According to UNESCO, the site “constitutes a spectacular example of a living cultural tradition stretching back 21 generations (more than 400 years) adapted to its dry hostile environment. The landscape demonstrates the shared values, social cohesion and engineering knowledge of its communities.”

In addition to showcasing the Konso people’s traditional lifestyle, the Cultural Landscape also contains funeral monuments called wagas. These wooden statues are carved in the likeness of the deceased as well as his family and the person or animal he died fighting. UNESCO says that this funeral tradition is “on the verge of disappearing,” so see them while you can.

To visit Ethiopia, you will need a visa. US citizens flying in to Bole International Airport may apply for an Ethiopian visa on arrival, but be aware that this may complicate your entry into the country. In fact, the Department of State says that tourists arriving without visas may be “significantly delayed.”

If the prospect of being “significantly delayed” in a foreign country after a long flight makes you want to tear your hair out, stop and take a breath. There is another way: you can apply for your Ethiopian visa in advance before you leave the country.

Also, please note that if you’re entering Ethiopia by land, you have to apply for a visa ahead of time.

To get an Ethiopian visa, you need the following documents:

• 1 completed Ethiopian visa application form
• 1 passport-sized photo of yourself
• A copy of your round-trip itinerary
• Your US passport

RushMyTravelVisa makes getting an Ethiopian visa before your trip easy and quick. We know you have more important things to do, like packing, so we walk you through the application process to reduce the chance of errors. Then, we deliver your paperwork to the appropriate Ethiopian Embassy or Consulate for the fastest possible service.

Apply for your Ethiopian visa today!

The last emperor of China was kicked out of the palace in 1924, and the Forbidden City is now the Palace Museum, open to anyone who can pay the fees. Still, it continues to impress and delight visitors.

Part of the Forbidden City’s grandeur comes simply from its scale. It is the largest palace complex in the world, and took 15 years to build. When the trees were cut down for the main hall, records indicate that the massive trunks were too big for workers to move.  Instead, they had to wait for floods to wash them into the river, then guide them to the city using boats.

But it’s not just the enormity of the Forbidden City that’s impressive. The entire complex is painstakingly designed and flawlessly executed. UNESCO says that “The buildings of the Forbidden City fully embody the artistic features and style of ancient Chinese palace architecture, and can be called a masterpiece in Chinese, even world, architectural history.”

To see the Forbidden City, you’ll need a passport and a Chinese visa, naturally. To familiarize yourself with the Chinese visa process, see Chinese Visa Requirements for Tourists.

RushMyTravelVisa makes getting your visa easy and quick. We’ll take a look at your itinerary and research it to make sure you know what paperwork will be required for each step of your journey. Then, we’ll walk you through the application process with easy-to-follow instructions and helpful checklists, and expedite your visa with the Chinese Embassy for the fastest processing possible.

Apply for your Chinese visa today!

Manas National Park is located in the Himalayan foothills in Assam, next to the border with Bhutan. It’s not just a national park, it’s also a Project Tiger Reserve and an elephant reserve. The tiger population within the park is the second-highest in all of India.

Tigers aren’t the only big cats here, either. Leopards and clouded leopards are also present, as well as a variety of smaller wild cats.

The park encompasses both grassland and forest habitats, so the wildlife is quite diverse. In addition to the tigers, notable forest animals include the slow loris, several different types of langurs, sloth bears and an unusual armored anteater called the pangolin. Grassland animals include the Indian rhinoceros, Asian elephant and wild Asian buffalo.

Tourist lodges and bungalows are available for visitors. Tours are available by Jeep, by rafting one of the rivers and by elephant.

First, though, you’ll need a passport and an Indian visa. You must apply for your Indian visa in advance. Here’s what you’ll need:

• Your US passport
• 2 recent passport-sized photos. Eyeglasses are not permitted in the photos and they must have been taken within the past 6 months.
• A completed Indian visa application form. To ensure that your application is accepted, write neatly and look over the application carefully to catch mistakes. Also, make sure that you enter in “tourism” in the section that asks you to state why you are traveling to India, as opposed to describing the attractions you intend to see while you are there.
• A copy of your plane tickets or your itinerary.
• A legible copy of your driver’s license or a utility bill showing your name and address.
• A copy of your birth certificate.

When you apply for your Indian visa with RushMyTravelVisa, our trained visa specialists will focus on making your experience as hassle-free as possible. We’ll help you with the paperwork and expedite your visa with the Indian embassy for the fastest possible processing.

Apply for your Indian visa today!

• Lake Baikal was formed about 30 million years ago, making it the world’s oldest lake.
• At 1,700 meters deep, it’s also the deepest lake in the world.
• Over 20% of the world’s unfrozen fresh water is found inside Lake Baikal.
• Lake Baikal is home to many species of plants and animals that are found nowhere else on earth. Because of its rich biodiversity, it is often called the “Galapagos of Russia.”
• The lake is formed by the deepest continental rift in the world.

UNESCO added Lake Baikal to the World Heritage List in 1996, calling it “the most outstanding example of a freshwater ecosystem.”

In addition to the lake itself, the surrounding landscape is a striking mix of mountains, tundra and ancient forests. Activities for visitors include hiking, horseback riding, mountain climbing, cruising, visiting hot springs, scuba diving and touring the area’s many museums and cultural artifacts.

You need a visa to visit Russia- unfortunately, this may be one of the hardest parts of getting to Siberia. Russia’s visa system has a well-deserved reputation for being bureaucratic and hard to navigate. Here’s what you need to get a tourist visa:

• Your passport.
• A completed visa application form
• 1 passport photo
• A copy of your airline tickets or a copy of your itinerary showing your flight number and the dates that you’ll be in Russia.
• A tourist invitation from a Russian travel agency or hotel that can serve as your visa sponsor. The hotel or travel agency must be registered with the Russian government.
• A hotel voucher from your hotel.

RushMyTravelVisa specializes in cutting through the red tape to make it easier for you to get your Russian visa. We’ll walk you through the paperwork and expedite your application so you have the documents you need sooner.

Apply for your Russian visa today!

Aleijadinho was the son of a Portuguese carpenter and his slave. Immensely talented, he unfortunately fell prey to leprosy or a similar illness as a young man. The name “Aleijadinho” is a nickname that means “the little cripple.” However, his disease didn’t stop him from sculpting. He carved the statues inside the Sanctuary of Bom Jesus de Matosinhos with chisels strapped to what remained of his hands. Why did they have to strap his chisels to his hands, you ask? Because his fingers had fallen off and all that was left was two bloody stumps. Beat that, Michelangelo!

The ultimate irony (cue Alanis Morrissette) is that according to UNESCO, the church was inspired by “the wish of a Portuguese immigrant who had been miraculously cured of a crippling infirmity.”

The legend of Aleijadinho may or may not be true – some scholars have questioned the truthfulness of the tale. Either way, it’s a cool story and the sculptures are breathtaking, so the church is well worth checking out. It was made a World Heritage Site in 1985.

To visit Brazil and see the church, you’ll need a Brazilian visa. Brazil’s visa system is “jurisdictional”, so each Brazilian embassy only handles visa applications from a specific region of the US. The first thing you’ll need to do is to determine which embassy you need to apply at. Once you know that, here’s a rundown of what you’ll need to get a Brazilian visa to visit as a tourist:

• Your passport. Check the expiration date in the back, as your expiration date must be at least 6 months into the future for you to get a Brazilian visa. You’ll also need 2 or more blank pages in the back.
• One Brazilian visa application
• 2 passport-sized photos
• A copy of your itinerary, which must have the dates you plan to enter and leave Brazil.
• A clean, readable copy of your driver’s license or state-issued ID card.
• If you will be visiting friends or relatives, you also need a letter from your hosts.

To enter Brazil, you may also need a yellow fever vaccination. Vaccines are required of travelers who have been to any of the following countries in the past 3 months (90 days): Angola, Bolivia, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ecuador, French Guiana, Gabon, Ghana, Gambia, Republic of Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Peru, Sierra Leone, Sudan or Venezuela.

If that sounds intimidating, RushMyTravelVisa can help. We’ll walk you through the paperwork step-by-step, make sure you’ve got everything you need, and get your application to the appropriate Brazilian embassy or consulate for the fastest possible processing.

Apply for your Brazilian visa today!

The three rivers in question are among the largest and most important in Asia: the Yangtze, the Mekong and the Salween. Although their courses take them far away from each other, they run roughly parallel in Yunnan province, slicing deep gorges into the steep mountains.

According to UNESCO, “The deep, parallel gorges of the Jinsha, Lancang and Nu Jiang are the outstanding natural feature of the site; while large sections of the three rivers lie just outside the site boundaries, the river gorges are nevertheless the dominant scenic element in the area. High mountains are everywhere, with the glaciated peaks of the Meili, Baima and Haba Snow Mountains providing a spectacular scenic skyline.”

The Three Parallel Rivers National Park also protects an amazingly diverse collection of flora and fauna. UNESCO calls it “one of the world’s most important remaining areas for the conservation of the earth’s biodiversity. Inside the protected areas you’ll find 3 different species of leopard, monkeys, gibbons, the red panda, a type of “goat antelope” called the takin and many others.

The region is also home to 25 different minority groups, many of whom still live in their original villages and have clung to their traditional culture.

To visit this World Heritage Site, you’ll need a valid passport and a Chinese visa. You must apply for your visa before you leave the US – while many countries allow US citizens to apply for a visa on arrival at the airport, China is not one of them. For more information about what you need, see Chinese Visa Requirements for Tourists.

RushMyTravelVisa makes getting your Chinese visa easier than ever. Our visa specialists cut through the red tape with clear, easy to understand instructions and a helpful checklist. We’ll assist you with the paperwork and expedite your Chinese visa application for the fastest possible processing.

Let us help you with your Chinese visa application today!

While the Taj Mahal was built as a monument to Mumtaz Mahal, the favorite wife of the Emperor Shah Jahan, the Red Fort of Agra was the center of the Mughal administration and the home of the imperial family. More of a walled city than a mere fort, this breathtaking collection of buildings gets its name from the red sandstone that the walls and many of the buildings are constructed out of.

Inside the walls, there were originally about 500 sandstone buildings, though some were destroyed by Emperor Shah Jahan and replaced with white marble palaces that were more to his taste. Many others were destroyed when the British Empire occupied India, as they tore them down to build their own barracks. However, enough buildings, mosques and gardens remain to give visitors a taste of the splendor of Mughal India.

According to UNESCO, which named the fort a World Heritage Site in 1983, “Like the Delhi Fort, that of Agra is one of the most obvious symbols of the Mogul grandeur which asserted itself under Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan.”

To visit the Red Fort of Agra, you’ll need a passport and an Indian visa. India does not issue visas to American citizens on arrival, so it’s important to apply in advance and allow enough time to receive your visa before your departure.

For more information on getting an Indian visa, see Indian Visa Requirements for Tourists.

RushMyTravelVisa makes getting an Indian visa a breeze with personal attention and assistance from our trained visa specialists. We’ll walk you through the paperwork, step by step, and expedite your visa for the fastest possible processing.

Apply for your Indian visa today!

Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park is on the southwestern side of the island. The park’s boundaries include both mountainous and lowland terrain and is blessed with many rivers, lakes and hot springs. Kerinci Seblat National Park is the home of Sumatra’s highest mountain, Mt. Kerinci, and Lake Gunung Tujuh, the highest volcanic lake in Southeast Asia. Here, you’ll also find the mysterious, grotesque corpse flower in its native habitat.

Here’s what UNESCO has to say about this World Heritage Site:

Outstanding scenic landscapes abound at all scales. The mountains of each site present prominent mountainous backdrops to the settled and developed lowlands of Sumatra. The combination of the spectacularly beautiful Lake Gunung Tujuh (the highest lake in southeast Asia), the magnificence of the giant Mount Kerinci volcano, numerous small volcanic, coastal and glacial lakes in natural forested settings, fumaroles belching smoke from forested mountains and numerous waterfalls and cave systems in lush rainforest settings, emphasise the outstanding beauty of the Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra.

Doesn’t that sound wonderful? Unfortunately, as I mentioned earlier, this World Heritage Site is one of the most threatened. Even though technically all three of these parks are protected areas, in Indonesia, “protected” doesn’t always mean safe. Local authorities often lack the will to enforce conservation regulations, the resources to do so, or both.

In fact, per Wikipedia, 20% of the forests in Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park have recently been cut down and the area replanted with coffee beans. Hopefully, better management practices will prevail in the future.

If you’d like to go see this World Heritage Site, you will need an Indonesia visa. As long as you’re a US citizen, you can apply on arrival at certain land and sea ports, or you can get your visa in advance. See Indonesian Visa Requirements for Tourists for more details.

If you’re applying for your visa in advance, RushMyTravelVisa can make the process go much more smoothly. We’ll help you with the paperwork and provide you with a handy checklist to make sure that nothing is missed. Then, we’ll deliver your application to the Indonesian Embassy for the fastest possible processing.

Apply for your Indonesian visa today!

According to the World Heritage website, “The Matobo Hills has one of the highest concentrations of rock art in Southern Africa. The rich evidence from archaeology and from the rock paintings at Matobo provide a very full picture of the lives of foraging societies in the Stone Age and the way agricultural societies came to replace them.”

There are several camps for tourists in and around the national park. In addition to the prehistoric rock art, the Matobo Hills are also a great place to view endangered African wildlife such as rhinoceros, giraffes, zebras, wildebeest and ostrich.

To enter Zimbabwe, US citizens will need a valid passport and a Zimbabwe visa. You’ll also need to be able to show a return ticket and prove that you have enough money in the bank to support yourself. You can get your visa at the border or in the airport, or you can apply for one in advance from the Embassy of Zimbabwe.

To apply for a Zimbabwe visa, you’ll need the following documents:

• Your passport
• 2 completed application forms
• 2 passport photos

Also, if you will be entering or exiting Zimbabwe via South Africa, you need to have at least 2 completely blank pages in the back of your passport per entry-otherwise South Africa won’t let you in.

RushMyTravelVisa can help you get the visas you need for your next trip to Africa. We’ll research your itinerary, walk you through the paperwork and expedite your visas for the fastest processing available.

Apply for your Zimbabwe visa today!

Lake Turkana is a salt lake, but it’s not nearly as salty as the Dead Sea, and animals like fish, crocodiles and birds thrive there. In addition to the crocs, large numbers of scorpions and poisonous snakes make it a dangerous place for tourists to travel unguided. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t go, only that you this park is best visited as part of an organized tour with a reputable tour group.

The Lake Turkana World Heritage Site consists of 3 protected national parks: Sibiloi National Park, Central Island National Park and South Island National Park. It was added to UNESCO World Heritage List in 1997. UNESCO says, “The Lake Turkana ecosystem with its diverse bird life and desert environment offers an exceptional laboratory for studies of plant and animal communities.”

For non-scientists, that translates to excellent wildlife watching. In addition to the crocodiles that live in the lake and the migratory birds that make it a temporary home, herds of zebras, giraffe and antelopes roam the shore, hunted by prides of lion and by cheetahs.

When visiting this particular World Heritage Site, do be careful! The State Department released a travel warning regarding Kenya in December 2010 – read the full text here so that you know what the hazards are and how to protect yourself.

Despite the risks, Lake Turkana is a sight worth seeing. If you want to go, you’ll need a passport and a Kenyan visa. Check your passport before you leave: if it’s not good for at least 6 months past the date you plan to enter Kenya, you’ll need to get it renewed first.

Getting a Kenyan visa at the airport is possible for US citizens but only if you don’t mind being delayed. It’s a better idea to get it ahead of time so you can get through customs more quickly. For more information about how to get the visa, see Kenyan Visa Requirements for Tourists.

RushMyTravelVisa can help you get a Kenyan visa quickly and easily. Our visa specialists will walk you through the paperwork, then expedite your visa for the fastest possible processing.

Apply for your Kenyan visa today!

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