Banff National Park, Alberta

Banff National Park, Alberta

Banff is probably the best known national park in Canada. Located in the Canadian Rockies, just a 90 minute drive from Calgary, it is also one of the more accessible national parks in Canada. Part of the fame of Banff comes the fact that it is also Canada’s oldest national park. Established in 1885, just …

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Visiting Banská Štiavnica, Slovakia

Visiting Banská Štiavnica

Banská Štiavnica is a town located in central Slovakia. It was an important center for gold and silver mining from the 15th to 19th centuries. At one point it was the second-largest city in the Kingdom of Hungary. It was inscribed on the world heritage list as The Historic Town of Banská Štiavnica and the …

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Visiting Pont-du-Gard, France

Pont-du-Gard UNESCO World Heritage Site

The Pont-du-Gard is the remains of a Roman aqueduct that delivered water over 30km to the Roman colony of Nemausus, what is today called the modern city of Nimes. It also holds the distinction of being the highest surviving Roman aqueduct in the world. Overview The aqueduct was used as a bridge across the river …

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The 12 Most Difficult To Visit UNESCO World Heritage Sites

The 12 Most Difficult To Visit UNESCO World Heritage Sites

As you have probably noticed, I have a fetish for visiting UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Having visited 400 of them, I often am asked if I plan on visiting all of them. The answer is “no” and I’m not even sure it is possible. As of 2020, there are 1,120 UNESCO World Heritage sites and …

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19 Interesting Facts About World Heritage Sites

19 Interesting Facts About World Heritage Sites

I have been visiting UNESCO World Heritage Sites since I began traveling full time in 2007. Since then I have visited over 375 sites around the world and have photographed all of them. There are no typical world heritage sites. They come in all shapes and sizes, from a few square meters to sites larger …

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Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii

Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is one of the first national parks when I began traveling full time. I had previously been to Volcanoes in 2006 as part of a geology department trip with the University of Minnesota. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is one of the few places on Earth where you can see an active …

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Tongariro National Park

Tongariro National Park, New Zealand: World Heritage Site

From the World Heritage inscription for Tongariro National Park: In 1993 Tongariro became the first property to be inscribed on the World Heritage List under the revised criteria describing cultural landscapes. The mountains at the heart of the park have cultural and religious significance for the Maori people and symbolize the spiritual links between this …

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Te Wahipounamu

Te Wahipounamu UNESCO World Heritage Site, New Zealand

From the World Heritage inscription for Te Wahipounamu: The landscape in this park, situated in southwest New Zealand, has been shaped by successive glaciations into fjords, rocky coasts, towering cliffs, lakes, and waterfalls. Two-thirds of the park is covered with southern beech and podocarps, some of which are over 800 years old. The kea, the …

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