UNESCO adds new spots to World Heritage site list

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has added 42 new places to their World Heritage site list.

42 new UNESCO World Heritage Sites

The UNESCO World Heritage site list has officially been updated, with 42 new sites added to the long list. The new list now consists of 1 199 Unesco World Heritage Sites in 168 countries.

ALSO READ: Three MUST-do activities at beautiful iSimangaliso Wetland Park

According to Travel news, the list now includes nine new natural sites (three in Africa) and 33 new cultural sites (also three in Africa).

The list already contains ten South African World Heritage Sites, including four cultural sites, four natural sites and one mixed site.

ALSO READ: Four South African World Heritage sites you MUST visit

Who’s new?

The 33 new cultural sites can be found below:

1. Djerba cultural landscape (Tunisia)
2. Memorial sites of the Genocide: Nyamata, Murambi, Gisozi, and Bisesero (Rwanda)
3. The Gedeo Cultural Landscape (Ethiopia)
4. Ancient Jericho/Tell es-Sultan (State of Palestine)
5. Astronomical Observatories of Kazan Federal University (Russian Federation)
6. Cultural Landscape of Khinalig People and ‘Köç Yolu’ Transhumance Route (Azerbaijan)
7. Cultural Landscape of Old Tea Forests of the Jingmai Mountain in Pu’er (China)
8. Deer Stone Monuments and Related Bronze Age Sites (Mongolia)
9. ESMA Museum and Site of Memory – Former Clandestine Center of Detention, Torture and Extermination (Argentina)
10. Eisinga Planetarium in Franeker (Netherlands)
11. Funerary and memorial sites of the First World War (Western Front) (Belgium, France)
12. Gaya Tumuli (Republic of Korea)
13. Gordion (Türkiye)
14. Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks (United States of America)
15. Jewish-Medieval Heritage of Erfurt (Germany)
16. Jodensavanne Archaeological Site: Jodensavanne Settlement and Cassipora Creek Cemetery (Suriname)
17. Koh Ker: Archaeological Site of Ancient Lingapura or Chok Gargyar (Cambodia)
18. Modernist Kaunas: Architecture of Optimism, 1919-1939 (Lithuania)
19. National Archaeological Park Tak’alik Ab’aj (Guatemala)
20. Old town of Kuldīga (Latvia)
21. Prehistoric Sites of Talayotic Menorca (Spain)
22. Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysalas (India)
23. Santiniketan (India)
24. Silk Roads: Zarafshan-Karakum Corridor (Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan)
25. The Ancient Town of Si Thep and its Associated Dvaravati Monuments (Thailand)
26. The Cosmological Axis of Yogyakarta and its Historic Landmarks (Indonesia)
27. The Maison Carrée of Nîmes (France)
28. The Persian Caravanserai (Islamic Republic of Iran)
29. Tr’ondëk-Klondike (Canada)
30. Viking-Age Ring Fortresses (Denmark)
31. Wooden Hypostyle Mosques of Medieval Anatolia (Türkiye)
32. Zagori Cultural Landscape (Greece)
33. Žatec and the Landscape of Saaz Hops (Czechia)

ALSO READ: Fantastic Free State: Three places you MUST visit

While the  nine new natural sites are:

1. Forest Massif of Odzala-Kokoua (Congo)
2. Nyungwe National Park (Rwanda)
3. Bale Mountains National Park (Ethiopia)
4. Cold Winter Deserts of Turan (Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan)
5. Evaporitic Karst and Caves of Northern Apennines (Italy)
6. Tugay forests of the Tigrovaya Balka Nature Reserve (Tajikistan)
7. Volcanoes and Forests of Mount Pelée and the Pitons of Northern Martinique (France)
8. ‘Uruq Bani Ma’arid (Saudi Arabia)
9. Anticosti (Canada)

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ARTICLES BY SUNDEEKA MUNGROO