50 globaltravelerusa.com MARCH 2019
significance that can include art, architecture, cultural
traditions, landscape and Earth’s history, according to
UNESCO. It can also include communities of plants and
animals.
But first a site must be nominated. To be considered
for nomination to the World Heritage Site List, a property
must be designated on a Tentative List. This is merely
a cumulative inventory of those properties countries/
nations intend to consider for nomination. For example,
over the years the United States designated these proper-
ties for the Tentative List Process (ironically, that is where
they remain): Petrified Forest National Park (2008), White
Sands National Monument (2008), Dayton Aviation Sites
(2008), civil rights movement sites (2008), Ellis Island
(2017) and the Brooklyn Bridge (2017).FOR MANY TRAVELERS, the World Heritage list
provides yet another opportunity to create a bucket
list, offering the necessary motivation to directly
experience some of the world’s greatest heritage.
But with more than a thousand sites currently listed,
where does one start?
I find the easiest way is to visit the ones in your
home country. Begin with the state where you reside;
for me, that’s New Mexico. The list includes cher-
ished treasures such as Carlsbad Caverns National
Park, Chaco Culture National Historical Park and
Taos Pueblo.
Then expand your horizons by including the
listed national parks. They are the Everglades, Grand
Canyon, Great Smoky Mountains, Mammoth Cave,
Mesa Verde, Olympic National Park, Redwood
National Park and State Park, Yellowstone and
Yosemite.
Next, go global. With 110 countries under my belt
and still counting, some of my favorite UNESCO
sites include Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park in
Australia; Wachau Cultural Landscape, Austria;
Okavango Delta, Botswana; Angkor, Cambodia; Ca-
nadian Rocky Mountain Parks; Mausoleum of the First
Qin Emperor (terracotta warriors) in China; Lednice-
Valtice Cultural Landscape, Czechia; Galápagos Islands,
Ecuador; Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Former Abbey of
Saint-Remi and Palace of Tau, Reims, France; Upper
Svaneti, Georgia; Upper Middle Rhine Valley, Germany;
the Acropolis, Athens; Budapest, Hungary, including
Banks of the Danube, Buda Castle Quarter and Andrassy
Avenue; Masada, Israel; Archaeological Areas of Pompei,
Herculaneum and Torre Annunziata in Italy; Mount
Kenya National Park/Natural Forest, Kenya; Kathmandu
Valley, Nepal; the Kremlin and Red Square, Moscow;
Singapore Botanic Gardens; Göreme National Park and
Rock Sites of Cappadocia, Turkey; Ngorongoro Conser-
vation Area, Tanzania; and Mosi-oa-Tunya/Victoria Falls
in Zambia.
Wherever and whatever you visit, UNESCO World
Heritage sites are all part of an enriching and culturally
enhancing experience that can only promote intercultural
understanding of manmade heritage and appreciation of
the awe-inspiring natural world in which we live.SITES TO SEE:
Rock Sites of
Cappadocia, Turkey
(top); and sunrise over
the Masada fortress
in the Judean Desert
(bottom)
PHOTOS: © TETYANA
KOCHNEVA - DREAMSTIME
.COM, © VVVITA - DREAMSTIME
.COMFor details about the 10 selection
criteria for World Heritage sites,
plus access to the current list of
sites, visit the UNESCO website
at whc.unesco.org.