Is it Safe to Travel to the Balkans?

Balkans travel safety at Mehmed in Višegrad

In a few days, I’m going to be flying to the Balkans, where the Adventure Next conference will be taking place in Ohrid, Macedonia. In addition to attending the conference, I’ll be renting a car and visiting some of the nearby countries, many of which I haven’t been to before. Safety is a big concern …

Read more

25 Random Thoughts On Visiting My 250th World Heritage Site

Last month I spent 2 hours exploring the Emperor Hadrian’s villa in Tivoli, Italy. It marked my 250th visit to a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Here is a collection of thoughts and facts about world heritage sites that I’ve collected over the last 6 years: 1) As of the time of writing, there are 962 …

Read more

Day 25, West Africa Cruise – Dakar, Senegal

Latitude: 14° 41.7956’ N Longitude: 17° 27.9840’ W In Senegal, we were given two different options. The first was to visit the Bandia Reserve and have lunch at the Pink Lake. The second option was a tour of the city and a trip to Goree Island. As Goree Island is a UNESCO World Heritage site, …

Read more

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 …

Read more

Nahanni National Park, Northwest Territories

Nahanni National Park, Northwest Territories

From the World Heritage inscription for Nahanni National Park: Located in the southwest corner of Northwest Territories along the course of the South Nahanni and Flat rivers, the park lies in a diverse mountainous area comprising mountain ranges, rolling hills, elevated plateaus, deep canyons and huge waterfalls, as well as a unique limestone cave system. …

Read more

Island of Gorée

Island of Gorée UNESCO World Heritage Site, Senegal

From the World Heritage inscription: The Island of Gorée testifies to an unprecedented human experience in the history of humanity. Indeed, for the universal conscience, this “memory island” is the symbol of the slave trade with its cortege of suffering, tears, and death. The painful memories of the Atlantic slave trade are crystallized in this …

Read more

Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum

?al Saflieni Hypogeum UNESCO World Heritage SIte

From the World Heritage inscription: ?al Saflieni Hypogeum is a cultural property of exceptional prehistoric value. This unique monument dates back to early antiquity (about 2500 BC) and it is the only known example of a subterranean structure of the Bronze Age. The hypogeum was discovered accidentally in 1902 by a stonemason who was laying …

Read more

Guide to the Megalithic Temples of Malta

Megalithic Temples of Malta UNESCO World Heritage Site

There are human artifacts older than the megaliths in Malta—cave paintings, pottery fragments, etc.—however, no structures on Earth (that we yet know of) are older than Malta’s impressive megalithic temples. That fact alone makes this an incredibly important world heritage site worth visiting. There are several monolithic structures around the islands of Malta and Gozo. …

Read more