

Schönbrunn 3.5

Syracuse 3.5

Tallinn 3.5

The trulli of Alberobello 3.5

University of Coimbra 3.5

Villa Romana del Casale 3.5

Wadden Sea 3.5

Western Ghats 3.5

Westminster 3.5

White Monuments of Vladimir and Suzdal 3.5

Yagul and Mitla 3.5

Agra Fort 3

Albi 3

Amiens Cathedral 3

Ancient Nara 3

Antequera Dolmens Site 3

Aquileia 3

Archaeological Site of Aigai 3

Arequipa 3

Arles 3

Avignon 3

Avila 3

Bamberg 3

Belem 3

Bellinzone 3

Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe 3

Brú na Bóinne 3

Bursa and Cumalikizik 3

Canterbury 3

Cathedral of St. James in Sibenik 3

Changdeokgung Palace Complex 3

Churches and Convents of Goa 3

Cilento and Vallo di Diano 3

City of Bath 3

Cologne Cathedral 3

Costiera Amalfitana 3

Cuzco 3

Derwent Valley Mills 3

El Fuerte de Samaipata 3

Falun Great Copper Mountain 3

Flemish Béguinages 3

Fontainebleau 3

Fortifications of Vauban 3

Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz 3

Grand Canal 3

Great Smoky Mountains 3

Gwynedd Castles 3

Hill Forts of Rajasthan 3

Hiraizumi 3

Hoi An 3

Horyu-ji Area 3

Hué 3

Hwaseong Fortress 3

Imperial Tombs 3

Jesuit Missions of Trinidad and Jesus 3

Jongmyo Shrine 3

Kaiping Diaolou 3

Kiev 3

Kutna Hora 3

Liverpool 3

Luang Prabang 3

Luis Barragán House and Studio 3

Lyon 3

Macao 3

Maritime Greenwich 3

Maulbronn Monastery 3

Mostar 3

Mount Athos 3

Nikko 3

Oporto 3

Plitvice Lakes 3

Poblet Monastery 3

Pont du Gard 3

Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal 3

Potosi 3

Potsdam 3

Preah Vihear Temple 3

Qhapaq Ñan 3

Quedlinburg 3

Rammelsberg and Goslar 3

Rock Carvings in Tanum 3

Rock Drawings in Valcamonica 3

Royal Joseon Tombs 3

Salamanca 3

San Miguel de Allende 3

Santiago de Compostela 3

Segovia 3

Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple 3

Seville 3

Shirakawa-go and Gokayama 3

Southern Öland 3

Speicherstadt and Kontorhaus District 3

Split 3

Statue of Liberty 3

Stevns Klint 3

Stonehenge 3

Strasbourg 3

Sucre 3

Summer Palace 3

Swiss Tectonic Arena Sardona 3

Taj Mahal 3

The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier 3

Tower of London 3

Trebic 3

Trinity Sergius Lavra 3

Urbino 3

Urnes Stave Church 3

Uxmal 3

Valparaiso 3

Villa d'Este 3

Vilnius 3

Visby 3

Völklingen Ironworks 3

Warsaw 3

Wartburg Castle 3

Würzburg Residence 3

Xochicalco 3

Yaroslavl 3

Zollverein 3

Abbey of St Gall 2.5

Bauhaus Sites 2.5

Belfries 2.5

Berlin Modernism Housing Estates 2.5

Blenheim Palace 2.5

Boyana Church 2.5

Burgundy 2.5

Caceres 2.5

Camino Real 2.5

Chartres Cathedral 2.5

Cistercian Abbey of Fontenay 2.5

Convent of Christ in Tomar 2.5

Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland 2.5

Elvas 2.5

Engelsberg Ironworks 2.5

Euphrasian Basilica in Porec 2.5

Evora 2.5

Fortress of Suomenlinna 2.5

Fray Bentos 2.5

Genbaku Dome 2.5

Gorham's Cave Complex 2.5

Graz 2.5

Grimeton Radio Station 2.5

Hallstatt-Dachstein 2.5

Heritage of Mercury 2.5

Independence Hall 2.5

Ironbridge Gorge 2.5

Isole Eolie 2.5

Jesuit Missions of the Chiquitos 2.5

Kalwaria Zebrzydowska 2.5

Longobards in Italy 2.5

Lübeck 2.5

Mantua and Sabbioneta 2.5

Margravial Opera House 2.5

Medici Villas and Gardens 2.5

Medina of Tétouan 2.5

Monastery of Alcobaça 2.5

Monastery of Batalha 2.5

Muskauer Park 2.5

Nancy 2.5

Naples 2.5

Nesvizh 2.5

Notre-Dame Cathedral in Tournai 2.5

Orange 2.5

Palau de la Musica Catalana and Hospital de Sant Pau 2.5

Palmeral of Elche 2.5

Panamá 2.5

Pilgrimage Church of St. John of Nepomuk 2.5

Plantin-Moretus Museum 2.5

Popocatepetl monasteries 2.5

Provins 2.5

Puebla 2.5

Qutb Minar 2.5

Red Fort 2.5

Rhaetian Railway 2.5

Rila Monastery 2.5

Route of Santiago de Compostela 2.5

Royal Saltworks of Arc-et-Senans 2.5

Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy 2.5

Saltaire 2.5

San Gimignano 2.5

Santa Maria delle Grazie 2.5

Sian Ka'an 2.5

Skogskyrkogarden 2.5

Speyer Cathedral 2.5

Stari Grad Plain 2.5

Stralsund and Wismar 2.5

Tarraco 2.5

Telc 2.5

The Four Lifts 2.5

Thessalonika 2.5

Tiwanaku 2.5

Toledo 2.5

Tomioka Silk Mill 2.5

Trier 2.5

Trogir 2.5

Val d'Orcia 2.5

Val di Noto 2.5

Van Nellefabriek 2.5

Vat Phou 2.5

Villa Adriana (Tivoli) 2.5

Wachau Cultural Landscape 2.5

Alcala de Henares 2

Archaeological site of Philippi 2

Benedictine Convent of St. John 2

Canal du Midi 2

Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust 2

Centennial Hall 2

China Danxia 2

Christiansfeld 2

City of Luxembourg 2

Curonian Spit 2

Ferrara 2

Gardens and Castle at Kromeríz 2

Gochang, Hwasun, and Ganghwa Dolmen 2

Holy Trinity Column 2

Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine 2

Jelling 2

Karlskrona 2

Kernavë 2

Kronborg Castle 2

La Lonja de la Seda 2

Lavaux, Vineyard Terraces 2

Lednice-Valtice Cultural Landscape 2

Lima 2

Litomysl Castle 2

Major Town Houses 2

Mining Sites of Wallonia 2

Modena 2

Monte San Giorgio 2

Morelia 2

Mount Etna 2

Mudejar Architecture of Aragon 2

Mérida 2

Neolithic Flint Mines at Spiennes 2

Nessebar 2

Novgorod 2

Novodevichy Convent 2

Peking Man Site 2

Pienza 2

Pilgrimage Church of Wies 2

Prehistoric Pile Dwellings 2

Primeval Beech Forests 2

Rock-hewn Churches of Ivanovo 2

Roskilde Cathedral 2

Royal Palace at Caserta 2

Saint-Emilion 2

Salzburg 2

San Marino and Mount Titano 2

Santa Maria de Guadelupe 2

Struve Geodetic Arc 2

Town Hall and Roland, Bremen 2

Venetian Works of Defence 2

Verona 2

Zamosc 2

Aranjuez 1.5

Beemster Polder 1.5

Birka and Hovgarden 1.5

Botanical Garden, Padua 1.5

Campeche 1.5

Caves and Ice Age Art 1.5

Church of the Ascension, Kolomenskoye 1.5

Classical Weimar 1.5

Colonia del Sacramento 1.5

Crespi d'Adda 1.5

Donana National Park 1.5

Drottningholm 1.5

Fertö/Neusiedlersee 1.5

Frontiers of the Roman Empire 1.5

Genoa 1.5

Hedeby and Danevirke 1.5

Holasovice 1.5

Ir. D.F. Woudagemaal 1.5

Ivrea 1.5

La Chaux-de-Fonds / Le Locle 1.5

Luther Memorials 1.5

Madara Rider 1.5

Naumburg Cathedral 1.5

Par force hunting landscape 1.5

Pirin National Park 1.5

Portobelo-San Lorenzo 1.5

Querétaro 1.5

Regensburg 1.5

Reichenau 1.5

Residences of the Royal House of Savoy 1.5

Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France 1.5

Semmering Railway 1.5

Thracian tomb of Sveshtari 1.5

Torun 1.5

Abbey and Altenmünster of Lorsch 1

Corvey 1

Defence Line of Amsterdam 1

Hildesheim Cathedral and Church 1

Messel Pit 1

Mir Castle 1

Nord-Pas de Calais Mining Basin 1

Old City of Berne 1

Schokland 1

Srebarna Nature Reserve 1

Stoclet House 1

Tarnowskie Góry Lead-Silver Mine 1

Thang Long 1

Tlacotalpan 0.5

Vineyard Landscape of Piedmont 0.5

Belovezhskaya Pushcha / Bialowieza Forest

Edinburgh

Etruscan Necropolises

Forth Bridge

Gammelstad

High Coast / Kvarken Archipelago

Laponian Area

Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution

World Heritage Site

for World Heritage Travellers

Nan Profile

Why?

If you enjoy this...

Visited Sites Nan

Legend

Recent Reviews Nan

Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve

Maltese Catacomb Complexes (T)

Knights Fortifications around the Harbours of Malta (T)

Popocatepetl monasteries

Kii Mountain Range

Profile Data

Recently Visited WHS

Visited WHS

Reviewed WHS

Visited TWHS

Reviewed TWHS

Top 50 Missing Sites

Top 200 WHS