10 of the world's most beautiful World Heritage Sites
1. Angkor, Campuchia
Scattered between the twisting roots of the Cambodian jungle, this site dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu contains the remains of Khmer Empire capitals dating from the 9th to the 15th centuries. Among the most famous of its 100-strong group of monuments is the Temple of Angkor Wat and, at Angkor Thom, the sculptural Bayon Temple. In 2000, Cambodian authorities allowed action flick "Tomb Raider" to be filmed at the site on the proviso that no guns would be fired.
3. Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
Among the first sites to be listed by UNESCO in the 1970s, this otherworldly archipelago located in the far reaches of the Pacific Ocean was described by British naturalist Charles Darwin as "a little world within itself." On top of its bevy of endemic species that have remained unchanged for centuries, the island groups' location at the confluence of three ocean currents also attracts a diverse array of marine life.
4. Goreme National Park and the Rock Sites of Cappadocia
Sculpted by erosion, Göreme valley and its surroundings contain rock-hewn sanctuaries that provide unique evidence of Byzantine art in the post-Iconoclastic period. Within the rugged natural landscape in and around a small triangle formed by Ürgüp, Avanos and Nevsehir, ancient villages and underground towns dating to the 4th century can also be observed.
5. Great Barrier Reef, Australia
Composed of more than 3,000 individual reefs interspersed with more than 600 topical islands, the world's most extensive coral reef system is so large it can be identified from space. While the region has been protected since 1981, a 2012 study found that the delicate ecosystem has lost more than half of its coral since 1985 due to a combination of factors including coral bleaching caused by climate change.
6. Hampi, India
Agra's Taj Mahal is undoubtedly India's most famous World Heritage Site, but few visitors can deny the magic of lesser-known Hampi. Attractively nestled between emerald banana plantations in eastern Karnataka, the enormous group of monuments that comprise the former capital of the last great Hindu kingdom of Vijayanagara date back to the 14th century. Highlights include the elephant stables, Kallina Ratha (Stone Chariot) and the towering Virupaksha Temple.
7. Iguazu National Park, Argentina & Brazil
This spectacular semicircular waterfall that forms the border of Argentina and Brazil spans almost 300 meters in diameter and up to 80 meters in height. Home to an abundant array of wildlife from neon-winged butterflies to sly caiman, elusive jaguars and more curious coatis, the falls' subtropical rainforest surroundings provide a serene backdrop to its cascading torrents of water.
8. Los Glaciares National Park, Argentina
Encompassing the largest ice mantle outside of Antarctica, this picturesque southern Patagonian park bordering Chile is one of the best places in the world to observe glacial activity. Its most famous ice mass is the cool blue Perito Mereno Glacier, from which giant icebergs can be observed crashing into the milky turquoise waters of Lake Argentino.
9. Machu Picchu, Peru
The sites that comprise Cusco's Sacred City are spectacular in their own right, but nothing quite prepares a visitor for sunrise over the Incan city of Machu Picchu. At 2,430 meters above sea level, in the midst of a tropical mountain forest, the 15th-century settlement was among the few Inca sites that wasn't plundered by Spanish invaders, and remains one of the world's most-photographed sites to this day.
10. Mont-saint-michel, France
On a rocky islet on the coast of Normandy, this fortified village built in the shadow of a Gothic-style Benedictine abbey dedicated to the archangel St. Michael appears to float on the ocean if viewed from a particular angle at high tide. Despite its seemingly unstable sandbank foundations, the picturesque little village has survived since the 11th century.
(Source: CNN)
