Add These 42 New UNESCO World Heritage Sites To Your Bucket List

UNESCO has added 42 new sites to its World Heritage List. These include destinations in India, Cambodia, Mongolia, China and Vietnam.

By Anushka Goel Published on Sep 19, 2023, 06:38 PM

Add These 42 New UNESCO World Heritage Sites To Your Bucket List — Image credit: Sanjan Shetty/Unsplash

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

Getting a spot on the UNESCO World Heritage List depends on several factors. The sites have to be of “outstanding universal value” or meet a minimum of one of the 10 criteria set by the organisation for their selection, which are regularly revised, according to the website.

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.

Here are the newly inscribed cultural properties by UNESCO

UNESCO World Heritage Sites Koh Ker — Image credit: Hao Taing/Unsplash (Koh Ker)

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

unesco sites — Image credit: David Emrich/Unsplash (Cat Ba)

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

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. Read Less