Archive for the ‘World Heritage Site of the Week’ Category

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Tanzania Visa Requirements to Visit the Serengeti National Park

Sunday, February 6th, 2011

You’ve probably seen this week’s featured UNESCO World Heritage Site in numerous nature shows. The Serengeti National Park is one of the most famous national parks not only in Tanzania, but in all of Africa. You know all of those “Trials of Life” type specials that show wildebeests, antelopes and zebras as they migrate in search of water? Yup, that happens here.

The “Great Migration” happens twice a year, in October and then again in April. More than 2 million animals participate, and herds of wildebeests, eland, gazelles and zebra literally fill the horizon. Naturally, lions and other predators fallow the herds, looking for stragglers. It’s an amazing, unforgettable event.

Of course, even if you aren’t there for the Great Migration, there’s still plenty of wildlife to see in the Serengeti National Park. The park is home to around 3,000 lions, a population which is believed to the largest in all of Africa. There are also about 1,000 leopards, a small but recovering population of African elephant and many African buffalo. Plus, the park is home to a precious few black rhinos, survivors of decades of poaching. And of course, there are countless antelopes, zebras, wildebeest, hyenas and other animals.

The Serengeti National Park became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1981. Even at 5,700 square miles, the park only encompasses a small fragment of the Serengeti ecosystem. For a more complete experience, you could also visit Ngorongoro Conservation Unit, also in Tanzania, and Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya.

Tanzanian Visa Requirements (more…)

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Get a Tajikistan Visa to Visit the Ancient Ruins of Sarazm

Sunday, January 30th, 2011

Tajikistan is one of those countries that’s often overlooked by American travelers, and with some good reasons. It’s a relatively undeveloped country, and tourist facilities are often non-existent.

Still, if you don’t mind roughing it, a trip to Tajikistan can be an amazing experience. The scenery – golden steppes, towering mountains and isolated lakes – is simply breathtaking.

Visiting this week’s featured UNESCO World Heritage Site gives you a chance to take in the scenery and get a close look at the ruins of one of the country’s oldest settlements.

The city of Sarazm dates back to the 4th millennium BC, which makes it older than the Egyptian pyramids. It was abandoned in 2000 BC, but came to life again as a mining town about 500 years later. Many of the tools and structures unearthed by archaeologists were used for metalworking.

A visit to Sarazm is often included in tours of the Zeravshan Valley. Arranging travel through a tour operator or travel agent is probably the way to go, given the logistical difficulties that traveling in Tajikistan can sometimes present.

You’ll also need a Tajikistan visa. If you’re visiting as a tourist, you’ll need to obtain one before you leave the US. The following documents are required: (more…)

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Get a Gambian Visa to Visit the Senegambian Stone Circles

Friday, January 21st, 2011

This week’s featured UNESCO World Heritage site is located in the Gambia. The Stone Circles of Senegambia are located in four different groups along the River Gambia. Scientists believe they were built over more than a millennium, from 3 BC to the 16th century AD.

The origins of these circles remain somewhat mysterious. Archaeologists believe that they were used to mark burial sites, and were possibly built on top of older graves. Other than that, nobody is sure what specific beliefs motivated the people who lived there to build so many stone circles. There is no doubt that the monuments are impressive, however, and just as with Stonehenge, half the fun of visiting them is speculating about who built them and why.

According to the UNESCO site, “the survival of so many circles is a unique manifestation of construction and funerary practices which persisted for over a millennia and a half across a large sweep of landscape, and reflects a sophisticated and productive society.”

To visit the stone circles, you’ll need a valid US passport and a Gambian visa. In theory, you might be able to get a visa on arrival, but the US Department of State advises against it, saying, “there are no uniform procedures for Gambian immigration officials and the best way to avoid any potential problem is to get a visa before entering the country.”

If you’re visiting the Gambia as a tourist, here’s what you’ll need to get a visa:

  • Your passport. Check the expiration date, cause if it’s not good for at least 6 months after the date you plan to enter the Gambia, there will be no visa for you. Also, make sure there’s at least one completely blank page in back.
  • A copy of your itinerary.
  • 2 passport photos

RushMyTravelVisa will be glad to help you get your Gambian visa. When you apply through us, you’ll get your own personal visa specialist to help you with the application. We’ll help you avoid common mistakes that could lead to delays, and we’ll expedite your visa for the fastest possible processing.

Apply for your Gambian visa today!

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Get a Chinese Visa to Visit the Tombs of Emperors

Sunday, January 16th, 2011

This week’s featured UNESCO World Heritage Site is the final resting place for some of China’s most powerful emperors in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. These dynasties, which together lasted from 1368 to 1912, were China’s last two imperial dynasties. After the Qing Dynasty fell in 1912, it was succeeded by the Republic of China.

The tombs themselves, which are laid out according to ancient Chinese principles of fengshui, are impressive and richly decorated with carvings and statues. They are designed to look like imperial palaces, providing suitable housing for the spirits of emperors, empresses, and other members of the royal family.

UNESCO says that “The Ming and Qing imperial tombs are outstanding testimony to a cultural and architectural tradition that for over 500 years dominated this part of the world. By reason of their integration into the natural environment, they make up a unique ensemble of cultural landscapes.”

If you’d like to visit these tombs yourself, you’ll need a Chinese visa. Apply for an “L” visa if you’re planning to visit as a tourist. (more…)

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Kazakhstan Visa Requirements to Visit Saryarka

Sunday, January 9th, 2011

This week’s UNESCO World Heritage Site is rarely visited, but richly rewarding for adventure travelers and nature lovers.

Located in Kazakhstan, the Saryarka World Heritage Site consists of two separate regions: the Naurzum State Nature Reserve and Korgalzhyn State Nature Reserve. The reserves encompass two very different environments: the grassy, windswept grasslands of the Kazakh steppe and wetlands surrounding both fresh and saltwater lakes.

UNESCO notes that these wetlands are “of outstanding importance for migratory water birds, including globally threatened species, among them the extremely rare Siberian white crane, the Dalmatian pelican, Pallas’s fish eagle, to name but a few.”

The United Nations’ World Conservation Monitoring Center notes that since the reserves are so isolated, they receive very few tourists. However, some organized tours are available and the reserves get about 254 visitors a year.

Of course, to travel to Kazakhstan, you will need a passport and a Kazakhstan visa. If you’re visiting as tourist, you’ll need the following documents to apply:

  • One visa application form
  • 1 passport photo
  • A cover letter explaining what you are planning to do in Kazakhstan and when you plan to be there. If you are staying for 30 days or less, you can write the letter yourself. However, if you are staying 30 days or more, your host to needs to get an invitation letter for you issued by the Kazakhstan department of foreign affairs.

Keep in mind that depending on your itinerary, you may need to get visas for other countries as well. RushMyTravelVisa can research your itinerary to make sure you have the visas you need for all the places you plan to stop along the way.

We can also make getting a Kazakhstan visa easier and faster. We’ll walk you through the application process, answer any questions you may have and expedite your application with the Kazakhstan Embassy for the fastest possible processing.

Apply for your Kazakhstan visa today!

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Mali Visa Requirements to Visit the Cliff of Bandiagara

Sunday, January 2nd, 2011

This week’s featured UNESCO World Heritage Site is a stunning, enormous escarpment in Mali. The Cliff of Bandiagara is the sanctuary of the Dogon tribe. Visiting this region, you can see their unique earth buildings and learn about their culture firsthand. The UNESCO website explains:

“The Bandiagara site is an outstanding landscape of cliffs and sandy plateaux with some beautiful architecture (houses, granaries, altars, sanctuaries and Togu Na, or communal meeting-places). Several age-old social traditions live on in the region (masks, feasts, rituals, and ceremonies involving ancestor worship).”

The Dogon people have an interesting history and many secretive traditions that are not supposed to be shared with outsiders. One of the problems with tourism, though, is that it can cheapen these cultural traditions, turning them into performances for tourists. Tourism has also encouraged the Dogon to sell their both their own cultural artifacts and the artifacts of long-gone tribes that lived in the area before they arrived. In a 2001 article in The Independent, African archaeology expert Tim Insoll explained that this is a problem because it makes it difficult and even impossible to learn about the history behind these artifacts:

“In Timbuktu and Gao, we have found 11th century Chinese pottery and beads from India,” he said. “These objects tell us that they were brought through the desert, probably from Cairo. Deprived of their provenance, they just become pottery and beads.”"

So, can you visit this UNESCO site ethically? Yes, but there are a few things to be aware of. First, get a good guide, preferably via recommendations from previous travelers to the region. If you’re on a guided tour, try to make sure that the company is reputable and that some money goes back to the community you are visiting. Second, be respectful of the people and the culture. Third, don’t buy any artifacts.

You also need to obtain the proper documents before traveling to Mali.  That means you’ll need a valid passport and a Mali visa. Here’s what you need to get a Mali tourist visa:

  • 2 completed Mali visa application forms
  • 2 passport-sized photos of yourself
  • If you are staying in a hotel, a hotel confirmation is required.
  • If you are entering on a tourist visa but staying with friends or family in Mali, you need an invitation letter from your hosts.
  • A copy of your International Certificate of Vaccination for yellow fever.
  • A copy of your round-trip itinerary
  • Your US passport

RushMyTravelVisa can help you get the documents you need for your trip. We’ll walk you through the Mali visa application process, answer any questions you might have and expedite your paperwork with the Mali embassy for the fastest possible processing.

Apply for your Mali visa today!

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Get a Brazil Visa to See the Oldest Rock Art in South America

Sunday, December 26th, 2010

This week’s featured UNESCO World Heritage Site is one of Brazil’s most significant archaeological treasures. Serra da Capivara National Park is home to numerous examples of amazing rock art that dates back to the Ice Age. In fact, one rock shelter has some paintings that date back to 26,000-22,000 BC, making it the oldest known rock art in South America. At over 25,000 years of age, some of the rock art in Serra de Capivara makes the famous cave paintings in Lascaux, France (painted “only” 17,300 years ago) look like modern art.

Serra da Capivara’s main draw may be the rock art, but it’s also notable for its unique plant and animal life. Some species are not found anywhere else outside of the park boundaries.

UNESCO granted World Heritage status to the park in 1991, calling it an “outstanding testimony to one of the oldest human communities of South America.”

Guided tours of the park are available and hotels are located nearby. If you’re interested in going, this article has in-depth information about how to get there and how to book a tour.

To visit Serra da Capivara, you’ll need not only a valid passport but also a Brazil visa. Brazil visa requirements are notoriously complex. Here’s a brief overview of what you’ll need to get a tourist visa:

  • A valid passport with an expiration date that’s at least 6 months in the future and at least 2 blank visa pages in the back. Before you submit your Brazil visa application, get a passport renewal or add pages as necessary.
  • One completed Brazil visa application form
  • 2 passport-sized photos
  • A copy of your itinerary verifying the dates you plan to enter and leave Brazil.
  • A clean 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.

Why stumble through the Brazil visa system on your own? RushMyTravelVisa can guide you through it step by step. We’ll help you with the paperwork and expedite your application with the appropriate embassy or consulate for the fastest possible processing.

Apply for your Brazil visa today!

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Get a Vietnamese Visa to Visit the My Son Sanctuary

Saturday, December 18th, 2010

This week’s featured UNESCO World Heritage is the ruined stronghold of an ancient Vietnamese kingdom. The My Son Sanctuary is the former religious center of the Champa kingdom. Pirates and traders, the Cham people ruled much of the Vietnamese coastline from the 7th century AD to the 15th century, dealing in spices, ivory and aloe. They were frequently at war with their neighbors, the Khmer people of Cambodia and the Viet of Vietnam.

The Champa kingdom was Hindu, and for centuries, Champa rulers built temples in the sheltered valley of My Son. Centuries worth of weather and heavy bombing of the area during the Vietnam War has taken its toll on the ancient temples, but the ruins are still quite impressive. Stick to the designated paths if you visit; land mines and unexploded ordnance remain a problem in the surrounding area.

UNESCO calls the My Son sanctuary “an exceptional example of cultural interchange, with the introduction the Hindu architecture of the Indian sub-continent into South-East Asia.”

To visit Vietnam and see the temples, you will need a Vietnamese visa. Vietnam doesn’t do visas on arrival, so you must apply in advance and have your Vietnamese visa with you when you get to the airport.

To get a Vietnamese tourist visa, you need the following documents:

  • Your US passport
  • A completed Vietnamese visa application
  • A recent passport photo, taken within the past 6 months.

Also, depending on your itinerary, you may need to apply for a multiple-entry visa rather than the single-entry Vietnamese visa that is typically issued. If you plan to travel to Laos after Vietnam, you’ll need a Vietnamese visa that is permanently attached to your passport. Detachable visas are removed as you exit Vietnam, but not having a Vietnamese visa in your passport can cause you to be denied entry to Laos.

RushMyTravelVisa can make getting a Vietnamese visa fast and hassle-free. Your visa specialist will answer your questions, help you with the paperwork and submit your application to the appropriate embassy or consulate for the fastest possible processing.

Need a Vietnamese visa? Let us help!

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    Indonesian Visa Requirements to Visit Komodo National Park

    Sunday, December 12th, 2010

    At this week’s featured UNESCO World Heritage Site, you can see real, live dragons. They may not have wings and they may not breathe fire, but the Komodo dragons of Komodo National Park are still quite fearsome indeed. They can be anywhere from 6 to almost 10 feet long, and are equipped with long claws and sharp teeth perfect for rending flesh. They can swallow a goat whole, and their mouths ooze bloody saliva. Their bite is slightly venomous, but the aggressive pathogenic bacteria in their mouths is even more of a concern.

    They’ve been known to attack humans, and even more frequently to dig up and devour freshly buried bodies. Natives that live near them used to sacrifice goats to them to ensure peaceful coexistence, and the dragons have become more aggressive since outside environmentalists forced an end to this practice.

    The Komodo dragon is the not the only resident of Komodo National Park, but it’s one of the most famous. In addition to seeing the dragons, scuba diving and snorkeling are also popular activity. Under the sea, you can see whale sharks , sea horses, octopus and countless different species of coral.

    To visit Komodo National Park, you’ll need an Indonesian visa. You can apply before you leave the US or on arrival, but if you apply before you leave you’ll be able to get out of the airport that much more quickly. Either way, here’s what you’ll need:

    • A US passport, which must be valid for 6 months and have an entire blank page in the back for the visa.
    • 2 completed Indonesian visa application forms
    • 2 passport photos
    • A copy of your most recent bank statement
    • A letter from your boss verifying that you are employed or on a leave of absence. If you don’t have a job, you’ll need to include a detailed letter explaining that fact.
    • An itinerary letter that explains why you are going to Indonesia.

    RushMyTravelVisa makes getting an Indonesian visa quicker and easier. We’ll help you with paperwork, minimizing the chance of errors that could delay your visa, and deliver your paperwork to the Indonesian Embassy for the fastest possible processing.

    Apply for your Indonesian visa today!

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    Algerian Visa Requirements to Rock the Casbah

    Sunday, December 5th, 2010

    This week’s featured UNESCO World Heritage Site is located in Algeria. Algeria’s Casbah is the oldest part of the city of Algiers. It has been inhabited since at least the 6th century BC, and in the 16th century it was the capital of the famous Muslim pirate Khair-al-Din, otherwise known as “Barbarossa” or Redbeard. According to Lonely Planet, Barbarossa took control of the city after the people, sick and tired of their Spanish overlords trying to convert them to Christianity, declared themselves subjects of the Ottoman Empire and begged him to throw the Spanish out and claim the city for the Sultan.

    Built on a hill that overlooks the sea, the city today is mostly residential. Although Algiers is planning to restore the area, many, many of the buildings are in disrepair and the area is quite overpopulated. Nonetheless, the twisting streets and charming ancient houses are definitely worth a visit — just be cautious and get a local guide if possible.

    UNESCO placed the Casbah on the World Heritage List in 1992, saying “The Kasbah preserves very interesting traditional Arab Mediterranean houses in which the ancestral Arab lifestyle and Muslim customs have blended with other architectural traditions.”

    To see the Casbah, you will need to get an Algerian visa. This can potentially be a hassle, as the Algerian visa system is somewhat arbitrary and complicated. Here’s what you’ll need:

    • 2 passport-sized photos
    • 2 Algerian visa application forms. The Algerian Embassy will not accept handwritten forms- you must download a copy of the form from the Embassy website and fill it in on your computer. The forms must be types in all caps, as well.
    • A copy of your travel itinerary and hotel reservation confirmation.
    • If you are visiting family in Algeria, send a letter of invitation from your host. The letter must be notarized at the city hall of the place of residence of your Algerian host.

    The Algerian Embassy may also require you to send additional information such as a bank statement. Because getting an Algerian visa is somewhat complicated, many visa services simply don’t offer help with Algerian visas. However, at RushMyTravelVisa, we’re happy to help. We’ll walk you through the application process and bring your paperwork directly to the Algerian embassy for the fastest possible processing.

    Apply for your Algerian visa today!

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