UNESCO World Heritage Site – Page 9

15Nov201329Jun2015

Historic Villages of Korea: Yangdong and Hahoe

Location: Near Andong and Gyeongju, South Korea

Visited: Sept, 2010, Oct, 2013

Site Type: Cultural

Inscribed: 2010

Opinion and Background:

Historic, average, gorgeous, bland, amazing, underwhelming, overwhelming! There are so many conflicting words that come to mind when I want to describe these two folk villages. How do you evaluate two places as a single entity when they give you completely different feelings? While Yangdong made me wonder why this was even considered “World Heritage Site” worthy, Hahoe is officially, my new favorite place in Korea. Read more →

31Oct201329Jun2015

Santa Maria delle Grazie with “The Last Supper”

Julio Moreno Italy, UNESCO World Heritage Site italy travel, santa maria delle grazie, UNESCO world heritage site 8 Comments

Location: Milan, Italy

Visited: August 11, 2012

Site Type: Cultural

Inscribed: 1980

Opinion and Background:

Santa Maria delle Grazie is a small church located in Milan whose call to fame comes from containing the painting known the world over as “The Last Supper.” While the inscription for making this a UNESCO World Heritage Site includes both the church and the masterpiece, it is obvious that most people have Leonardo da Vinci’s work in mind when they visit this site. When you purchase tickets to see the painting (which must be done weeks, if not months in advance to get a fair price) you have a very strict time slot when you are allowed to see it (15 minutes). Knowing this, I scouted the area the day before which happened to be a day when “The Last Supper” was closed. The whole area looked like a ghost town with virtually no tourists Read more →

10Sep201329Jun2015

Angkor

Julio Moreno Cambodia, UNESCO World Heritage Site angkor, angkor prohm, angkor thom, angkor wat, buddhist temple, hindu temple, ta prohm, things to do in cambodia, UNESCO world heritage site 2 Comments

Location: (near) Siem Reap, Cambodia

Visited: July, 2010

Site Type: Cultural

Inscribed: 1992

Opinion and Background: Whenever I visit a new UNESCO World Heritage Site, a fantastic temple, or any other amazing place for that matter, I have a habit of asking myself, “Was it ‘Angkor’ good?” Angkor, in many ways, is my example of a location that is worth the travel expenses to see with your own eyes, no matter how far it may be. I don’t really say this often, but the ancient Khmer city of Angkor is something that you must see before you die. Yes, it is that good.

01Sep201329Jun2015

Komodo National Park

Julio Moreno Indonesia, UNESCO World Heritage Site batu bolong, indonesia, kanawa beach, komodo dragons, Komodo national park, labuan bajo, pink beach, rinca, Sbayur Beach, scuba, siaba kecil, snorkel, tatawa basar 0 Comment

Location: (near) Flores, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia

Visited: July 30-Aug 1, 2013

Site Type: Natural Site

Special Notes: To properly evaluate this site, I have decided to judge it based on its beauty on the land, in the sea, and through the air. I saw it by land by visiting both Rinca and Komodo Islands on a 2 day 1 night live-aboard boat. The water portion consisted of four snorkeling sites along the way, and a separate scuba diving tour. Finally, the air evaluation is based on the amazing views on our fly over into and exiting Labuan Bajo airport.

Background and Opinion:

Wow…. period. Read more →

20Aug201329Jun2015

Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu

Julio Moreno Peru, UNESCO World Heritage Site aguascalientes, llamas, machu picchu, UNESCO world heritage site, wayna picchu 0 Comment

Location: Aguascalientes/Machu Picchu Pueblo, Cusco, Peru

Visited: June 27, 2013

Site Type: Mixed (Cultural and Natural)

Background and Opinion:

In the time leading up to my Peru trip, I found out about a place known as Huacachina. The existence of a true oasis biome on the American continent made me doubt whether or not Machu Picchu would even be the highlight of my trip. My first glance at the secret city of the Inca (spelled ‘Inka’ in Peru, which means ‘king’) erased any doubt. Machu Picchu is often what comes to mind when people think of Peru for a good reason. It is truly a spectacle to witness.

Panoramic - Machu Picchu — I don’t know how people did it before digital photography. There is no way I could limit the amount of pictures I take to just a few dozen.

The ancient ruins known as Machu Picchu are one of, if not THE best Read more →