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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
From the East Rennell World Heritage inscription: East Rennell makes up the southern third of Rennell Island, the southernmost island in the Solomon Island group in the western Pacific. Rennell, 86 km long x 15 km wide, is the largest raised coral atoll in the world. The site includes approximately 37,000 ha and a marine …
One of the most remarkable parts of traveling through the Philippines is the chance to immerse myself in every aspect of culture and history. Perhaps nowhere is this fascinating blending of culture more noticeable than in the beautiful Baroque churches in the Philippines. These beautiful churches are so significant they were named one of the …
The Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras are among one of the most remarkable landscapes in the region—and in the world in fact. So unique are these rice terraces that in 1995 UNESCO recognized the Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras as a World Heritage Site for its outstanding cultural landscape that can be traced …
The above photo is of the Vigan Cathedral and the central plaza. The plaza area has small models of the wonders of the world as well as a map of the Philippines with models of the Filipino World Heritage sites on it. Vigan is a very quaint city and you can tell it is different …
From the World Heritage inscription for the Puerto-Princesa Subterranean River National Park: This park features a spectacular limestone karst landscape with an underground river. One of the river’s distinguishing features is that it emerges directly into the sea, and its lower portion is subject to tidal influences. The area also represents a significant habitat for …