Rio de Janeiro, Rio. | Photo: Rafa Pereira – Diario do Rio
I must say, before I begin, that I do not agree, but I understand, after all, the list of 52 Most Captivating World Heritage Sites of UNESCO was produced by the British travel site Explore. And there is nothing more expected than to give priority to the heritage of your nation, more particularly to Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal, of the Principality of Wales, which is the highest and longest navigable aqueduct in the world. Cool, yes? Beautiful to the point of captivating? Of course.
Second place, I won’t complain too much. Oh Canadian Rockies Park, with its peaks, its glaciers, its limestone caves and its fossils, ok! It really captivates visitors! There are four national parks: Banff, Jasper, Kootnay It is Yoho. Look at the photo above, it calms you down just looking at it.
But when you see the third, how can you not fall in love? The urban landscape of Rio de Janeiro, the only one in the world to deserve the title of Wonderful city! The travel website itself says: “Especially Rio’s landscape between mountains and sea. This spectacular blend of urban and natural environments, with its iconic statue of Christ the Redeemer overlooking the city. From rainforests to granite peaks to the iconic beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema, an aerial view proves to birders that this UNESCO heritage site is visually stunning.“. It’s true, and they always put in my mind an aqueduct which loses a lot to that of Lapa first. Is it possible ? See the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct below:
Did this dazzle you? No? And this one below?
Gentlemen, as English-speaking lawyers would say: “I leave my case“. But let me explain to you how they arrived at such an aberration, after all, they had a methodology. Translated directly from the website:
“We selected 52 of the world’s more than 1,000 UNESCO sites based on their recognizability, making sure to include landmarks for each continent. We then conducted a study in which participants saw images pre-selected marks. Using eye-tracking technology, we measured the average gaze duration at each landmark to reveal which ones caught attention quickest and longest, providing our list of the most popular UNESCO sites. captivating.“
See the Top 20:
| Rank | UNESCO Heritage | Country | Continent | Number of fasteners | Average patch duration. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal | UNITED KINGDOM | Europe | 180 | 0.31 sec |
| two | Canadian Rocky Mountain Park | Canada | North America | 159 | 0.31 sec |
| 3 | Rio de Janeiro: Landscape between mountains and sea | Brazil | South America | 179 | 0.31 sec |
| 4 = | Plitvice Lakes National Park | Croatia | Europe | 126 | 0.3s |
| 4 = | Maloti-Drakensberg Park | South Africa | Africa | 126 | 0.3s |
| 5 | Mozambique Island | Mozambique | Africa | 114 | 0.3s |
| 6 | Ancient city of Sigiriya | Sri Lanka | Asia | 97 | 0.3s |
| 7 = | Angkor Wat | Cambodia | Asia | 85 | 0.3s |
| 7 = | Oaxaca Historic Center and Monte Albán Archaeological Site | Mexico | North America | 85 | 0.3s |
| 8 | Sceilg Mhichil | Ireland | Europe | 70 | 0.3s |
| 9 | Petra | Jordan | Asia | 66 | 0.3s |
| ten | Historical monuments Monuments of ancient Kyoto (cities of Kyoto, Uji and Otsu) | Japan | Asia | 125 | 0.29 sec |
| 11 | Yellowstone National Park | WE | North America | 110 | 0.29 sec |
| 12 | Taj Mahal | India | Asia | 96 | 0.29 sec |
| 13 | the Galapagos Islands | Ecuador | South America | 94 | 0.29 sec |
| 14 | Rapa Nui National Park (Easter Island) | Chile | Oceania | 89 | 0.29 sec |
| 15 | Piazza del Duomo, Pisa | Italy | Europe | 88 | 0.29 sec |
| 16 | Fujisan, place of artistic inspiration (Mount Fuji) | Japan | Asia | 85 | 0.29 sec |
| 17 | Historic Center of Lima | Peru | South America | 82 | 0.29 sec |
| 18 | Potala Palace, Lhasa | China | Asia | 79 | 0.29 sec |
| 19 | Palace and Park of Versailles | France | Europe | 68 | 0.29 sec |
| 20 | Statue of Liberty | WE | North America | 67 | 0.29 sec |
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