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UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee announced 26 new World Heritage Sites in 2025. The List now includes 1248 sites of a cultural, natural or mixed character.
Seek more information about the work of the Committee on the WHC website. Read Sandalsand’s main page about World Heritage Sites and perhaps also the task of visiting the ever-growing number of new sites. Sandalsand has visited two of the 26 new sites, as illustrated with images in the text.
Also, read the articles about the new entries in 2024, 2022/23, 2021, 2019 and 2018. Because of the pandemic there were no additions in 2020.
Important milestones
The 47th session of the World Heritage Committee concluded in Paris, France with the inscription of 26 new cultural and natural properties on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.
The new inscriptions include 21 cultural properties, 4 natural properties, and 1 mixed site, bringing the total number of World Heritage sites to 1,248 across 170 countries. There were also two major extensions of existing sites, enabling the creation of transboundary natural parks. In addition, the Committee reviewed the conservation status of existing properties.
They emphasise their previous obligation to concentrate on Africa. This year they included four new sites from the continent and removed three others from the List of World Heritage in Danger.
A list of new World Heritage Sites 2025
What follows is a list of all new World Heritage Sites 2025 with short resumes of each one. Look up pictures and more information on UNESCO’s website.
Cultural sites (part one)
The new World Heritage Sites of 2025 include 21 cultural sites all over the world.
1201; Mount Mulanje Cultural Landscape
Mount Mulanje in southern Malawi is a sacred mountain with spiritual meaning for the Yao, Mang’anja, and Lhomwe peoples. Its natural features are deeply tied to cultural beliefs and traditions.
1582; Colonial Transisthmian Route of Panamá
This route linked the Caribbean and Pacific coasts, supporting Spanish colonial trade from the 16th century. It includes forts, towns, roads, and archaeological sites.
1595; Port Royal
Port Royal, once a major English port in Jamaica, sank during an earthquake in 1692. Its ruins, both underwater and on land, reveal 17th-century colonial life.
1627; Ancient Khuttal
Located along Silk Roads routes, Khuttal (Tajikistan) was a medieval trade hub rich in goods and culture. Its remains include temples, settlements, and caravanserais.
1704; Wixárika Route to Wirikuta
This 500 km trail connects sacred sites important to the Wixárika people’s spiritual practices. The route in Mexico supports rituals and links key ecological zones.
1709; Murujuga Cultural Landscape
Located in Australia, Murujuga holds one of the world’s densest petroglyph collections and reflects over 50,000 years of Indigenous spiritual and cultural continuity.
Cultural sites (part two)
1725; Megaliths of Carnac and Morbihan
Brittany’s Neolithic stone alignments were carefully placed in harmony with natural features. Their engravings reflect the complexity of early Atlantic European societies.
1726; Palaces of King Ludwig II
These four Bavarian palaces combine romantic architecture with personal fantasy, showcasing King Ludwig II’s artistic vision and 19th-century design innovation.
1730; Domus de Janas
Sardinia’s rock-cut tombs, created 5000–3000 BCE, reflect prehistoric funerary customs, beliefs, and the island’s evolving social complexity.
1731; Sardis and Bin Tepe Tumuli
Once capital of the Lydians, Sardis was known for wealth and coinage. Nearby Bin Tepe, also in Türkiye, contains massive burial mounds from this influential Iron Age culture.
1732; Yen Tu-Vinh Nghiem-Con Son, Kiep Bac
Centered on Yen Tu Mountain, this Vietnamese complex features temples and pilgrimage sites linked to Truc Lam Buddhism and the Tran Dynasty.
1733; Minoan Palatial Centres
These six sites on Crete reveal the administrative and religious heart of the Minoan civilization, with advanced planning, art, and early writing.
1734; Forest Research Institute Malaysia
Built on former tin-mining land, this restored tropical forest is a model of ecological rehabilitation and sustainable land use since the 1920s.
Cultural sites (part three)
1735; Faya Palaeolandscape
Spanning over 200,000 years, this UAE site preserves evidence of early human adaptation to extreme environments, with tools and climatic insights.
1736; Xixia Imperial Tombs
In Ningxia, China, this Tangut necropolis includes imperial mausoleums and structures reflecting the Buddhist culture and statecraft of the Xixia Dynasty.
1739; Maratha Military Landscapes
These twelve forts in India, mainly in Maharashtra, show the Maratha Empire’s strategic defenses and control from the 17th to 19th centuries.
1740; Bangucheon Petroglyphs
Spanning 8,000 years, Korea’s Bangucheon Stream features dense rock engravings showing cultural and artistic development from prehistoric to historic periods.
1743; Shulgan-Tash Cave Paintings
This Ural cave contains Palaeolithic animal and human imagery, offering insight into Ice Age life and early symbolic expression.
1744; Khorramabad Valley Sites
In Iran’s Zagros Mountains, caves and shelters document 63,000 years of human presence and early technological and cognitive advances.
1745; Diy-Gid-Biy Cultural Landscape
This Cameroonian site includes Mafa stone ruins, terraces, and places of worship, reflecting centuries of settlement and spiritual life.
1748; Cambodian Memorial Sites
Three sites document Khmer Rouge atrocities: a former prison, execution site, and early detention center—now preserved as places of remembrance and education.
New Inscribed Properties: Natural Properties
1431; Bijagós Archipelago – Omatí Minhô
This deltaic archipelago in Guinea-Bissau hosts rare wildlife like turtles, manatees, and migratory birds. Its coastal ecosystems are among the best preserved on the African Atlantic coast.
1728; Møns Klint
This Danish site features chalk cliffs formed by glacial movement, revealing geological layers and supporting rare species, orchids, and fossils.
1746; Gola-Tiwai Complex
Part of West Africa’s Upper Guinean Forest, this biodiversity-rich area protects endangered species like elephants and rockfowl in rainforests and wetlands.
1747; Peruaçu River Canyon
With vast caves and intersecting ecosystems, this Brazilian park preserves karst features and supports diverse species at a biome crossroads.
New Inscribed Properties: Mixed Properties
1642; Mount Kumgang
Known for its stunning granite peaks and ancient Buddhist temples, Mount Kumgang in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is both a natural and spiritual landmark with centuries of religious heritage.
Significant Modifications to the Boundaries
There were two extensions of this kind.
The Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park and Hin Nam No National Park is a transboundary extension of Viet Nam’s Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, inscribed in 2003.
The iSimangaliso Wetland Park – Maputo National Park is a transboundary extension to South Africa’s iSimangaliso Wetland Park, inscribed in 1999.
