TagUNESCO World Heritage Site

The Namib Sand Sea is a desert of vast sand dunes spread across the western coast of Angola, Namibia and South Africa. It is described as the world’s oldest desert, and its sand dunes—some of which stand 980 feet and span 20 miles—are among the largest on the planet. Due to scorching days, freezing nights

Paphos, an archaeological property in western Cyprus’s District of Paphos, dates back to the Neolithic period (the New Stone Age). Legends cite it as the birthplace of Aphrodite, a Greek goddess seen as the ideal of beauty and love, and widely known through the influence of Homeric poetry. For centuries, Paphos served as the center

The Caribbean Island of Saint Lucia is known for its two cone-shaped mountains—the Pitons—towering out of its southwest coast. The two volcanic spires, Gros Piton and Petit Piton, standing 2,619 feet and 2,438 feet high, respectively, are managed in an 11.5 square mile reserve, which also protects the neighboring forest, 7 miles of coastline and

The Historic Center of Prague was an important city in medieval central Europe. With a history reaching back thousands of years, Prague has played key roles in the Bohemian and Protestant Reformations and the Thirty Years’ War, and served as the historic capital of both the Kingdom of Bohemia and the former Czechoslovakia. The city

Chapada dos Veadeiros is one of two Brazilian national parks in the protected areas of Cerrado, the most biodiverse savanna in the world. Within the park’s 929 square miles reside jaguar, capybara and endangered species including the giant armadillo. The park is noted for its more than 300 waterfalls and rock formations, which are some

The biodiversity and natural beauty of Kinabalu Park garnered it official recognition as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2000. The park traverses four separate climactic zones. In a single day, visitors can explore lowland rainforests, subalpine meadows and ascend the park’s namesake, Mount Kinabalu. The mountain stands at 13,435 feet, as the highest peak

In central Mexico’s Guanajuato, a kaleidoscope of Neoclassical and Baroque buildings stacked atop one another comprises the city’s historic core. The disorderly townscape, uncharacteristic of organized Spanish colonial settlements, was brought about by the rapid influx of people that started after the 1548 discovery of silver deposits in nearby mountains. By the 18th century, Guanajuato

Trogir is a fortified island town in Croatia, founded by Greek settlers over 2,000 years ago. Its cultural heritage has been well preserved, largely due to its surrounding walls and manmade water channel separating it from the mainland. Trogir’s layout dates back to prehistoric times. At the center of the main town square stands the

The Rocky Mountains are the largest mountain system in North America and, in the parts north of the U.S. border, home to several Canadian national parks: Banff, Jasper, Kootenay and Yoho. The vast Canadian Rockies are studded with mountain peaks, glaciers, lakes, waterfalls, canyons and limestone caves, forming striking mountain landscapes. It is also the

Located in Australia’s southeast Queensland and Northeast New South Wales, the Gondwana Rainforests are like a time capsule of Earth’s evolutionary history, packed with biological diversity. Within the forests are plant and animal species still closely related to their ancient ancestors. The world’s oldest-known species of conifer tree, which thrived during the Jurassic period, still

Known as “the land of fire and ice,” the Vatnajökull National Park is a vast volcanic region spread across nearly 3.5 million acres, covering 14% of Iceland’s territory. The park is located on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, which separates the North American and Eurasion tectonic plates. This creates the conditions for its 10 central volcanoes, two

The walled city of Jaipur is the capital of the Indian state of Rajasthan. Founded in 1727, it is one of the first planned cities of modern India, based on the Vastu shastra, a Hindu “science of architecture” inspired by ancient texts. Markets, shops, residences and temples line the streets, which intersect in large public

Bryggen is a historic harbor district in Bergen, one of North Europe’s oldest port cities on Norway’s west coast. It was a trade hub of the Hanseatic League—a medieval commercial and defense guild that controlled maritime trade in the North and Baltic Seas from the 14th to the mid-16th century. The old wharf is characterized

The city of Potosí is located at an altitude of more than 13,000 feet, making it one of the world’s highest. Founded in the mid-16th century when silver was discovered in the Potosí Mountain, it soon became the largest city in the New World and the world’s largest industrial complex for its silver mining industry.

Rising 12,388 feet, Mount Fuji is Japan’s highest peak. Though still classified as active, the stratovolcano has lain dormant since 1707. Its cultural and spiritual influence extends far beyond Japan’s borders. Mount Fuji is known as a beloved symbol of Japan, featured in art and poetry through the ages, including the famous Hokusai woodblock print

Located in northern Cambodia, the city of Angkor was the center of the Khmer Kingdom, which thrived from the 9th to the 14th centuries. In that time, the Khmer erected architectural masterpieces in the city, including Angkor Wat, the world’s largest religious structure, and other temples like the Bayon, Preah Khan and Ta Prohm. Many

Lord Howe Island was uninhabited until the late 1700s when the British navy claimed it and other nearby islands. The remote island’s thriving ecosystem includes rare endemic species such as the Lord Howe Woodhen, a flightless bird, and the Lord Howe Island Phasmid, the world’s largest stick insect. Soaring mountain peaks formed by an underwater

For almost 25 centuries, the Acropolis of Athens has survived wars, earthquakes and fires, adapting to different uses and civilizations. Original fortifications on the hilltop site date back to the 13th century BCE. The Acropolis—which stands as the most complete monument of Greek antiquity—was built in the 5th century BCE alongside other great architectural achievements,

Koutammakou is home to the Batammariba people of northeastern Togo. This living cultural landscape is characterized by takienta—tower-shaped houses built out of mud and straw. The site’s outstanding architecture and its integration of the forests, sacred rocks, springs and other elements of the environment in its construction express the close relationship that the Batammariba have

Tenochtitlàn, the capital of the Aztec Empire, was founded on an island in Lake Texcoco around the year 1325. The location was chosen when the ancient people found an eagle eating a snake atop a cactus, a scene believed to be a sign from the god Huitzilopochtli. It became the center of the most powerful