my UNESCO World Heritage List

i go see all the places that make up one site. sometimes it's difficult and misleading, like "the baroque churches of the philippines" which is in actuality 4 different churches in 4 completely different regions (one in iloilo, another near vigan, etc.), but only has one listing. i feel my tour is incomplete if i haven't gone to them all. a good example is Hue, Vietnam. Gia Long was great, but it is one of many on the "multiple locations" list for this site and thus easily overlooked. the tourists who are prone to hurry think they've seen all they want with one or two nearer sites but in the same way i didn't think the Bayon (a specific temple within the area but built at a different time period) looked anything like angkor wat (another, more famous temple in the same area) (Both are under the heading "temples of angkor"), Gia Long (vietnam) didn't look like the others in the "multiple locations" hue list. doing justice to each WHS is time consuming and expensive but hey, i'm already there. It won't ever get cheaper to see it. and anyway, i think it's well worth it. come to think of it, even the 3 main tombs on the hue tourist list didn't look like anything like each other. they were all wonderful palaces, visually distinct from one another.

i also do all nature trails in national parks that take less than 1 day. i gave up doing them all when 1 trail in yosemite (usa) went all the way to, i think it was mt rainier (2 states away, hours away driving very fast by car) the other park trails were too intimidating, like going smack dab in the middle of the winter wasteland of the entire st. elias/wrangell/etc superpark (on foot, not a plane ride.) the park area's larger than several entire medium-sized countries put together.
sometimes i am disappointed by WHSs with only 1 trail. like ujung kulon's took days & i didn't see a rhino or elephant or jaguar, (i saw way too much trash washing up on shore though) and apparently not even the guides who do it for years have seen any. of course i realize the animals probably knew we were coming from far away and left. they might even have still been there, but remained hidden so i couldn't see them, like a where's waldo drawing.

i have posted up some pictures on facebook and multiply. i do all the stuff on the WHS tentative lists as well. It is a bit of an effort locating them on a map. Once again, sometimes they are great (sanqingshan, now an official WHS) and sometimes they are not.
i've seen some inscribed properties that i'm unhappy with, making me believe the list is bloated. sure i realize some sites are important or significant in some way, but just the same, i didn't need to see it. the WHS could also add some additional sites i know of that aren't even on a tentative list, like Sipadan (Borneo.)
overall, i'm glad i've heard of the WHS list. i'd never have been to places like guanajuato or lijiang (china) without it.
i do believe i learned how to scuba dive because of the WHS list.

As of April 28, 2009:


Cambodia
1. Temples of Angkor

Canada
2. Kluane / Wrangell-St Elias / Glacier Bay / Tatshenshini-Alsek # * 5
3. SGang Gwaay

China
4. Imperial Palaces of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in Beijing and Shenyang ****.5
5. Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor
6. The Great Wall
7. Mount Huangshan
8. Huanglong Scenic and Historic Interest Area
9. Jiuzhaigou Valley Scenic and Historic Interest Area
10. Wulingyuan Scenic and Historic Interest Area
11. Historic Ensemble of the Potala Palace, Lhasa
12. Lushan National Park
13. Mount Emei Scenic Area, including Leshan Giant Buddha Scenic Area
14. Classical Gardens of Suzhou
15. Old Town of Lijiang
16. Summer Palace, an Imperial Garden in Beijing
17. Temple of Heaven: an Imperial Sacrificial Altar in Beijing
18. Dazu Rock Carvings
19. Mount Wuyi
20. Ancient Villages in Southern Anhui – Xidi and Hongcun
21. Mount Qingcheng and the Dujiangyan Irrigation System
22. Historic Centre of Macau
23. Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries - Wolong, Mt Siguniang and Jiajin Mountains (1/3)
24, Kaiping Diaolou and Villages
25. South China Karst
26. Fujian Tulou
27. Mount Sanqingshan National Park
28. Imperial Tombs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties ***.5

Indonesia
29. Borobudur Temple Compounds
30. Prambanan Temple Compounds
31. Ujung Kulon National Park
32. Sangiran Early Man Site

Korea, Republic of
33. Changdeokgung Palace Complex

Malaysia
34. Gunung Mulu National Park
35. Kinabalu Park
36. Melaka and George Town, Historic Cities of the Straits of Malacca


Philippines
37. Baroque Churches of the Philippines *****3/4
38. Tubbataha Reef Marine Park
39. Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras
40. Historic Town of Vigan
41. Puerto-Princesa Subterranean River National Park

United States of America
42. Mesa Verde National Park
43. Grand Canyon National Park
44. Independence Hall
45. Kluane / Wrangell-St Elias / Glacier Bay / Tatshenshini-Alsek * 28
46. Redwood National and State Parks
47. Olympic National Park
48. Statue of Liberty
49. Yosemite National Park
50. Chaco Culture
51. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
52. Pueblo de Taos

Vietnam
53. Complex of Hué Monuments
54. Ha Long Bay
55. Hoi An Ancient Town
56. My Son Sanctuary
57. Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park

Brasil
73. Historic Town of Ouro Preto
74. Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Congonhas
75. Historic Town of Diamantina

Peru
76. Historic Center of Lima

Mexico
58. Archeological Zone of Paquimé, Casas Grandes
59. Agave Landscape and Ancient Industrial Facilities of Tequila
60. Historic Centre of Morelia
61. Hospicio Cabañas, Guadalajara
62. Historic Centre of Mexico City and Xochimilco
63. Pre-Hispanic City of Teotihuacan
64. Franciscan Missions in the Sierra Gorda of Querétaro
65. Historic Town of Guanajuato and Adjacent Mines
66. Historic Center of Zacatecas
67. Historic Monuments Zone of Querétaro
68. Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve
69. Archaeological Monuments Zone of Xochicalco
70. Luis Barragán House and Studio
71. Central University City Campus of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM)
72. Protective town of San Miguel and the Sanctuary of Jesús Nazareno de Atotonilco
77. Earliest 16th-Century Monasteries on the Slopes of Popocatepetl (2 of 14)
78. Historic Center of Puebla