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Best UNESCO World Heritage Sites that you Must Visit

In this travel blog, take a high-rated journey to the top 10 UNESCO World Heritage Sites that are a must visit.

In this travel blog, take a high-rated journey to the top 10 UNESCO World Heritage Sites that are a must visit.

#10 Zanzibar’s Stone Town (Tanzania)

Zanzibar’s Stone Town can give you a marvelous trace of the past, especially with the remarkable and colorful history of Zanzibar. Famously recognized as “Spice Island”, this majestic paradise will tell you intriguing tales about Africa’s slave trade because it served as a base of operations for it. Once you head out of the city, there is a fantastic turquoise ocean and a magnificent blanket of soft white sand. Go between the months of June – October to enjoy the heat of summer, or from mid-December to March to feel the cool breeze in winter.

#9 Leshan Giant Buddha (China)

There is a huge piece that has been gaining attraction from explorers who are fond of searching for remarkable things to add to their collection. The Leshan Giant Buddha, that can be found in China, is a carved artwork right on a red sandstone cliff wall that stands over 71 meters! This Buddha structure is known to be the tallest stone Buddha in the world, and was built in the 8th century. The statue looks out over the meet up of the Minjiang, Dadu, and Qingyi Rivers. The historical reason for its construction was the hope that it would provide calm waters for the boats that sailed through the waterway.

#8 The Wartburg Castle (Germany)

This gorgeous gem in Germany is historically related to a famous influential personality in Western History, who creatively produced write ups about fractionalizing the Catholic Church and Protestant Reformation. Among the phenomenal highlights that Martin Luther left in this European country is Wartburg Castle. It can be spotted in the town of Eisenach, which is popularly known as the home of Luther from five different periods of his life. His legendary history is highly regarded as a pivotal event in the Protestant Reformation.

#7 Cradle of Humankind (South Africa)

This place in South Africa has remarkable artifacts and a mesmerizing documentation of human evolution. Located outside of Johannesburg, the Cradle of Humankind is a huge complex of beautiful caverns, valleys, and rivers that produced some of the pieces of the oldest and most informative hominid fossils in the world. What to look forward to in this interesting place is Sterkfontein Cave, as it displays a great number of hominid fossils. Visiting this place will let you learn about and discover impressive remains that left an unforgettable mark in the history of ancient humans on Earth.

#6 Kutná Hora (Czech Republic)

This place is an important town in Europe. Kutná Hora in the Czech Republic is where one of the largest and most abundant silver mines in the whole nation is located. Due to its impressive wealth in the silver trade, it has become a rival of Prague in relation with wealth and prominence. There are also other captivating features that are worth seeing in this site. The Church of Sta. Barbara has a gothic style interior that can make you feel a vibe from the 14th century. The main thing in this sacred place is the astonishing stained glass windows that are gorgeously recognized as the most wonderful and exquisite in the world. Rather than using the typical colored glass, all of its fantastic designs are hand-painted!

#5 Auschwitz (Poland)

This frightening place is composed of three main camps, namely Auschwitz I, Auschwitz II – Birkenau known as “the death camp”, and Auschwitz III – Monowitz, commonly known as the “work camp”. Alongside these major camps, there is a network of over 45 small-sub camps that are believed to have supplied slave labor to industrial companies. Among the three main camps, Auschwitz II – Birkenau is known to have been the largest extermination camp.

#4 The City of Bath (United Kingdom)

Travelers around the world go for miles and put in effort to experience a splendid soak in the royal waters in this marvelous haven. Located in the United Kingdom is the small sanctuary of Bath that is able to attract and captivate millions of travelers. It is believed that since the period of Aquae Sulis, this city has been regarded as one of the important places for religious pilgrims. The epic legacy that this town has was pioneered by Celts, and then later built by the Romans who took the natural bubbling hot water of Aquae Sulis and turned it into a wondrous bath house and temple complex. Visitors of this world heritage site can witness the sacred spring, the Roman temple, and the legendary bath house. 

#3 Goreme National Park (Turkey)

Otherworldly formations are the forte of this region in Turkey. Goreme National Park has bizarre rock structures that have been gaining a lot of fame among travelers. These odd natural creations are known as fairy chimneys. This park is recognized as a significantly important, sacred, and historic area to the early spread of Christianity to the world. The rock formations that can be spotted in this area are made from the soft ashes of the Mount Erciyes volcano that erupted several millions years ago. Over time the rock has hardened, and people carved out caves. The carvings are cave churches made by Early Christian people for the sake of documenting the evolution of Christian tradition.

#2 The Nubian Monument of Abu Simbel (Egypt)

The Nubian Monument of Abu Simbel is a historic monument situated in Philae, Egypt. It nearly lost its existence in the 1960s when the Aswan High Dam was built. From that period, it is clear that this gem could disappear forever. There was a moment in the temples of Ramses II where he and his wife Nefertari were miraculously reassembled above the water. With this memorable tragedy, the United Nations took the initiative to set this place as a World Heritage Site in order to secure it’s protection from unexpected phenomena.

#1 Shirakawa-go (Japan)

This magical wonderland is situated along the Shogawa River Valley in Japan, inside the secluded mountains of Gifu that span all the way to Toyama Prefecture. At Shirakawa-go, there are Gassho-Zukuri or vernacular farmhouses that have been standing for over 250 years! The term “Gassho-zukuri” in Japanese means “constructed like hands in prayer”. The steep thatched roofs of the farmhouses resemble the hands of Buddhist monks exercising prayer rituals. The roofs also served as an exclusive space of locals to cultivate silkworms.

Thanks for reading, Revellers! The world has a lot of surprises that can be exciting. There are long lost traces of the past and the most unbelievable sites waiting to be explored! Which of these symbolic places on the prestigious UNESCO list would YOU love to visit next? Comment below, we’re excited to hear which one! 

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