Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

These are the new UNESCO World Heritage Sites

These are the new UNESCO World Heritage Sites

A prehistoric solar observatory in the middle of a desert. A decades-old railway that bisects two soaring mountain ranges. Striking art etched into rocks that dates back 7,000 years.

These are just some of the spectacular destinations newly inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

After several days of online deliberations, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has voted to add 34 new spots to its list of World Heritage Sites.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee didn't meet last year, so this year's session, based out of Fuzhou, China, and attended by virtual participants from across the globe, is reviewing nominations from 2020 and 2021.

UNESCO World Heritage List criteria

UNESCO designated its first World Heritage Sites back in 1978, with Yellowstone National Park in the United States and the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador among the destinations on the inaugural round-up.

Four decades later, getting crowned a UNESCO World Heritage Site is still a highly coveted honor for many destinations.

UNESCO says that to be included on the World Heritage List, sites must be of "outstanding universal value."

The nomination process can span years, and if a landmark fails to make the cut one year, it could be examined again when the next UNESCO convention rolls around.

The Cordouan lighthouse in Le Verdon-sur-Mer, southwestern France is also newly inscribed on UNESCO's list.


Destinations have to meet one of several criteria to make the list. Perhaps they're "a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilization which is living or which has disappeared." Or maybe they contain "superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance."

If a landmark gets UNESCO World Heritage status, the country can get financial assistance and expert advice from UNESCO to help preserve the site.

India's Ramappa Temple, also known as Rudreshwara Temple, is another addition to the UNESCO list.


UNESCO status also puts the destination on the map, and is sometimes credited with upping tourist numbers.

On the flip side, some of the most famous UNESCO sites are also the destinations that have become most synonymous with the overtourism phenomenon in recent years -- take the canalside city of Venice, which has been under threat of losing its UNESCO status due to the impact of tourists and the Peruvian archaeological marvel of Machu Picchu, which struggled with overwhelming footfall pre-pandemic.

Incredible destinations
Peru's Chankillo Archaeoastronomical Complex is now a World Heritage site.


A handful of natural spots have been added to the list, including the Kaeng Krachan Forest Complex in Thailand -- a forest known for its endangered plants and birds.

Meanwhile, about two dozen cultural spots have been confirmed, including the historic limestone city of As-Salt in Jordan.

Also on the list is Peru's Chankillo Archaeoastronomical Complex, a prehistoric site once used to track the sun, in order to demarcate dates over the span of a year.

Meanwhile the Trans-Iranian Railway, a 1,394-kilometer-long track spanning two mountain ranges, is also now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Built in the 1920s and '30s, the railway navigates some steep routes, as well as an incredible 174 large bridges, 186 smaller bridges and 224 tunnels, including 11 spiral tunnels.

The Trans-Iranian Railway is a new addition to the UNESCO list. The railway runs through mountainous landscapes, connecting the Caspian Sea with the Persian Gulf.


Saudi Arabia's Ḥimā Cultural Area rock art also made the cut, as did the French town of Nice, while spa towns across Europe including Bath, England, and Františkovy Lázně in the Czech Republic were confirmed as a collective group.

Two sites in India were also inscribed -- Ramappa Temple, also known as Rudreshwara, is now a UNESCO site, thanks to its 'floating' brickwork, while the ancient city of Dholavira was also recognized.

UNESCO also voted to remove the English city of Liverpool from its list altogether, due to UNESCO's concerns about the impact of new building development. The committee also proposed Romania's Roșia Montană Mining Landscape -- another new addition to the World Heritage List -- also be added to its List of World Heritage in Danger. There haven't been any sites removed from the endangered list this time around.

The newest World Heritage sites
2020

Turkey: Arslantepe Mound
Peru: Chankillo Archaeoastronomical Complex
Belgium/Netherlands: Colonies of Benevolence
France: Cordouan Lighthouse
India: Kakatiya Rudreshwara (Ramappa) Temple, Telangana
Germany: Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt
Italy: Padua's fourteenth-century fresco cycles
Spain: Paseo del Prado and Buen Retiro, a landscape of Arts and Sciences
China: Quanzhou: Emporium of the World in Song-Yuan China
Romania: Roșia Montană Mining Landscape
Brazil: Sítio Roberto Burle Marx
Austria, Belgium, Czechia, France, Germany, Italy, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: The Great Spa Towns of Europe
Uruguay: The work of engineer Eladio Dieste: Church of Atlántida
Iran: Trans-Iranian Railway
Saudi Arabia: Ḥimā Cultural Area
Japan: Amami-Oshima Island, Tokunoshima Island, Northern part of Okinawa Island, and Iriomote Island
Georgia: Colchic Rainforests and Wetlands
South Korea: Getbol, Korean Tidal Flats
Thailand: Kaeng Krachan Forest Complex
Austria/Germany/Slovakia: Frontiers of the Roman Empire -- The Danube Limes (Western Segment)


2021

Jordan: As-Salt - The Place of Tolerance and Urban Hospitality
Iran: Cultural Landscape of Hawraman/Uramanat
India: Dholavira: a Harappan City
Germany/the Netherlands: Frontiers of the Roman Empire -- The Lower German Limes
Japan: Jomon Prehistoric Sites in Northern Japan
France: Nice, Winter Resort Town of the Riviera
Chile: Settlement and Artificial Mummification of the Chinchorro Culture in the Arica and Parinacota Region
Germany: ShUM Sites of Speyer, Worms and Mainz
Côte d'Ivoire: Sudanese style mosques in northern Côte d'Ivoire
Italy: The Porticoes of Bologna
Slovenia: The works of Jože Plečnik in Ljubljana -- Human Centred Urban Design
United Kingdom: The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales
Russia: Petroglyphs of Lake Onega and the White Sea
Gabon: Ivindo National Park

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
High-Stakes Trump-Putin Summit on Ukraine Underway in Alaska
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
×