travel

Four UNESCO World Heritage Sites — Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva and Shahrisabz — lie within a few hours of Tashkent, forming one of Central Asia’s richest heritage corridors.

Armenia’s three UNESCO World Heritage Sites — Etchmiadzin, Geghard, and Haghpat — span 17 centuries of Armenian Christian heritage, all reachable as day trips from Yerevan.

Azerbaijan’s two UNESCO World Heritage Sites — the medieval Walled City of Baku and the 40,000-year-old Gobustan rock art plateau — are both within an hour of the capital, making them natural companions on a heritage itinerary.

Georgia’s UNESCO sites range from Mtskheta’s 6th-century hilltop monastery 20 km from Tbilisi to the medieval stone towers of Upper Svaneti deep in the Caucasus. Three sites, three very different journeys.

Nepal’s four UNESCO World Heritage Sites span medieval valley temples, Mount Everest’s glaciated peaks, Terai jungle wildlife, and the Buddha’s birthplace — all reachable from Kathmandu.

Tunisia holds more UNESCO World Heritage Sites within two hours of its capital than any other African country. From the medieval souks of the Medina to the Roman colosseum at El Jem, here is every site and how to reach it.

Cape Town offers two UNESCO World Heritage Sites within easy reach: Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela spent 18 years imprisoned, and Table Mountain, part of the globally unique Cape Floral Region. Practical transport and visit details included.

Nairobi sits within reach of three UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Mount Kenya’s glaciated equatorial summits, Lamu Old Town’s medieval Swahili streets, and the flamingo-dense soda lakes of the Great Rift Valley.

Three UNESCO World Heritage Sites are reachable as day trips from Colombo: Galle’s Dutch colonial fort, Kandy’s Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, and the ancient rock fortress of Sigiriya. Journey times, tickets, and what to expect at each site.