travel

Laos has three UNESCO World Heritage Sites — and all are reachable from Luang Prabang: the historic town itself, Vat Phou’s Khmer temple, and the enigmatic Plain of Jars.

Two UNESCO World Heritage Sites lie within reach of Chiang Mai: the 13th-century royal capital of Sukhothai (298 km south) and the Dong Phayayen–Khao Yai Forest Complex.

Lake Baikal — the world’s deepest, oldest, and most biodiverse freshwater lake — lies 70 km from Irkutsk. One UNESCO site, endlessly different across seasons.

Five UNESCO World Heritage Sites lie within a day’s drive of Kandy — from the sacred tooth relic at its centre to Dambulla, Sigiriya, Polonnaruwa and Galle Fort.

Three UNESCO World Heritage Sites — Sambor Prei Kuk, Koh Ker and Preah Vihear — lie within a day’s drive of Phnom Penh, tracing a millennium of Khmer civilisation.

From the Tian-Shan peaks above Almaty to Bronze Age rock art at Tamgaly and Silk Road caravanserai ruins, Kazakhstan’s UNESCO sites reward those who venture beyond the city.

Two UNESCO World Heritage Sites lie within reach of Bishkek: the sacred mountain of Sulaiman-Too in Osh and the transboundary wilderness of the Western Tian-Shan.

Windhoek is the gateway to two of Africa’s most extraordinary UNESCO sites: the ancient San petroglyphs of Twyfelfontein and the towering dune landscape of the Namib Sand Sea.

Two UNESCO sites are accessible from Antananarivo: the sacred Royal Hill of Ambohimanga 24 km away, and the Rainforests of the Atsinanana, six parks of extraordinary endemic wildlife.