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Alberta's spectacular Dinosaur Provincial Park was
an early-designated World Heritage Site in 1979.
Travel Alberta
By Alison Gardner
Travel with a Challenge Editor
You need go no further than our very own Travel with a Challenge web magazine to find more than a dozen richly-illustrated feature articles on UNESCO World Heritage Site destinations. They are listed and hotlinked at the end of this story. Check them out!
Spain's medieval town of Santiago de Compostela gained WHS status in 1985, followed by designation of the entire 560 mile pilgrimage route across northern Spain in 1993. Alison Gardner
Today there are over 812 World Heritage Sites (WHSs) which attest to the wisdom of that collective decision, and the list continues to grow. As a result, national governments, international organizations and communities of individuals who live and work around designated sites have made a protective covenant to work together in rarely-witnessed harmony, so that future generations will be able to share this precious legacy.
What more appropriate rite of passage could herald a new millennium of travel than to dedicate some holiday time to exploring and learning about WHSs in some of the most extraordinary settings on earth? To know that world-renowned authorities acknowledge these sites to be cultural and natural jewels definitely adds to the excitement of being there. This coveted designation also ensures that international funding will be available to support their preservation and protection.
left, Waterton Glacier International Peace Park (1995) straddling the US/Canada border, and, right, the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks corridor (1984, 1990) offer many accessible wilderness vacations. Travel Alberta
The ancient hidden Nabatean city
of Petra (1985) is Jordan's best known tourism treasure.
Jordan Tourism North America
There are a number of websites to explore via the Internet:
www.unesco.org/whc/intro-en.htm for background on the WHS program;
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/ for a current listing of sites by country; http://whc.unesco.org/pg.cfm?cid=86 for the most endangered sites (that means, unless there is a war currently going on in the neighborhood, you should go and visit quickly!). Many endangered sites selected come as no surprise because they are in very unsettled areas or in very poor countries with little infrastructure. However, I was dismayed to see both Germany's Cologne Cathedral and the United States' Everglades National Park among the most endangered World Heritage Sites. With a little financial commitment and political will, surely these countries could take active steps of their own to ensure the care of such treasures for future generations.
Seven new Israeli archaeological sites were added to UNESCO's list in July, bringing the total number to 10 in that country. Israel's three earlier World Heritage Sites are Masada (2001) (see aerial photo below), the Old City of Acre (2001), and the more contemporary architecturally-significant "White City" of Tel Aviv (2003).
Three of the newly-designated sites are archaeological tells, prehistoric mounds that conceal layers of ancient settlement dating back to biblical times or earlier. The sites have yielded many treasures and shed light on the history of the different nations that inhabited the Land of Israel, particularly the kingdoms of Judah and Israel. Megiddo and Hazor were protected by enormous fortress walls with impressive gates, castles, temples, storage rooms, stables and water cisterns.
Four historic desert cities, active in the time of the Nabatean spice trade, were also added to the UNESCO list. The cities of Ovdat, Shivta, Halutza and Mamsheet are all in the Negev desert. From roughly the 3rd century BCE to the 3rd century CE, the spice route extended some 2,400 km from Yemen via Saudi Arabia and Jordan through the Negev to the Mediterranean Sea and from there to Europe. Public baths, guard towers, ritual altars and sophisticated irrigation systems have been uncovered in these ancient cities.
Image courtesy of Israel Government Tourist Office.
Mexico's famed archaeological site, Chichen Itza, is just one on the current list of 812 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Alison Gardner
Australia's Great Barrier Reef: Volunteer Coral Monitoring Vacations and Heron Island.
China: Hiking and Exploring Villages along the Great Wall of China (4 articles).
Greece: The Monasteries of Meteora, Greece's Spiritual Pinnacles.
Northern Ireland: Giant's Causeway Coast, a walking vacation.
Jordan: Ancient Nabatean city of Petra, and hiking encounters with the local people.
Spain: Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage Route and the charming medieval city of Santiago de Compostela that marks the end of the route (3 articles).
Turkey: 4 articles showcasing many of the country's World Heritage Sites, including historic areas of Istanbul, Troy, the well-preserved Ottoman town of Safranbolu and spectacular Cappadocia featured in an article all its own.
Alaska: Glacier Bay and the surrounding Inside Passage pristine wilderness areas.
California: Yosemite National Park, from valley bottoms to mountain tops.
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