World Heritage Sites: Exploring the World's Greatest Places

The oldest paintings in the world, in the extraordinary cave art of Altamira, Lascaux, and Chauvet.

Learning about the builder of Taj, the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, and his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal, for whom it was built.

The Great Barrier Reef is one of the world's natural wonders, drawing travelers to its shimmering, multicolored coral reefs, teeming with fascinating marine life.

The Mogao Grottoes, dug out of cliffs in the desert of northwestern China, contain one of the most dazzling collections of Buddhist art in the world.

The citadel of Persepolis was the capital of the Achaemenid Empire for nearly 200 years.

The moai, the colossal statues of Easter Island, are a testament to human innovation.

Exploring the Burgess Shale; the Columbia Icefield; and other features of Jasper, Banff and Yoho parks.

Teotihuacán, one of the sophisticated cities of the ancient world, sits Northeast of Mexico City.

An up-close look at Samarkand, an old Central Asian city full of historical and cultural wonders depicting the Islamic transformation of the region.

An up-close look at Thebes, an ancient Egyptian city whose religious and political significance in history is represented through the ruins of its numerous temples and royal tombs.

An up-close look at the Forbidden City, an imperial palace complex that has borne witness to the reign of more than 24 Chinese emperors over five centuries.

An up-close look at Mount Fuji, a picturesque volcanic mountain that became a World Heritage Site because of its great significance in Japanese history and culture.

An up-close look at Timbuktu, a Malian city that preserved a vast archive of centuries-old Islamic knowledge in its private houses, libraries, and museums.

An up-close look at the ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum, two ancient Roman cities whose artifacts and structures ended up preserved after the ill-fated Mount Vesuvius eruption around 2000 years ago.

An up-close look at Virunga National Park, a Congo-based enclosure whose ecological wealth is threatened by the volatile political situation in the region.

An up-close look at Cambodia's Angkor Wat, a centuries-old Khmer civilization temple complex whose structures reflect the influence of Hinduism.

An up-close look at Yinxu, the ruins of an ancient Chinese city where diviners used inscribed ox bones aka oracle bones to obtain answers to their questions.

An up-close look at the ruins of Machu Picchu, a Peru-based 15th-century royal estate that depicted the architectural acumen of the Inca civilization.

An up-close look at Thingvellir, the site of an open-air parliament (Althing) that resolved grievances for over three centuries and marked the establishment of present-day Iceland.

An up-close look at the pitiful remains of Bamiyan Buddhas, two ancient statues that depicted the peculiar 6th-century construction style of Afghanistan before getting destroyed in 2001.

An up-close look at the Acropolis, an ancient Greek citadel whose iconic remains tell the story of the region's glorious past and depict the architectural taste of the inhabiting civilizations.

An up-close look at Potala Palace and Jokhang Temple, both sacred Tibetan Buddhism sites of immense religious and political significance.

An up-close look at the pitiful remains of war-torn Syria's Palmyra, an ancient oasis city known for its cultural diversity, architectural finesse, and colorful history.

An up-close look at California's redwood forests, home to the world's tallest and oldest Sequoia species that need to be protected because of their ecological significance.