Amazing UNESCO World Heritage Sites in South America

[jw5]

South America dazzles in its cultural and natural diversity. This huge continent includes 12 sovereign states (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, and Venezuela), each with its own singular identity.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has identified numerous South American natural man-made sites, areas, and structures and designated them World Heritage Sites, a landmark or region recognized as being of outstanding international importance.

 

[jw5]

City of Quito, Ecuador - Location: Quito
Criteria: Cultural
Year established: 1978
Description: The historic center of Quito is one of the largest, least altered and best-preserved historic centers in Latin America. The city was founded in 1534.

 

[jw5]

Ischigualasto/Talampaya Natural Parks, Argentina - Location: San Juan and La Rioja Province
Criteria: Natural
Year established: 2000
Description: The unworldly appearance of the wind-eroded rock formations that texture this region, plus the fact that the parks represent the most complete fossil site of the Triassic periods (245-208 million years ago), endow the entire area with unique geological characteristics.

 

[ChinaCommunistSG]

Verify beautiful

 

[jw5]

Historic Center of the City of Arequipa, Peru - Location: Arequipa
Criteria: Cultural
Year established: 2000
Description: Built on volcanic silla rock, the historic center of Arequipa is noted for its combination of traditional indigenous architectural styles with the new techniques of European colonial settlers, manifested in the city’s robust walls, archways, and vaults, as well as numerous courtyards.

 

[jw5]

Huascarán National Park, Peru - Location: Ancash
Criteria: Natural
Year established: 1985
Description: Named after the tallest mountain in Peru (and Huascar, a 16th-century Inca emperor), the park harbors a unique biodiversity. It’s noted also for its 300 or so glacial lakes.

 

[jw5]

Cartagena Historic Monuments, Colombia - Location: Cartagena
Criteria: Cultural
Year established: 1984
Description: The city’s fortress and defensive walls, constructed at the beginning of 1586, surround a historic center that mesmerizes with its ensemble of churches, convents, and a host of other colonial architecture featuring Andalusian design signatures.

 

[jw5]

Galápagos Islands, Ecuador - Location: Galápagos Province
Criteria: Natural
Year established: 1978
Description: Forever associated with Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution by means of natural selection, this remote archipelago is known for its large number of endemic species.

 

[jw5]

Historic Inner City of Paramaribo, Suriname - Location: Paramaribo
Criteria: Cultural
Year established: 2001
Description: The Dutch settled here in the 17th century, and their cultural influence is apparent in the old quarter's unique street plan and traditional architectural design signatures.

 

[jw5]

Quebrada de Humahuaca, Argentina - Location: Jujuy Province
Criteria: Cultural
Year established: 2003
Description: The site, a narrow mountain valley, was a caravan road for the Inca Empire in the 15th century. A pre-Inca fortification, Pucará de Tilcara, and the colorful Serranía de Hornocal mountain range (pictured) fall within its boundaries.

 

[jw5]

Brasília, Brazil - Location: Federal District
Criteria: Cultural
Year established: 1987
Description: Planned by architects Oscar Niemeyer and Lúcio Costa in 1956, Brasília became the new national capital in 1960. It was chosen as a World Heritage Site due to its modernist architecture and uniquely artistic urban planning.

 

[Papsmearer]

View attachment 210073

Cartagena Historic Monuments, Colombia - Location: Cartagena
Criteria: Cultural
Year established: 1984
Description: The city’s fortress and defensive walls, constructed at the beginning of 1586, surround a historic center that mesmerizes with its ensemble of churches, convents, and a host of other colonial architecture featuring Andalusian design signatures.

Been here. Very different from other parts of Columbia. Hot as hell

 

[jw5]

Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu, Peru - Location: Cuzco
Criteria: Mixed
Year established: 1983
Description: One of the world's most recognized historic landmarks, this expansive mountain estate, established around the middle of the 15th century, is also the most familiar icon of the Inca civilization.

 

[jw5]

Sewell Mining Town, Chile -

Location: Machalí, Cachapoal Province
Criteria: Cultural
Year established: 2006
Description: The abandoned mining town of Sewell, located on the slopes of the Andes, once had a population of 16,000. However, its steep and remote location and the propensity for avalanches, earthquakes, and explosions eventually led to families moving out of Sewell and the town's subsequent decline.

 

[jw5]

Brazilian Atlantic Islands: Fernando de Noronha and Atol das Rocas Reserves - Location: Pernambuco and Rio Grande do Norte
Criteria: Natural
Year established: 2001
Description: The site encompasses an environment essential as a feeding ground and reproduction area for numerous sealife, including endangered and threatened species.

 

[jw5]

Spiritual and Political Center of the Tiwanaku Culture, Bolivia - Location: Ingavi Province
Criteria: Cultural
Year established: 2000
Description: Excavation of this pre-Columbian site situated near Lake Titicara has revealed decorated ceramics, monumental structures, and megalithic blocks. Estimates date the foundation of the site at around 110 CE.

 

[jw5]

Sangay National Park, Ecuador - Location: Morono Santiago, Chimborazo, and Tungurahua Provinces
Criteria: Natural
Year established: 1983
Description: An important refuge for rare species of the Andes, including the mountain tapir, the scenic park is equally distinguished for its two active volcanoes.

 

[jw5]

Historic Center of Olinda, Brazil - Location: Pernambuco
Criteria: Cultural
Year established: 1982
Description: Among the standout buildings set within Olinda's historic center is the Convent of São Francisco, the oldest Franciscan convent in the country.

 

[jw5]

Los Glaciares National Park, Argentina - Location: Santa Cruz Province
Criteria: Natural
Year established: 1981
Description: Comprising a chain of lofty peaks and pristine glacial lakes and glaciers, the park's name refers to the giant ice cap in the Andes, the largest outside of Antarctica, Greenland, and Iceland.

 

[jw5]

Iguaçu National Park, Brazil - Location: Paraná
Criteria: Natural
Year established: 1986
Description: A world-renowned natural wonder, the park shares with Iguazú National Park in Argentina (same name, and also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, established 1984) one of the planet’s largest waterfalls. The surrounding habitats are home to many rare and endangered species of flora and fauna.