List of World Heritage Sites grows by 13

by Kraig Becker on

The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Committee just wrapped up its 33rd annual conference in Seville, Spain, where they added 13 new sites to their list of amazing locations around the globe, and made the unusual move of dropping one. The new list of World Heritage Sites now stands at 890.

Of the 13 new sites, 11 are cultural sites and 2 are natural. The two new natural sites are the Wadden Sea on the border between Germany and the Netherlands and the Dolomite Mountains in Italy. The cultural sites include such places as the Tower of Hercules in Spain, The Sacred City of Caral-Supe in Peru, and Sulamain-Too Sacred Mountain in Kyrgyzstan. For a complete list of the new sites, check out the official press release here.

The former World Heritage Site that was dropped from the list was the Elbe Valley in Dresden, Germany. The committee expressed concern over the fact that a new four-lane bridge was being built through the Valley, and even attempted to give warning of this action, placing the site on the Danger List back in 2006. When construction proceeding anyway, they felt they had no other choice, but to drop the Valley from their list.

Three other sites have also been put on notice that they could also be dropped in the future. The Belize Reef Reserve System in Belize was put on notice mainly due to the harvesting of mangrove trees and excessive development in the area. The Los Katios National Park in Columbia was added at the request of the Columbian government to help mobilize international efforts to protect the region and The Historical Monuments of Mtskheta in Georgia were listed as “in danger” over concerns with the preservation of the edifices located there.

Despite reports earlier this week, the Everglades National Park has not yet been placed back on the danger list. The committee intends to study the situation and make a more informed ruling in the future.

The new additions to the list are excelent, and it gives us an amazing life list just pursuing these World Heritiage Site. Forget the “1000 Places To See Before You Die” and just focus on these 890.

One-day sale from Intrepid Travel starts now!

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Intrepid Travel puts together some amazing trips, and today’s deal will make them even more accessible than usual. For the next nine hours, trips will be discounted deeply … all Intrepid trips … more than 400 of them. Price cuts range from 15 percent to 60 percent in this rare opportunity.

Trips departing soonest, of course, come with the greatest price breaks. Book an excursion that leaves in July, and you can generally knock 60 percent off the price. Those taking off in August can net you a savings of 30 percent, with the rest of the year’s trips 15 percent off.

The sale starts now and runs until 7:30 PM this evening. Each includes all accommodations and land transportation, some meals and a guide.

After the jump, you’ll get a sense of how much you can save.

Inca Encounter: this nine-day jaunt from Lima to Cuzco in Peru is only $664, down from $1,660

Road to Budapest: spend 15 days going from Vienna to Budapest for $692 – instead of $1,730

Kenya Adventure: eight days in Kenya will cost only $604, rather than $1,510

Was Machu Picchu always a tourist attraction?

by Kraig Becker on

Travelers to Peru almost invariably make a stop at the famous Inca lost city of Mach Picchu. Situated on a mountain top, the spectacular ruins have been luring visitors almost immediately after they were rediscovered by Hiram Bingham back in 1911. But according to this story from National Geographic, a new theory is being put fourth by Italian scientist Giulio Magli who says that the fortress may have always been a tourist trap, even when it was first constructed back in 1460.

Historians have long debated the real purpose for Machu Picchu’s existence. Situated at 8000 feet above sea level, it couldn’t have been easy to construct, nor was it easy to reach after it was completed. Some people believe it was a palace built for Pachacuti, the ruler of the Inca Empire at the time of the city’s construction. Others have felt that it has some type of celestial observatory. But Magli feels that Machu Picchu was built to be a pilgrimage site that worshipers would make the trip to in order to relive an important journey from their historical past.

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According to legend, the Inca people were created on the Island of the Sun in Lake Titicaca. Later they made an important and difficult journey through the Earth, emerging at a place called Tampu-tocco. Magli feels that the journey to Machu Picchu was a symbolic recreation of those travels, and he even points to landmarks within the ruins that represent certain elements found within the myth. Furthermore, he feels that the site was accessible by commoners and royalty alike, who traveled there to relive a portion of that mythology.

This is an interesting theory, and if true, should make us all feel a little less guilty for beating a path to the Peruvian ruins. After all, if it was meant to be a tourist spot all along, we’re only doing what the original architect intended. He should have planned ahead for higher capacity, or at least expansion, though.

British man is walking the length of the Amazon

by Kraig Becker on

Ed Stafford is either really brave or really crazy. Likely it’s a little of both. The 33-year old British man is now 436 days into his attempt to walk the entire length of the Amazon River, starting at its source, and eventually finishing up at its mouth along the coast of Brazil, where it enters into the Atlantic Ocean.

Stafford, a former captain in the British Army, began his epic journey in April of 2008, and is now more than 2000 miles in, or roughly halfway to his goal. He wanders the high ground as much as possible, and sometimes has to go well out of his way to stay on dry land, especially during the rainy season, when the Amazon can swell to massive proportions, and spill over its banks for miles in all directions. Stafford does carry an inflatable raft for navigating across the larger tributaries however, and on the Amazon, there are many.

As if hiking for 4000 miles wasn’t challenging enough, the jungle that surround the river provides plenty more obstacles as well. Stafford has to deal with wild animals, including some of the world’s most dangerous insects and snakes, and when he enters the waters of the Amazon, he has to deal with electric eels, piranha, and caiman as well. On top of that, there is the constant threat of malaria or yellow fever, which runs rampant in the Amazon basin, and there are still plenty of tribes that live in the jungle that are not exactly accommodating to outsiders.
According to Ed’s website, he expects to finish up his journey sometime in 2010. In the meantime, you can follow his adventure by reading his daily blog and following his Twitter feed.

On a personal note, having recently visited a section of the Amazon that Ed has just passed through, I can say beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is one of the most ambitious and demanding expeditions that I have ever heard of. I had the opportunity to trek through portions of the jungle, and it was demanding work, made all the more difficult by the constant heat and humidity. To read my thoughts on the Amazon and more about my travels there, be sure to check out my Adventures on the Amazon series.

Ten very dangerous animal encounters

by Kraig Becker on

Writer Richard Conniff has made a career out of doing dumb things with animals. He’s even gone so far as to write a book about it that is not only humorous but also quite informative. He has taken this extensive knowledge and created a list of his top 10 most dangerous animal encounters for the Times Online, in which he gives the harrowing details of own adventures with wildlife.

The intrepid author has circled the globe to visit some very remote locations, which has allowed him to get up close and personal with plenty of exotic wildlife. For instance, he not only has gone swimming with piranhas, but has also had encounters with the infamous candiru, a tiny catfish that is known for swimming up inside its victims, including humans taking a dip in the Amazon.

Fish aren’t the only creatures that make the list however, as he also gives the lowdown on several insects, including the bullet ant (so named because its bite feels like you’ve been shot) and the tarantula wasps, which actually prey on the large spiders most of us fear. Conniff also shares his experiences tracking wild dogs in Botswana and driving through a raging storm in Peru with a deadly coral snake in the glove compartment.

Reading the article will make you laugh and cringe, sometimes at the same time. It is a nice guide for what not to do while traveling through remote regions filled with dangerous wildlife. If you like the article, I definitely recommend picking up Conniff’s book, which is filled cover to cover with similar stories.