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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

Wei Peiquan/Xinhua/Alamy
UNESCO World Heritage Sites 2020/2021: UNESCO has announced some of the new additions to its list of World Heritage Sites. Quanzhou: Emporium of the World in Song-Yuan China, pictured here, is one of the new spots on the list.
Banda Sridhar Raju/ASI/UNESCO
Kakatiya Rudreshwara (Ramappa) Temple, Telangana, India: India's Ramappa Temple, known for its "floating brick" architecture, also made the cut this year.
Hossein Javadi/UNESCO
The Trans-Iranian Railway, Iran: Also on the list is this feat of engineering -- a 866-mile-long railway spanning two mountain ranges.
Juan Medina/Reuters
Paseo del Prado and Buen Retiro, Madrid, Spain: This historic area of the Spanish city of Madrid is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Matt Cardy/Getty Images
The Great Spa Towns of Europe: A series of spa towns across Europe -- including Bath, England, pictured here --made the list as a collective group. The city of Bath has itself been a UNESCO site since 1987.
Xinhua/Alamy
Ḥimā Cultural Area, Saudi Arabia: Striking rock art that dates back 7,000 years characterizes this area of Saudi Arabia and cemented its spot on UNESCO's list.
Philippe Lopez/AFP/Getty Images
Cordouan lighthouse, France: This imposing limestone lighthouse in southwestern France made it onto UNESCO's list this year.
Frank Rumpenhorst/picture alliance/dpa/Getty Images
Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt, Germany: The Darmstadt Artists' Colony dates back to the late 19th century and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Comune di Padova Settore Cultura, Turismo, Musei e Biblioteche/UNESCO
Padua's fourteenth-century fresco cycles, Italy: This site comprises eight buildings, including Scrovegni Chapel, pictured, home to stunning frescoes.
UNESCO
Sudanese style mosques, Côte d'Ivoire: These eight small adobe mosques are another new addition to UNESCO's list.
Janine Costa/AFP/Getty Images
Chankillo Archaeoastronomical Complex, Peru: This stunning site -- located in northern Peru -- is a solar observatory that was once used to track the sun in order to demarcate dates over the course of the year.
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Chankillo Archaeoastronomical Complex, Peru: The site, viewed here from above, comprises several features including 13 towers.
Matilde Campodonico/AP
The work of engineer Eladio Dieste: Church of Atlántida, Uruguay: Inaugurated in 1960, this modernist church in Estación Atlántida, Uruguay, is known for blending architectural influences.
Matilde Campodonico/AP
The work of engineer Eladio Dieste: Church of Atlántida, Uruguay: Here's an inside view of the striking bell tower.
Vincent Jannink/ ANP/ AFP/Getty Images
Colonies of Benevolence, Belgium/the Netherlands: The Colonies of Benevolence -- including Frederiksoord in the Netherlands, pictured here -- comprise seven sub-sites in Belgium and the Netherlands. They were established in the 19th century as part of a social reform experiment.
Matjaz Krivic/Getty Images
Cultural Landscape of Hawraman/Uramanat, Iran: This mountainous and isolated region of Iran is the home of the Hawrami people.

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.

Philippe Lopez/AFP/Getty Images
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.

Banda Sridhar Raju/ASI/UNESCO
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

Janine Costa/AFP/Getty Images
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.

Hossein Javadi/UNESCO
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