Posts Tagged ‘UNESCO’

Ethiopian Visa Requirements To Visit Fasil Ghebbi

Sunday, April 11th, 2010

Can you imagine touring fairy-tale castles in the heart of Africa? This week’s featured UNESCO World Heritage Site is located in the Gondar region of Ethiopia. The fortresses of Fasil Ghebbi date to the 16th and 17th centuries, after the Ethiopians made contact with the Portuguese.

The Ethiopians may have rejected the Roman Catholic faith introduced by the Portuguese in favor of their own traditional version of Christianity, but they were apparently more impressed by Portuguese architecture.  The castles of Fasil Ghebbi really do look like something out of the Brothers Grimm, leading Gadling to refer to Fasil Ghebbi as “Ethiopia’s Camelot.”

The castles aren’t strictly European, of course-they were also influenced by Hindu and Arab architecture as well as Ethiopia’s own native building styles. The end result is fantastic.

The first fortress in Gondar was founded by King Fasilides in the 16th century. Eight of his successors  reigned there as well, including one queen, called Queen Mentaweb.  Born a commoner, she became a queen when she married King Bacaffa, and ruled Ethiopia after his death.

Fasil Ghebbi was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1979.

American citizens do need a visa to visit Eithiopia. Theoretically, you can obtain a visa when you arrive at Bole International Airport. However, the US Department of State advises against this, saying

To avoid possible confusion or delays, travelers are strongly advised to obtain a valid Ethiopian visa at the nearest Ethiopian Embassy prior to arrival.

Here’s what you need to apply for an Ethiopian visa:

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

RushMyTravelVisa can help make getting your Ethiopian visa much easier. We’ll take a look at your itinerary to make sure you know exactly what documents you need to travel, and we’ll provide easy-to-follow instructions that make filling out applications breeze and reduce the chance of common errors.  Then, we submit your application to the appropriate visa or consulate for the fastest possible processing.

Apply for your Ethiopian visa today!

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Vietnam Visa Requirements to Visit Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park

Sunday, March 28th, 2010

This week’s featured UNESCO World Heritage Site is  in Vietnam, 500 kilometers south of Hanoi. Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park is located on the site of one of the world’s largest karst systems. Karst is a type of terrain that is distinguished by limestone rock formations and caves. Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park  contains 65-70 kilometers worth of caves and underwater rivers.

Of the 300 caves and grottoes located in the park, only 20 have been studied and mapped.  The most spectacular of these caves is Phong Nha Cave, which is 7729 meters long.  Although tourists are only allowed to see the first 1,500 meters of the cave,  it is a popular destination due to its numerous grottoes and 13,969 meter-long underground river.

Phong Na cave is also filled with fascinating rock formations that have been given fanciful names like the Lion, the Fairy Caves, the Royal Court and the Buddha.

The park also boasts the world’s largest cave, called Son Doong Cave.

Above ground, the park is covered with evergreen forests. It is home to rare orchids and many different species of animals, including monkeys, deer, guar (a type of wild cow), bears, antelopes and the pangolin, or scaly antelope.

To get to Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park, you need both a valid passport and  a visa. Vietnam visa regulations do not allow visas to be issued on arrival, so you will need to apply in advance.

Here are the required documents for US tourists applying for a Vietnamese visa:

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

Also, if you need a multiple-entry visa, make sure you specify that when you apply-otherwise, the default is a single-entry visa.

It can be somewhat confusing and intimidating to negotiate the visa system of an unfamiliar country-that’s why RushMyTravelVisa.com is here to help. We’ll walk you through the application process and deliver your application to the appropriate visa or consulate for the fastest service possible.

Apply for your Vietnam visa today!

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World Heritage Site of the Week: Get an El Salvador Visa To See Joya del Cerén

Saturday, January 2nd, 2010

This week’s featured UNESCO World Heritage Site is located in El Salvador, in the shadow of volcanoes.  Thousands of years ago, Joya del Cerén was a small Mayan farming community that was ruled by the larger nearby city of San Andrés.

The volcanoes periodically caused problems for Joya del Cerén-the entire area was abandoned once in 250 AD when the nearby Ilopango volcano erupted. Eventually, though, people moved back, built houses and began to farm again.

Then, around 590 AD, the Loma Caldera volcano erupted and covered the town in ashes. Joya del Cerén is often called the “Pompeii of the Americas” because of the similarity between the fates of the two towns.

If you visit Joya del Ceren, you won’t see any of the haunting plaster images of dead victims of the volcano, as you would at Pompeii. The people of Joya del Ceren were more fortunate, and they managed to escape. They didn’t have any time to pack up their possessions, though-in many cases, there is evidence that they left food half-eaten on their plates in their rush to get away from the ash.

Because they had to depart so quickly and because the town was buried so deep, Joya del Ceren is an amazingly well-preserved archaelogical site that has given researchers a wealth information about what day-to-day life was like for Mayan farmers in El Salvador.

To visit Joya del Ceren, you will need a passport and an El Salvador visa. American citizens staying in El Salvador for less than 30 days have two options when it comes to applying for an El Salvador visa- apply for one in advance, before leaving the US, or get a tourist card at the border. If you are staying longer than 30 days, you cannot get a tourist card 0n arrival and you must request your visa in advance. Here are the documents you will need to apply:

  • Your  application form
  • 2 passport-sized photos
  • Your itinerary or round-trip plane tickets.

For stays of more than 30 days, you may be required to supply the following:

  • Evidence that you have a job at home
  • Evidence that you are financially stable enough to take care of yourself while you are in El Salvador.

RushMyTravelVisa can help you apply for your El Salvador visa as well as for any other countries you may visit on your journey. Contact us today!

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World Heritage Site Of the Week: Get a Burkina Faso Visa to See the Ruins of Loropéni

Sunday, December 20th, 2009

This week’s World Heritage Site of the Week is way off the beaten path and has an interesting history. The ruins of Loropéni are located in  Loropéni, Burkina Faso.  The modern-day town of Loropéni is a market town. The nearby ruins are at least 1,000 years old, dating back to before Europeans arrived in Africa.

The ruins of Loropéni consist of walls over 6 meters high, surrounding what was once a thriving settlement. Who lived here? Why was it built, and why was it eventually abandoned? Nobody is quite sure, and much of the site has yet to be excavated and analyzed. However, it was almost certainly occupied by the local Lohron or Koulango peoples, who oversaw the gold trade in Africa from the 14th through 17th centuries.

Historians believe that the ruins of Loropéni had something to do with the gold trade. The site at Loropéni is the most well-preserved of a network of sites in the area, all of which seem connected to the mining of gold.

The ruins were added to the list of UNESCO’s World Heritage sites just this year.  You can learn more about them on UNESCO’s site.

If you’d like to visit the ruins at Loropéni, you will need to obtain a Burkina Faso visa. You have the option to obtain one at the border, but if you get one before you leave, you won’t have to waste time filling out paperwork at the border.

To get a Burkina Faso tourist visa, the following documents are required:

  • 2 completed Burkina Faso visa applications
  • 2 matching passport photos
  • A copy of your round-trip plane tickets

Burkina Faso visas cost $100, and if you apply in advance the visa you get will be multiple-entry and good for 5 years.  If you are in a hurry, 24 hour service is available for an additional $50.

You don’t need an International Certificate of Vaccination for yellow fever to receive a Burkina Faso visa. However, you do need one to enter the country, so make sure that you bring it with you!

RushMyTravelVisa can help you research visa requirements and expedite visa applications for countries all over the world, including Burkino Faso.

To apply for a Burkina Faso visa, contact us today!

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