TagUNESCO World Heritage Site

Antigua Guatemala was founded in 1524 in the central highlands of Guatemala some 5,000 feet above sea level. Formally named Santiago de Guatemala, it served as the capital and the cultural, economic, religious and educational center for the region. Since its founding, the city was destroyed by a fire caused by an uprising of the

Located at the southwestern part of South Africa, the Cape Floral region is regarded as one of the six Floral Kingdoms of the world and one of the great centers of terrestrial biodiversity. The property, consisting of various national parks and nature reserves, is home to a diverse and dense population of some 9,000 plant

The Rideau Canal is the best preserved slackwater canal in North America. Built in the early 19th century, it originally functioned as a military barrier between the U.S. and the British forces defending the colony of Canada. It is the only example from the 19th century canal-building era that operates on its original path with

From vast stretches of field and jungle, tepui, the main attraction of Canaima National Park, jets out toward the sky. These sandstone mesas, revered by the indigenous Pemon people as the homes of protector spirits, formed early in Earth’s history, when the planet’s first life forms, single-celled microorganisms, were still just evolving. As the tepui

Recognized as i borghi più belli d’Italia, or one of “the most beautiful villages of Italy,” Alberobello is famous for its characteristic conic houses called trulli. Commissioned by Count Giangirolamo II (1600–65) in the 1630s, the unique structures were built by farmers to use as their personal residences as they worked the land. The rooftops

Rivers throughout the world form at their ends triangular deltas, where the mouth of the river breaks into smaller streams that feed into oceans and seas. The Okavango Delta, however, breaks out into open land in Botswana’s Kalahari Desert. As the seasons change, so does the delta, its banks flooding and receding with the rain,

The ruins of an ancient fortress stand atop a large rock surrounded by jungle in central Sri Lanka. King Kassapa I selected the rock for his new capital after ascending the throne in 473 ce, fashioning this palace fortress with a gated entry in the shape of an enormous stone lion, earning the bastion its

Among Europe’s fortified sites, Luxembourg served as one of its greatest for centuries. Founded as a small fort in the middle of the 10th century, the City of Luxembourg expanded in the 12th century with settlements and stone fortifications, which then grew in the 14th and 15th centuries. From the Holy Roman Empire to the

Located in northeastern Vietnam’s Gulf of Tonkin, Ha Long Bay and Cat Ba Archipelago comprise roughly 160,000 acres of lush emerald waters with over 1,600 islands and islets. The name Ha Long, meaning “descending dragon” in Vietnamese, derives from the legend that a family of dragons descended from heaven, spraying jewels to defend the people

The Upper Middle Rhine Valley, popularly referred to as the Rhine Gorge, is a 40-mile stretch of land along one of Europe’s major rivers, the Rhine. The river and its gorge have functioned as an important trade route through central Europe since prehistoric times. As wealth flowed in with the river, merchant settlements and castles

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