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UNESCO just added 26 new World Heritage Sites—here’s where they are

21 cultural, four natural, and one mixed site made the list

By Amanda Teague Jul 18, 2025 6:00 AM

Neuschwanstein Castle — muenzi1958 / Pixabay

UNESCO has officially added 26 new sites to its World Heritage List for 2025, recognizing places of exceptional cultural and natural importance around the globe. The latest additions were announced during the organization’s 47th annual session held July 6-16 in Paris, bringing the total number of World Heritage Sites to 1,248 across more than 170 countries.

This year, UNESCO considered 32 nominations and approved 21 cultural, four natural, and one mixed site for inscription.

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One of the most headline-worthy additions is Germany’s Bavarian Palaces of King Ludwig II, including the iconic Neuschwanstein Castle, which famously inspired Walt Disney’s Sleeping Beauty castle. Open to the public as museums since the king’s death in 1886, these palaces are celebrated for their fairy tale allure.

Other European additions include France’s Megaliths of Carnac and the shores of Morbihan, Italy’s Funerary Tradition in the Prehistory of Sardinia, and Denmark’s Møns Klint, a beautiful white chalk cliff landscape full of fossils and natural beauty.

The full list

Australia: Murujuga Cultural Landscape
Brazil: Cavernas do Peruaçu National Park
Cambodia: Cambodian Memorial Sites: From centers of repression to places of peace and reflection
Cameroon: Diy-Gid-Biy Cultural Landscape of the Mandara Mountains
China: Xixia Imperial Tombs
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea: Mount Kumgang – Diamond Mountain from the Sea
Denmark: Møns Klint
France: Megaliths of Carnac and of the shores of Morbihan
Germany: The Palaces of King Ludwig II of Bavaria: Neuschwanstein, Linderhof, Schachen and Herrenchiemsee
Greece: Minoan Palatial Centres
Guinea-Bissau: Coastal and Marine Ecosystems of the Bijagós Archipelago – Omatí Minhô
India: Maratha Military Landscapes of India
Iran (Islamic Republic of): The Prehistoric Sites of the Khorramabad Valley
Italy: Funerary Tradition in the Prehistory of Sardinia – The domus de janas
Jamaica: The Archaeological Ensemble of 17th Century Port Royal
Malawi: Mount Mulanje Cultural Landscape
Malaysia: Forest Research Institute Malaysia Forest Park Selangor
Mexico: Wixárika Route through Sacred Sites to Wirikuta (Tatehuarí Huajuyé)
Panama: The Colonial Transisthmian Route of Panamá
Republic of Korea: Petroglyphs along the Bangucheon Stream
Russian Federation: Rock Paintings of Shulgan-Tash Cave
Sierra Leone: Gola-Tiwai Complex
Tajikistan: Cultural Heritage Sites of Ancient Khuttal
Turkey: Sardis and the Lydian Tumuli of Bin Tepe
United Arab Emirates: Faya Palaeolandscape
Vietnam: Yen Tu-Vinh Nghiem-Con Son, Kiep Bac Complex of Monuments and Landscapes

Amanda, an accomplished freelance writer from Columbus, Ohio, is a dedicated explorer of both the world and the written word… Read Full Bio

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