It’s time to make your travel plans as we just got 42 new UNESCO World Heritage Sites. On September 18, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) revealed these spots at the World Heritage Committee’s ongoing session in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Among the new entrants are India’s Santiniketan and Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysalas, while other Asian sites include Vietnam’s Cat Ba Archipelago (which is an extension of Ha Long Bay), China’s Old Tea Forests of the Jingmai Mountain in Pu’er, Gaya Tumuli in South Korea and sites in Cambodia, Mongolia and Indonesia. Additionally, Lviv and Kyiv have been added to UNESCO’s Endangered List.
These are the new UNESCO World Heritage Sites
🔴BREAKING!
New inscription on the @UNESCO #WorldHeritage List: The Cosmological Axis of Yogyakarta and its Historic Landmarks, #Indonesia 🇮🇩. Bravo! 👏👏
➡️ https://t.co/69Xvi4BtYv #45WHC pic.twitter.com/gY7M7cnj9y
— UNESCO 🏛️ #Education #Sciences #Culture 🇺🇳 (@UNESCO) September 18, 2023
The destinations added this year have been chosen from a list of global nominations that were submitted throughout 2022 and 2023. These sites can be categorised as Cultural, Natural and Mixed. Additionally, some places have been included in this year’s list other than the 42 sites owing to significant modifications made to their boundaries. Thus, these are not ‘newly inscribed’ but find a spot on the list. However, the World Heritage Committee’s session is on till September 25, and new sites may be added by then.
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Here are the newly inscribed cultural properties by UNESCO
- Cultural Landscape of Old Tea Forests of the Jingmai Mountain in Pu’er, China
- Deer Stone Monuments and Related Bronze Age Sites, Mongolia
- Gaya Tumuli, Republic of Korea (South Korea)
- Gordion, Türkiye
- Jewish-Medieval Heritage of Erfurt, Germany
- Koh Ker: Archaeological Site of Ancient Lingapura or Chok Gargyar, Cambodia
- Modernist Kaunas: Architecture of Optimism, 1919-1939, Lithuania
- National Archaeological Park Tak’alik Ab’aj, Guatemala
- Old town of Kuldīga, Latvia
- Prehistoric Sites of Talayotic Menorca, Spain
- Santiniketan, India
- Silk Roads: Zarafshan-Karakum Corridor, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan
- The Gedeo Cultural Landscape, Ethiopia
- The Persian Caravanserai, Iran (Islamic Republic of)
- Tr’ondëk-Klondike, Canada
- Viking-Age Ring Fortresses, Denmark
- Žatec and the Landscape of Saaz Hops, Czechia
- Ancient Jericho/Tell es-Sultan, State of Palestine
- Astronomical Observatories of Kazan Federal University, Russian Federation
- Cultural Landscape of Khinalig People and “Köç Yolu” Transhumance Route, Azerbaijan
- Djerba: Testimony to a settlement pattern in an island territory, Tunisia
- ESMA Museum and Site of Memory – Former Clandestine Center of Detention, Torture and Extermination, Argentina
- Eisinga Planetarium in Franeker, Netherlands
- Funerary and memory sites of the First World War (Western Front), Belgium, France
- Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks, United States of America
- Jodensavanne Archaeological Site: Jodensavanne Settlement and Cassipora Creek Cemetery, Suriname
- Memorial sites of the Genocide: Nyamata, Murambi, Gisozi and Bisesero, Rwanda
- Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysalas, India
- The Ancient Town of Si Thep and its Associated Dvaravati Monuments, Thailand
- The Cosmological Axis of Yogyakarta and its Historic Landmarks, Indonesia
- The Maison Carrée of Nîmes, France
- Wooden Hypostyle Mosques of Medieval Anatolia, Türkiye
- Zagori Cultural Landscape, Greece
The natural properties that have been added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List this year
- Forest Massif of Odzala-Kokoua, Congo
- Volcanoes and Forests of Mount Pelée and the Pitons of Northern Martinique, France
- Anticosti, Canada
- Bale Mountains National Park, Ethiopia
- Cold Winter Deserts of Turan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan
- Evaporitic Karst and Caves of Northern Apennines, Italy
- Nyungwe National Park, Rwanda
- Tugay forests of the Tigrovaya Balka Nature Reserve, Tajikistan
- ‘Uruq Bani Ma’arid, Saudi Arabia
These five sites are mentioned on 2023’s list owing to modifications in the boundaries of existing sites:
- Koutammakou, the Land of the Batammariba, Benin — cultural
- Historic Centre of Guimarães and Couros Zone, Portugal —cultural
- Andrefana Dry Forests, Madagascar — natural
- Ha Long Bay – Cat Ba Archipelago, Vietnam — natural
- Hyrcanian Forests, Azerbaijan, Iran (Islamic Republic of) — natural
Find out more about the new additions here
Hero and featured image credit: Sanjan Shetty/Unsplash
Related: A Pictorial Journey Of The UNESCO Heritage Sites Of India
Written By
Anushka Goel
Anushka has previously worked with publications such as the Times of India and Being Indian. A graduate from Xavier Institute of Communications, she specialises in entertainment, food and travel. She also likes to write about sustainability and beauty. When not working, you can catch her reading a book, tending to her plants, cooking or playing an instrument.
