World heritage site tips

Thousands of years ago, disparate groups of Native Americans came together to form the Hopewell culture, LiveScience reported.

Talayotic Menorca is officially listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, having been recognised for its cultural importance.

Nine months after the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that a country club must sell its lease to the state historical society that owns the land containing Native American earthworks, golfers are still pushing carts over the mounds and whacking at them with 3-irons.

Quito was founded in the 16th century on the ruins of an ancient Inca city, located 2,850 metres above sea level, and is the city with the most extensive, best preserved and least altered historic centre in Latin America. These attributes led to it being declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site on 8 September 1978, as well as National Heritage of Ecuador.

If you know someone who’s been to Saudi Arabia, chances are they visited AlUla. There’s a good reason for that. Located in the Medina province in northwest Saudi Arabia, AlUla is defined by its almost surreal landscape of canyons, wadis (dry valleys), sandstone cliffs, and ancient Arabic rock dwellings and tombs that trace the 7,000-year history of people living in the region. It’s also the home of Hegra, the country’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site, a city built by the Nabataeans – the same civilization that built Petra – over 2,000 years ago. Thanks to this concentration of geographic and historical wonders, it’s no surprise that AlUla has become the centerpiece of Saudi Arabia’s burgeoning tourism push.

Located in the most northerly reaches of Japan’s main island, the majestic Shirakami-Sanchi was the country’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its steep summits and undisturbed ancient forest wilderness exude timeless magic — it’s not for nothing that Shirakami-Sanchi inspired the opening scene of the Princess Mononoke anime film.