UNESCO Has Added 19 Stunning Cultural and Natural Sites to Its World Heritage List
From ancient cities to towering mountains to snow-capped temples.
UNESCO's World Heritage Committee has just wrapped up its two-week long meeting in Manama, Bahrain, during which it added a further 19 sites to the World Heritage List — the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation's list of landmarks and areas that are legally protected due to their significance.
Thirteen of the new sites have been selected for their cultural importance, three are sites with noteworthy natural features, and the remaining three fall into both the natural and cultural categories. The list of the new cultural sites chosen is as follows:
Aasivissuit-Nipisat. Inuit hunting ground between ice and sea in Denmark.
Al-Ahsa Oasis, an evolving cultural landscape in Saudi Arabia.
Ancient city of Qalhat in Oman.
Archaeological border complex of Hedeby and the Danevirke in Germany.
Caliphate city of Medina Azahara in Spain.
Göbekli Tepe in Turkey.
Hidden Christian sites in the Nagasaki region in Japan.
Ivrea, industrial city of the 20th century in Italy.
Naumburg Cathedral in Germany.
Sansa, Buddhist Mountain monasteries in Korea in the Republic of Korea.
Sassanid archaeological landscape of Fars region in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Thimlich Ohinga archaeological site in Kenya.
Victorian Gothic and Art Deco ensembles of Mumbai in India.
Barberton Makhonjwa Mountains in South Africa, the Chaine des Puys — Limagne fault tectonic arena in France and Fanjingshan in China have been selected as the new natural sites. Meanwhile, the new mixed sites are Chiribiquete National Park, aka 'The Maloca of the Jaguar' in Colombia' Pimachiowin Aki in Canada and Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Valley's originary habitat of Mesoamerica in Mexico.
In addition, the committee approved the expansion of one natural site: Central Sikhote-Alin in the Bikin River Valley in Russia.
The World Heritage List now includes 1092 different sites spread across 167 countries. Perusing the full list is certain to get you marvelling at the planet's many wonders — and give you some serious travel inspiration.
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