UNESCO World Heritage Sites

The World Heritage List includes 890 properties forming part of the cultural and natural heritage which the World Heritage Committee considers as having outstanding universal value.

Palestine recently got voted into UNESCO and as a result the US has stopped its funding of the organisation. 107/173 countries voted in favour of Palestine joining the Organisation

PocketInfo has endeavoured to link the UNESCO sites onto the country profiles. Some of the areas are listed as being Culturally important. Others are Naturally Important. Some are both Cultural and Natural.

To be included on the World Heritage List, sites must be of outstanding universal value and meet at least one out of ten selection criteria (see full breakdown of Criteria at the bottom of this post).

Afghanistan (2)

  • 1 Minaret and Archaeological Remains of Jam
  • 2 Cultural Landscape and Archaeological Remains of the Bamiyan Valley

Albania (2)

  • 1 Butrint
  • 2 Historic Centres of Berat and Gjirokastra

Algeria (7)

  • 1 Al Qal'a of Beni Hammad
  • 2 Djémila
  • 3 M'Zab Valley
  • 4 Tassili n'Ajjer 
  • 5 Timgad
  • 6 Tipasa
  • 7 Kasbah of Algiers

Andorra (1)

  • 1 Madriu-Perafita-Claror Valley

Argentina (8)

  • 1 Los Glaciares 
  • 2 Jesuit Missions of the Guaranis: San Ignacio Mini, Santa Ana, Nuestra Señora de Loreto and Santa Maria Mayor (Argentina), Ruins of Sao Miguel das Missoes (Brazil) *
  • 3 Iguazu National Park
  • 4 Cueva de las Manos, Río Pinturas
  • 5 Península Valdés
  • 6 Ischigualasto / Talampaya Natural Parks
  • 7 Jesuit Block and Estancias of Córdoba
  • 8 Quebrada de Humahuaca

Armenia (3)

  • 1 Monasteries of Haghpat and Sanahin
  • 2 Cathedral and Churches of Echmiatsin and the Archaeological Site of Zvartnots
  • 3 Monastery of Geghard and the Upper Azat Valley

Australia (17)

  • 1 Great Barrier Reef
  • 2 Kakadu National Park
  • 3 Willandra Lakes Region
  • 4 Lord Howe Island Group
  • 5 Tasmanian Wilderness
  • 6 Gondwana Rainforests of Australia 
  • 7 Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park 
  • 8 Wet Tropics of Queensland
  • 9 Shark Bay, Western Australia
  • 10 Fraser Island
  • 11 Australian Fossil Mammal Sites (Riversleigh / Naracoorte)
  • 12 Heard and McDonald Islands
  • 13 Macquarie Island
  • 14 Greater Blue Mountains Area
  • 15 Purnululu National Park
  • 16 Royal Exhibition Building and Carlton Gardens
  • 17 Sydney Opera House

Austria (8)

  • 1 Historic Centre of the City of Salzburg
  • 2 Palace and Gardens of Schönbrunn
  • 3 Hallstatt-Dachstein / Salzkammergut Cultural Landscape
  • 4 Semmering Railway
  • 5 City of Graz - Historic Centre
  • 6 Wachau Cultural Landscape
  • 7 Fertö / Neusiedlersee Cultural Landscape 
  • 8 Historic Centre of Vienna

Azerbaijan (2)

  • 1 Walled City of Baku with the Shirvanshah's Palace and Maiden Tower
  • 2 Gobustan Rock Art Cultural Landscape

Bahrain (1)

  • 1 Qal’at al-Bahrain – Ancient Harbour and Capital of Dilmun

Bangladesh (3)

  • 1 Historic Mosque City of Bagerhat
  • 2 Ruins of the Buddhist Vihara at Paharpur
  • 3 The Sundarbans

Belarus (4)

  • 1 Belovezhskaya Pushcha / Białowieża Forest 
  • 2 Mir Castle Complex
  • 3 Architectural, Residential and Cultural Complex of the Radziwill Family at Nesvizh
  • 4 Struve Geodetic Arc 

Belgium (10)

  • 1 Flemish Béguinages
  • 2 La Grand-Place, Brussels
  • 3 The Four Lifts on the Canal du Centre and their Environs, La Louvière and Le Roeulx (Hainault)
  • 4 Belfries of Belgium and France 
  • 5 Historic Centre of Brugge
  • 6 Major Town Houses of the Architect Victor Horta (Brussels)
  • 7 Neolithic Flint Mines at Spiennes (Mons)
  • 8 Notre-Dame Cathedral in Tournai
  • 9 Plantin-Moretus House-Workshops-Museum Complex
  • 10 Stoclet House

Belize (1)

  • 1 Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System

Benin (1)

  • 1 Royal Palaces of Abomey

Bolivia (6)

  • 1 City of Potosí
  • 2 Jesuit Missions of the Chiquitos
  • 3 Historic City of Sucre
  • 4 Fuerte de Samaipata
  • 5 Noel Kempff Mercado National Park
  • 6 Tiwanaku: Spiritual and Political Centre of the Tiwanaku Culture

Bosnia and Herzegovina (2)

  • 1 Old Bridge Area of the Old City of Mostar
  • 2 Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge in Višegrad

Botswana (1)

  • 1 Tsodilo

Brazil (17)

  • 1 Historic Town of Ouro Preto
  • 2 Historic Centre of the Town of Olinda
  • 3 Jesuit Missions of the Guaranis: San Ignacio Mini, Santa Ana, Nuestra Señora de Loreto and Santa Maria Mayor (Argentina), Ruins of Sao Miguel das Missoes (Brazil) *
  • 4 Historic Centre of Salvador de Bahia
  • 5 Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Congonhas
  • 6 Iguaçu National Park
  • 7 Brasilia
  • 8 Serra da Capivara National Park
  • 9 Historic Centre of São Luís
  • 10 Atlantic Forest South-East Reserves
  • 11 Discovery Coast Atlantic Forest Reserves
  • 12 Historic Centre of the Town of Diamantina
  • 13 Central Amazon Conservation Complex 
  • 14 Pantanal Conservation Area
  • 15 Brazilian Atlantic Islands: Fernando de Noronha and Atol das Rocas Reserves
  • 16 Cerrado Protected Areas: Chapada dos Veadeiros and Emas National Parks
  • 17 Historic Centre of the Town of Goiás

Bulgaria (9)

  • 1 Boyana Church
  • 2 Madara Rider
  • 3 Rock-Hewn Churches of Ivanovo
  • 4 Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak
  • 5 Ancient City of Nessebar
  • 6 Pirin National Park
  • 7 Rila Monastery
  • 8 Srebarna Nature Reserve
  • 9 Thracian Tomb of Sveshtari

Burkina Faso (1)

  • 1 Ruins of Loropéni

Cambodia (2)

  • 1 Angkor
  • 2 Temple of Preah Vihear

Cameroon (1)

  • Dja Faunal Reserve

Canada (15)

  • 1 L’Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site
  • 2 Nahanni National Park 
  • 3 Dinosaur Provincial Park
  • 4 Kluane / Wrangell-St Elias / Glacier Bay / Tatshenshini-Alsek 
  • 5 Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump
  • 6 SGang Gwaay
  • 7 Wood Buffalo National Park
  • 8 Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks 
  • 9 Historic District of Old Québec
  • 10 Gros Morne National Park
  • 11 Old Town Lunenburg
  • 12 Waterton Glacier International Peace Park 
  • 13 Miguasha National Park
  • 14 Rideau Canal
  • 15 Joggins Fossil Cliffs

Cape Verde (1)

  • Cidade Velha, Historic Centre of Ribeira Grande

Central African Republic

  • Manovo-Gounda St Floris National Park

Chile

  • Rapa Nui National Park
  • Churches of Chiloé
  • Historic Quarter of the Seaport City of Valparaíso
  • Humberstone and Santa Laura Saltpeter Works
  • Sewell Mining Town

China

  • Imperial Palaces of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in Beijing and Shenyang
  • Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor
  • Mogao Caves
  • Mount Taishan
  • Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian
  • The Great Wall
  • Mount Huangshan
  • Huanglong Scenic and Historic Interest Area
  • Jiuzhaigou Valley Scenic and Historic Interest Area
  • Wulingyuan Scenic and Historic Interest Area
  • Ancient Building Complex in the Wudang Mountains
  • Historic Ensemble of the Potala Palace, Lhasa 
  • Mountain Resort and its Outlying Temples, Chengde
  • Temple and Cemetery of Confucius and the Kong Family Mansion in Qufu
  • Lushan National Park
  • Mount Emei Scenic Area, including Leshan Giant Buddha Scenic Area
  • Ancient City of Ping Yao
  • Classical Gardens of Suzhou
  • Old Town of Lijiang
  • Summer Palace, an Imperial Garden in Beijing
  • Temple of Heaven: an Imperial Sacrificial Altar in Beijing
  • Dazu Rock Carvings
  • Mount Wuyi
  • Ancient Villages in Southern Anhui – Xidi and Hongcun
  • Imperial Tombs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties
  • Longmen Grottoes
  • Mount Qingcheng and the Dujiangyan Irrigation System
  • Yungang Grottoes
  • Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas
  • Capital Cities and Tombs of the Ancient Koguryo Kingdom
  • Historic Centre of Macao
  • Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries - Wolong, Mt Siguniang and Jiajin Mountains
  • Yin Xu
  • Kaiping Diaolou and Villages
  • South China Karst
  • Fujian Tulou
  • Mount Sanqingshan National Park
  • Mount Wutai

Colombia

  • Port, Fortresses and Group of Monuments, Cartagena
  • Los Katíos National Park
  • Historic Centre of Santa Cruz de Mompox
  • National Archeological Park of Tierradentro
  • San Agustín Archaeological Park
  • Malpelo Fauna and Flora Sanctuary

Costa Rica

  • Talamanca Range-La Amistad Reserves / La Amistad National Park *
  • Cocos Island National Park
  • Area de Conservación Guanacaste

Côte d'Ivoire

  • Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve *
  • Taï National Park
  • Comoé National Park

Croatia

  • Historical Complex of Split with the Palace of Diocletian
  • Old City of Dubrovnik
  • Plitvice Lakes National Park 
  • Episcopal Complex of the Euphrasian Basilica in the Historic Centre of Poreč
  • Historic City of Trogir
  • The Cathedral of St James in Šibenik
  • Stari Grad Plain

Cuba

  • Old Havana and its Fortifications
  • Trinidad and the Valley de los Ingenios
  • San Pedro de la Roca Castle, Santiago de Cuba
  • Desembarco del Granma National Park
  • Viñales Valley
  • Archaeological Landscape of the First Coffee Plantations in the South-East of Cuba
  • Alejandro de Humboldt National Park
  • Urban Historic Centre of Cienfuegos
  • Historic Centre of Camagüey

Cyprus

  • Paphos
  • Painted Churches in the Troodos Region
  • Choirokoitia

Czech Republic

  • Historic Centre of Český Krumlov
  • Historic Centre of Prague
  • Historic Centre of Telč
  • Pilgrimage Church of St John of Nepomuk at Zelená Hora
  • Kutná Hora: Historical Town Centre with the Church of St Barbara and the Cathedral of Our Lady at Sedlec
  • Lednice-Valtice Cultural Landscape
  • Gardens and Castle at Kroměříž
  • Holašovice Historical Village Reservation
  • Litomyšl Castle
  • Holy Trinity Column in Olomouc
  • Tugendhat Villa in Brno
  • Jewish Quarter and St Procopius' Basilica in Třebíč

Democratic Republic of the Congo

  • Virunga National Park 
  • Kahuzi-Biega National Park
  • Garamba National Park
  • Salonga National Park
  • Okapi Wildlife Reserve

Denmark

  • Jelling Mounds, Runic Stones and Church
  • Roskilde Cathedral
  • Kronborg Castle
  • Ilulissat Icefjord

Dominica

Dominican Republic

Ecuador

Egypt

El Salvador

Estonia

Ethiopia

Finland

France

Gabon

Gambia

Georgia

Germany

Ghana

Greece

Guatemala

Guinea

Haiti

Holy See

Honduras

Hungary

Iceland

India

Indonesia

Iran (Islamic Republic of)

Iraq

Ireland

Israel

Italy

Japan

Jerusalem (Site proposed by Jordan)

Jordan

Kazakhstan

Kenya

Korea, Democratic People's Republic of

Korea, Republic of

Kyrgyzstan

Lao People's Democratic Republic

Latvia

Lebanon

Libyan Arab Jamahiriya

  • Archaeological Site of Cyrene
  • Archaeological Site of Leptis Magna
  • Archaeological Site of Sabratha
  • Rock-Art Sites of Tadrart Acacus
  • Old Town of Ghadamès

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Madagascar

Malawi

Malaysia

Mali

Malta

Mauritania

Mauritius

Mexico

Moldova, Republic of

Mongolia

Montenegro

Morocco

Mozambique

Namibia

Nepal

Netherlands

New Zealand

Nicaragua

Niger

Nigeria

Norway

Oman

Pakistan

  • Archaeological Ruins at Moenjodaro
  • Buddhist Ruins of Takht-i-Bahi and Neighbouring City Remains at Sahr-i-Bahlol
  • Taxila
  • Fort and Shalamar Gardens in Lahore
  • Historical Monuments at Makli, Thatta
  • Rohtas Fort

Palestine

  • TBA

Panama

  • Fortifications on the Caribbean Side of Panama: Portobelo-San Lorenzo
  • Darien National Park
  • Talamanca Range-La Amistad Reserves / La Amistad National Park *
  • Archaeological Site of Panamá Viejo and Historic District of Panamá
  • Coiba National Park and its Special Zone of Marine Protection

Papua New Guinea

  • Kuk Early Agricultural Site

Paraguay

  • Jesuit Missions of La Santísima Trinidad de Paraná and Jesús de Tavarangue

Peru

  • City of Cuzco
  • Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu
  • Chavin (Archaeological Site)
  • Huascarán National Park 
  • Chan Chan Archaeological Zone
  • Manú National Park
  • Historic Centre of Lima 
  • Río Abiseo National Park
  • Lines and Geoglyphs of Nasca and Pampas de Jumana
  • Historical Centre of the City of Arequipa
  • Sacred City of Caral-Supe

Philippines

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russian Federation

Saint Kitts and Nevis

Saint Lucia

San Marino

Saudi Arabia

Senegal

Serbia

Seychelles

Slovakia

Slovenia

Solomon Islands

South Africa

Spain

Sri Lanka

Sudan

Suriname

Sweden

Switzerland

Syrian Arab Republic

Tanzania, United Republic of

Thailand

the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

Togo

Tunisia

Turkey

Turkmenistan

Uganda

Ukraine

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

United States of America

Uruguay

Uzbekistan

Vanuatu

Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)

Viet Nam

Yemen

Zambia

Zimbabwe

Selection criteria:
  1. to represent a masterpiece of human creative genius;
  2. to exhibit an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts, town-planning or landscape design;
  3. to bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilization which is living or which has disappeared;
  4. to be an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates (a) significant stage(s) in human history;
  5. to be an outstanding example of a traditional human settlement, land-use, or sea-use which is representative of a culture (or cultures), or human interaction with the environment especially when it has become vulnerable under the impact of irreversible change;
  6. to be directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with ideas, or with beliefs, with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal significance. (The Committee considers that this criterion should preferably be used in conjunction with other criteria);
  7. to contain superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance;
  8. to be outstanding examples representing major stages of earth's history, including the record of life, significant on-going geological processes in the development of landforms, or significant geomorphic or physiographic features;
  9. to be outstanding examples representing significant on-going ecological and biological processes in the evolution and development of terrestrial, fresh water, coastal and marine ecosystems and communities of plants and animals;
  10. to contain the most important and significant natural habitats for in-situ conservation of biological diversity, including those containing threatened species of outstanding universal value from the point of view of science or conservation.
The protection, management, authenticity and integrity of properties are also important considerations.
Since 1992 significant interactions between people and the natural environment have been recognized as cultural landscapes.

UNESCO World Heritage Sites , List of Sites , Country List  , UN - updated Nov 3rd 2011
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)