Under The Radar Cultural Heritage Icons

Cultural heritage is what makes a destination and it’s people unique. And sadly, it is disappearing at an alarming rate.

Yet tourism can help protect and preserve our precious cultural heritage so we are proud to work closely with the World Tourism Association for Culture and Heritage to highlight some icons which you may not be aware of.

Join our resident cultural heritage expert and executive chairman of World Tourism Association for Culture and Heritage, Chris Flynn, who provides an overview of five amazing cultural and natural heritage places that are just as mysterious as they are beautiful. Add these places to your bucket list and start planning your next trip!

CASTELLFOLLIT DE LA ROCA - THE LITTLE TOWN ON THE CLIFF

Castellfollit de la Roca

Castellfollit de la Roca is located in the comarca of Garrotxa, in the Province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain.

Built upon a basalt cliff 50 metres high and less than a kilometre long, the geographical footprint of the township is less than one square kilometre, making Castellfollit de la Roca the smallest municipality in the province and the second smallest in Catalonia.

It’s uncertain just how old Castellfollit de la Roca is but the earliest written reference to it dates back to 1110 AD.

Castellfollit de la Roca is yet another magnificent example of Spanish heritage.

THE LONGYOU CAVES OF CHINA

The Longyou Caves, Zhejiang Province, China

Referred to by many as the Chinese 8th Ancient Wonder of the World, the Longyou Caves, also known as the ‘Xiaonanhai Stone Chambers’, are a group of 24 artificial sandstone caverns located on the Qu River, near the village of Shiyan Beicun in Zhejiang Province, China.

The caves were discovered by a local farmer in 1992 and at that time were filled with water. It is believed the caves were made in pre-dynastic China, at least 3,000 years ago. Each of the manmade caves has an average floor space of 1000m², which is an unimaginable feat of engineering for the time period it is thought they were created.

What makes the Longyou Caves even more remarkable and mysterious are the stone cutting marks, which are all uniform with a set angle of 60 degrees, suggesting the possibility that some form of ancient technology had been used.

MCDONALD LAKE – MONTANA, USA

Fall Colours at Macdonald Lake, Montana

McDonald Lake in Montana’s ‘Glacier National Park’ has been a sacred place for the Kootenai people for thousands of years.

It is just one of more than 700 lakes that border Canada, and there is evidence of human habitation dating back more than 10,000 years. The evidence shows that numerous Native American tribes used the area for hunting, fishing, gathering plants and sacred ceremonies.

The area was originally known as ‘Eagle in the Wind’ or ‘Good Place to Dance’, but like so many other Indigenous places of significance around the world, the site was re-named in 1878 after Duncan McDonald, the son of the Hudson’s Bay Company trader Angus MacDonald.

Today the lake is better known for its spectacular landscape, crystal clear waters and the amazing array of coloured stones caused by their high iron content and oxidisation which has taken place over thousands of years. It’s certainly a beautiful place and one to add to your list!

‘GWION GWION’ – ANCIENT CAVE ART

Gwen Gwion Cave Art, Western Australia

In the Kimberly region of Western Australia there is a baffling mystery that continues to raise more questions than answers.

Spread over thousands of square kilometres we find what’s known as the ‘Gwion Gwion’ cave art, which is thought to be around 25,000 years old. But they don’t appear to be Aboriginal artworks. In fact, since their discovery, local tribes have consistently said ‘this is not the work of their ancestors’.

THE CROOKED FOREST OF POLAND

Crooked Forest, Poland

Located in the village of Nowe Czarnow, near the town of Gryfino in Poland, is what’s known as ‘The Crooked Forest’ where there are hundreds of oddly shaped pine trees that have grown in a very peculiar way.

Planted in the 1930s, the trees have grown with an almost 90-degree bend at their base, making them look more like fishing hooks than regular trees.

Some believe that this is due to an old growing technique used to make the trees curve this way. Others speculate that a winter snowstorm or some other damage could have given this fascinating forest its interesting shape.

If, like us, you are passionate about the protection and preservation of cultural heritge throughout the worl, then please do visit www.wtach.org and become a member like we have done. It costs as little as $50 a year and is an incredibly worthwhile cause.