Khangchendzonga National Park

Located at the heart of the Himalayan range in northern India (State of Sikkim), the Khangchendzonga National Park includes a unique diversity of plains, valleys, lakes, glaciers and spectacular, snow-capped mountains covered with ancient forests, including the world’s third highest peak, Mount Khangchendzonga. Mythological stories are associated with this mountain and with a great number of natural elements (caves, rivers, lakes, etc.) that are the object of worship by the indigenous people of Sikkim. The sacred meanings of these stories and practices have been integrated with Buddhist beliefs and constitute the basis for Sikkimese identity.

 India

N27 45 53 E88 22 38

Date of Inscription: 2016

Criteria: (iii)(vi)(vii)(x)

Property : 178,400 ha

Buffer zone: 114,712 ha

Ref: 1513

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Papahānaumokuākea

Papahānaumokuākea

Papahānaumokuākea is a vast and isolated linear cluster of small, low lying islands and atolls, with their surrounding ocean, roughly 250 km to the northwest of the main Hawaiian Archipelago and extending over some 1931 km. The area has deep cosmological and traditional significance for living Native Hawaiian culture, as an ancestral environment, as an embodiment of the Hawaiian concept of kinship between people and the natural world, and as the place where it is believed that life originates and to where the spirits return after death. On two of the islands, Nihoa and Makumanamana, there are archaeological remains relating to pre-European settlement and use. Much of the monument is made up of pelagic and deepwater habitats, with notable features such as seamounts and submerged banks, extensive coral reefs and lagoons. It is one of the largest marine protected areas (MPAs) in the world.

 United States of America

N25 20 56.652 W170 8 44.952

Date of Inscription: 2010

Criteria: (iii)(vi)(viii)(ix)(x)

Property : 36,207,499 ha

Ref: 1326

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Willandra Lakes Region

Mungo National Park

The fossil remains of a series of lakes and sand formations that date from the Pleistocene can be found in this region, together with archaeological evidence of human occupation dating from 45–60,000 years ago. It is a unique landmark in the study of human evolution on the Australian continent. Several well-preserved fossils of giant marsupials have also been found here.

• Lake Mulurulu
• Willandra Creek
• Garnpung Lake
• Lake Leaghur
• Lake Mungo
• Lake Arumpo
• Chibnalwood Lakes

 Australia

Balranald and Wentworth shires, New South Wales

S34 0 0 E143 0 0

Date of Inscription: 1981

Criteria: (iii)(viii)

Property : 240,000 ha 

Ref: 167

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Tikal National Park

Tikal National Park

In the heart of the jungle, surrounded by lush vegetation, lies one of the major sites of Mayan civilization, inhabited from the 6th century B.C. to the 10th century A.D. The ceremonial centre contains superb temples and palaces, and public squares accessed by means of ramps. Remains of dwellings are scattered throughout the surrounding countryside.

Guatemala

Department of El Peten

N17 13 0 W89 37 0

Date of Inscription: 1979

Criteria: (i)(iii)(iv)(ix)(x)

Property : 57,600 ha

Ref: 64

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Maloti-Drakensberg Park

Maloti-Drakensberg Park

The Maloti-Drakensberg Park is a transboundary site composed of the uKhahlamba Drakensberg National Park in South Africa and the Sehlathebe National Park in Lesotho. The site has exceptional natural beauty in its soaring basaltic buttresses, incisive dramatic cutbacks, and golden sandstone ramparts as well as visually spectacular sculptured arches, caves, cliffs, pillars and rock pools. The site's diversity of habitats protects a high level of endemic and globally important plants. The site harbors endangered species such as the Cape vulture (Gyps coprotheres) and the bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus). Lesotho’s Sehlabathebe National Park also harbors the Maloti minnow (Pseudobarbus quathlambae), a critically endangered fish species only found in this park. This spectacular natural site contains many caves and rock-shelters with the largest and most concentrated group of paintings in Africa south of the Sahara. They represent the spiritual life of the San people, who lived in this area over a period of 4,000 years.

Lesotho

South Africa

S29 45 55 E29 7 23

Date of Inscription: 2000

Extension: 2013

Criteria: (i)(iii)(vii)(x)

Property : 249,313 ha

Buffer zone: 46,630 ha

Ref: 985bis

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Mount Emei Scenic Area, including Leshan Giant Buddha Scenic Area

The first Buddhist temple in China was built here in Sichuan Province in the 1st century A.D. in the beautiful surroundings of the summit Mount Emei. The addition of other temples turned the site into one of Buddhism's holiest sites. Over the centuries, the cultural treasures grew in number. The most remarkable is the Giant Buddha of Leshan, carved out of a hillside in the 8th century and looking down on the confluence of three rivers. At 71 m high, it is the largest Buddha in the world. Mount Emei is also notable for its exceptionally diverse vegetation, ranging from subtropical to subalpine pine forests. Some of the trees there are more than 1,000 years old.

China

Eimeishan City, Sichuan Province

N29 32 41.64 E103 46 9.3

Date of Inscription: 1996

Criteria: (iv)(vi)(x)

Property : 15,400 ha

Ref: 779

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Mount Taishan

Brief Description

The sacred Mount Tai ('shan' means 'mountain') was the object of an imperial cult for nearly 2,000 years, and the artistic masterpieces found there are in perfect harmony with the natural landscape. It has always been a source of inspiration for Chinese artists and scholars and symbolizes ancient Chinese civilizations and beliefs.

China

Spanning the cities of Tai’an and Jinan in central Shandong Province with the main peak in the city of Tai’an

N36 16 0.012 E117 5 60

Date of Inscription: 1987

Criteria: (i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)

Property : 25,000 ha

Ref: 437

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Mount Huangshan

Huangshan, known as 'the loveliest mountain of China', was acclaimed through art and literature during a good part of Chinese history (e.g. the Shanshui 'mountain and water' style of the mid-16th century). Today it holds the same fascination for visitors, poets, painters and photographers who come on pilgrimage to the site, which is renowned for its magnificent scenery made up of many granite peaks and rocks emerging out of a sea of clouds.

China

N30 10 0.012 E118 10 59.988

Date of Inscription: 1990

Minor modification inscribed year: 2012

Criteria: (ii)(vii)(x)

Property : 16,060 ha

Buffer zone: 49,000 ha

Ref: 547bis

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Mount Wuyi

Brief Description

Mount Wuyi is the most outstanding area for biodiversity conservation in south-east China and a refuge for a large number of ancient, relict species, many of them endemic to China. The serene beauty of the dramatic gorges of the Nine Bend River, with its numerous temples and monasteries, many now in ruins, provided the setting for the development and spread of neo-Confucianism, which has been influential in the cultures of East Asia since the 11th century. In the 1st century B.C. a large administrative capital was built at nearby Chengcun by the Han dynasty rulers. Its massive walls enclose an archaeological site of great significance.

China

Wuyishan City, Fujian Province

N27 43 0.012 E117 40 59.988

Date of Inscription: 1999

Criteria: (iii)(vi)(vii)(x)

Property : 99,975 ha

Buffer zone: 27,888 ha

Ref: 911

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park

Brief Description

This park, formerly called Uluru (Ayers Rock – Mount Olga) National Park, features spectacular geological formations that dominate the vast red sandy plain of central Australia. Uluru, an immense monolith, and Kata Tjuta, the rock domes located west of Uluru, form part of the traditional belief system of one of the oldest human societies in the world. The traditional owners of Uluru-Kata Tjuta are the Anangu Aboriginal people.

Australia

Northern territory

S25 19 60 E131 0 0

Date of Inscription: 1987

Extension: 1994

Criteria: (v)(vi)(vii)(viii)

Property : 132,566 ha

Ref: 447rev

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Hierapolis-Pamukkale

Brief Description

Deriving from springs in a cliff almost 200 m high overlooking the plain, calcite-laden waters have created at Pamukkale (Cotton Palace) an unreal landscape, made up of mineral forests, petrified waterfalls and a series of terraced basins. At the end of the 2nd century B.C. the dynasty of the Attalids, the kings of Pergamon, established the thermal spa of Hierapolis. The ruins of the baths, temples and other Greek monuments can be seen at the site.

Turkey

Denizli Province

N37 55 26.004 E29 7 23.988

Date of Inscription: 1988

Criteria: (iii)(iv)(vii)

Property : 1,077 ha

Ref: 485

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Göreme National Park and the Rock Sites of Cappadocia

Brief Description

In a spectacular landscape, entirely sculpted by erosion, the Göreme valley and its surroundings contain rock-hewn sanctuaries that provide unique evidence of Byzantine art in the post-Iconoclastic period. Dwellings, troglodyte villages and underground towns – the remains of a traditional human habitat dating back to the 4th century – can also be seen there.

Turkey

Nevşehir Province (Cappadocia) in Central Anatolia

N38 40 0.012 E34 51 0

Date of Inscription: 1985

Criteria: (i)(iii)(v)(vii)

Property : 9,884 ha

Ref: 357

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu

Brief Description

Machu Picchu stands 2,430 m above sea-level, in the middle of a tropical mountain forest, in an extraordinarily beautiful setting. It was probably the most amazing urban creation of the Inca Empire at its height; its giant walls, terraces and ramps seem as if they have been cut naturally in the continuous rock escarpments. The natural setting, on the eastern slopes of the Andes, encompasses the upper Amazon basin with its rich diversity of flora and fauna.

Peru

S13 7 0 W72 34 60

Date of Inscription: 1983

Criteria: (i)(iii)(vii)(ix)

Ref: 274

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Tassili n'Ajjer

Thank you: Khaled Stamps:: for this Postcard

Brief Description

Located in a strange lunar landscape of great geological interest, this site has one of the most important groupings of prehistoric cave art in the world. More than 15,000 drawings and engravings record the climatic changes, the animal migrations and the evolution of human life on the edge of the Sahara from 6000 BC to the first centuries of the present era. The geological formations are of outstanding scenic interest, with eroded sandstones forming ‘forests of rock’.

Algeria

Wilayas (provinces) of Illizi and Tamanghasset

N25 30 0 E9 0 0

Date of Inscription: 1982

Criteria: (i)(iii)(vii)(viii)

Property : 7,200,000 ha

Ref: 179

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Casbah in Algeria - Porte Sarrasine -Bejaia

NOTE: Starting this month of May, I'll search any Information about the stamps used in the Postcards: I hope you'll enjoy:
NOTE: The Original Text is in French, Just translated it using the Google Translate:

N :06 Casbahs d'Algérie

Designer: A.KERBOUCHE
Face value: DA 15.00 - 20.00 and 30.00 DA DA
Size: 29 x 43
Perforation: 14
Printer: Printing the Bank of Algeria.
Printing Process: Offset
Stamp Document: A philatelic card stamped 65.00 20.00 DA DA obliteration with the first day shown
Sale Day 1: The Tuesday 26 and Wednesday, June 27, 2012 in 48 Recipes Main stations located in the capitals of wilaya and Recipes Main Algiers November 1, Hussein-Dey, Chéraga, Ben-Aknoun and Rouiba.
General Sale: On Thursday, June 28, 2012 in all post offices.

The Saracen door

Under the reign of Hammadites at the end of the eleventh century, Bejaia, had six doors. There now remain only two Bab El Bahr, commonly called Saracen door that opens onto the harbor, and Bab El Bounoud currently Fouka door in the upper town. Built in the time of Sultan El Nacer to 1070, the Saracen gate which gives access to the sea forming part of the fortification of the city.
The traveler dating Saracen Landing gate (Bab El Bahar) an old headband with stones and bricks, carefully preserved.
Today this historical legacy comes to himself alterations of man and nature.

Source: http://www.poste.dz

Natural and Cultural Heritage of the Ohrid region

A beautiful Postcard from

Galina Lukin

of Macedonia::

Thank you Very Much

Brief Description

Situated on the shores of Lake Ohrid, the town of Ohrid is one of the oldest human settlements in Europe. Built mainly between the 7th and 19th centuries, it has the oldest Slav monastery (St Pantelejmon) and more than 800 Byzantine-style icons dating from the 11th to the end of the 14th century. After those of the Tretiakov Gallery in Moscow, this is considered to be the most important collection of icons in the world

the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

Ohrid (municipality)

N41 7 5.016 E20 48 47.988

Date of Inscription: 1979

Extension: 1980

Minor modification inscribed year: 2009

Criteria: (i)(iii)(iv)(vii)

Property : 83,350 ha

Ref: 99ter

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Tasmanian Wilderness

 Brief Description

In a region that has been subjected to severe glaciation, these parks and reserves, with their steep gorges, covering an area of over 1 million ha, constitute one of the last expanses of temperate rainforest in the world. Remains found in limestone caves attest to the human occupation of the area for more than 20,000 years.

Australia
State of Tasmania
S41 34 60 E145 25 0
Date of Inscription: 1982
Extension: 1989
Minor modification inscribed year: 2010, 2012
Criteria: (iii)(iv)(vi)(vii)(viii)(ix)(x)
Property : 1,411,323 ha
Ref: 181quater

Source: http://whc.unesco.org