TRAVELBeautiful UNESCO World Heritage SitesApril 18 is World Heritage Day, and in celebration, we're taking a look at 100 of the world's most beautiful and interesting UNESCO World Heritage sites.Getty Images/iStockphotoAs of 2014, UNESCO has designated 193 places as natural World Heritage sites. Among the most spectacular are the Dolomites in the Northern Italian Alps.Getty Images/iStockphotoLocated in Central Java, Indonesia, the Borobudur Temple complex was built during the 8th and 9th centuries, and is today considered one of the world's most important Buddhist monuments.Getty Images/iStockphotoKenya's Lake Turkana sits within three national parks. It's Africa's saltiest lake and an excellent place to observe migrant birds, Nile crocodiles and hippopotamus.Getty Images/iStockphotopetra,jordanGetty Images/iStockphotoArgentina's Los Glaciares National Park is home to the 99-mile-long Lake Agentino, where it's possible to see three glaciers birthing giant igloo icebergs into the cold waters.Getty Images/iStockphotoThe ancient beech forests of Germany represent one of Europe's purest beech stands, and walking through this temperate forest offers sense of deep serenity.Getty Images/iStockphotoczech republic prague, charles bridge at dawnIStockThe Belize barrier reef is the largest barrier reef in the northern hemisphere -- an important and sadly endangered marine environment.Getty Images/iStockphotoCanaima National Park, located in Venezuela along the border of Guyana and Brazil, is home to the world's tallest waterfall, Angel Falls.Getty Images/iStockphotoBlue skies over Stonehenge historic siteGetty Images/iStockphotoWhile Göreme National Park and the Rock Sites of Cappadocia are partly a cultural UNESCO site, the spectacular erosion-sculpted landscape on the Turkish Anatolia plateau is just as impressive as the ancient dwellings found there.Getty Images/iStockphotoTowering over the Tibetan capital of Lhasa is the imposing Potala Palace, the winter abode of the Dalai Lama since the 7th century.Getty Images/iStockphotoThe combination of tropical and glacial climatic effects observed within the 712 caves within the Aggtelek and Slovak karsts of Hungary offer a rare study of Earth's geological history.Getty Images/iStockphotoHiroshima Atomic Bomb DomeGetty Images/iStockphotoCocos Island National Park, located off the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, attracts divers from around the world with the opportunity to observe sharks, rays, tuna and dolphins.Getty Images/iStockphotoSt. Basil Cathedral, Red Square, MoscowGetty Images/iStockphotoThe cliffs and rock formations found along the Dorset coastline in England tells a story of the Earth's geological history with its rich collection of fossil sites and geomorphologic features.Getty Images/iStockphotoFamous view of Bruges at nightGetty Images/iStockphotoDurmitor National Park in Montenegro was formed by glacial activity. The park's Tara river canyon houses one of Europe's deepest gorges.Getty Images/iStockphotoThe group of monuments at Hampi in India consist of ruins of several beautiful Dravidian temples and palaces - the last remnants of the Vijayanagar kingdom.Getty Images/iStockphotoFraser Island off the southern coast of Australia is the world's largest sand island and home to half the world's freshwater dune lakes, found in its interior.Getty Images/iStockphotoThe pyramids of Egypt were already old when the first tourists from ancient Greece started showing up in Giza and wrote about their experiences. The pyramids' sheer scale has drawn visitors and inspired wonder for thousands of years.Getty Images/Top Photo Group RFThe 19 islands that make up the Galápagos offer a living study in evolutionary processes and one of the best opportunities in the world for up-close wildlife viewing.Getty Images/HemeraSalzburg, Austria.Getty Images/iStockphotoThe dramatic landscape of Western Norway is dominated by some of the world's longest and deepest fjords -- both a UNESCO World heritage site and a popular cruising region.Getty Images/iStockphotoversaillesGetty Images/iStockphotoAt the edge of the Antrim plateau in Northern Ireland, some 40,000 black basalt columns jut out of the sea in a surreal formation known as Giant's Causeway.Getty Images/iStockphotoEaster Island StatuesGetty Images/iStockphotoAustralia might be most famous for its beaches, but its rain forests deserve credit as well. The UNESCO-listed Gondwana Rainforests are home to several rare or threatened rainforest species.Getty Images/iStockphotoLijiang old town and Jade Dragon Snow Mountain in ChinaGetty Images/iStockphotoThe Colorado River has been slowly carving out the Grand Canyon for millions of years. It's Mother Nature at her most dramatic, with mile-deep chasms and sprawling mesas.Getty Images/iStockphotoQuebec CityGetty Images/iStockphotoNatural attractions don't get much more bucket list-worthy than Australia's Great Barrier Reef -- a collection of some 3,000 smaller reefs that are home to thousands of species of fish and marine birds.IStock/ThinkstockSet atop a rocky islet on the sandbanks between Normandy and Brittany is one of France's most romantic places, the fairytale-like Mont-Saint-Michel Benedictine abbey.Getty Images/iStockphotoAccording to UNESCO, Great Smoky Mountains National Park has almost as many trees as all of Europe, representing 130 natural species. With 11 million visitors per year, it's the nation's most visited national park.Getty Images/iStockphotoSunrise at Taj Mahal on Jamuna riverGetty Images/iStockphotoMore than 1,600 karst islands and islets jut out of the waters of Halong Bay in Northern Vietnam, creating a setting as mystical as it is breathtaking.IStock/ThinkstockTaos Pueblo is an ancient pueblo belonging to a Tiwa-speaking Native American tribe of Puebloan people.Getty Images/iStockphotoTucket amid the snow-capped peaks of China's Sichuan Province sits Huanglong valley and its series of strangely beautiful travertine lakes and waterfalls.Getty Images/iStockphotoCanadian Parliament and Rideau Canal (XXXL)Getty Images/iStockphotoWhether you visit Iguazu National Park on the Argentinian side or Iguaçu National Park on the Brazilian side, the waterfall -- one of the world's largest -- is sure to impress.Flickr/SF BritAcropolis, Athens, GreeceGetty Images/iStockphotoThe Ilulissat Icefjord, Denmark's only natural UNESCO World Heritage site, is where the active and fast-moving Sermeq Kujalleq glacier reaches the sea, making it an excellent place to see (and hear) an iceberg being calved.Getty Images/iStockphotoJeju Island, located off the southern coast of South Korea, was created by volcanic activity and remains the site of one of the world's most spectacular networks of lava tube caves.Getty Images/Top Photo Group RFClouds,sunshine and terracesGetty Images/iStockphotoThe jagged peaks, lush valleys, iridescent lakes, brilliant fall foliage and waterfalls of all shapes and sizes attract 1.5 million visitors to China's Jiuzhaigou Nature Reserve each year, making it one of the country's most popular natural attractions.Getty Images/iStockphotoAngkor Wat templeGetty Images/iStockphotoStudents of geology or anyone with a fascination with volcanoes should add the Volcanoes of Kamchatka to their bucket list. Located on the Kamchatka peninsula of Russia, the area is one of the most volcanically active regions in the world.HemeraBode Museum at BerlinGetty Images/iStockphotoMost people associate safaris with Africa, but on safari in India's Kaziranga National Park, you might spot one-horned rhinoceroses, elephants, panthers, tigers or bears.IStockThe Forbidden CityGetty Images/iStockphotoNew Caledonia in the French Pacific Ocean has one of the planet's most extensive reef systems, some located in serene lagoons perfect for diving and snorkeling.Getty Images/iStockphotoAmerican car in CubaGetty Images/iStockphotoTanzania's Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest peak, towers 19,340 feet above the surrounding plains. The national park of the same name is also home to several endangered species.Getty Images/iStockphotoPeru Machu PicchuGetty Images/Top Photo Group RFLocated in southeastern Siberia, Lake Baikal is the world's oldest and deepest lake with about 20 percent of the planet's unfrozen freshwater. It's nicknamed the Galápagos of Russia for the staggering diversity of freshwater animals that live there.Getty Images/iStockphotoLake Malawi National Park covers the southern expanse of the deep, giant Lake Malawi -- one of the country's top tourist attractions.Getty Images/iStockphotoSucre City roofs cityscapeGetty Images/iStockphotoLaurisilva of Madeira, a largely virgin forest in Portugal, represents the largest surviving area of laurel forest in the world.Getty Images/iStockphotoview on St.Peter Square, RomeGetty Images/iStockphotoEach autumn, millions upon millions of monarch butterflies converge upon the area known as the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, in the mountains 62 miles northwest of Mexico City. No one is sure how they find their way back to the same site after an eight-month migration.Getty Images/iStockphotoGreat WallGetty Images/iStockphotoAt 17,057 feet, Mount Kenya is Africa's second tallest peak. Expert mountaineers come to conquer its highest peaks, while trekkers often have Point Lenana -- the third highest of Mount Kenya's peaks -- on their bucket lists.Getty Images/iStockphotoWhen asked to name the world's most romantic destination, many a starry-eyed traveler will name Venice, with its gondola-filled lagoons and extraordinary architecture.Getty Images/iStockphotoIconic Mount Etna smolders above the island of Sicily -- a constant reminder of nature's more destructive forces.Getty Images/iStockphotoDubrovnik in Croatia, Scenic view on city wallsGetty Images/iStockphotoThe Namib Sand Sea, a series of coastal dunes on the coast of Namibia, is the only coastal desert in the world to experience fog, making the environment there extremely unique.Getty Images/iStockphotoHouses of DjenneGetty Images/iStockphotoBrazil houses one of the world's largest freshwater wetlands -- an area known as the Pantanal -- and the Pantanal Conservation Area enjoys spectacular biodiversity.Getty Images/iStockphotoWâ??Ã?¼rzburg Residence, Court GardenGetty Images/iStockphotoBulgaria's Pirin National Park has some 70 glacial lakes within its boundaries -- remnants of the planet's last ice age.Getty Images/iStockphotoRuins of Apollo temple in Delphi, GreeceGetty Images/iStockphotoThe series of lakes, caves and waterfalls of Plitvice Lakes National Park in Croatia are nothing short of majestic.Getty Images/iStockphotoChichen-ItzaGetty Images/iStockphotoThe beehive-shaped cones and towers known as the Bungle Bungle Range sit within UNESCO-listed Purnululu National Park in Western Australia.Getty Images/iStockphotoPark Guell in Barcelona, Spain.Getty Images/iStockphotoRwenzori Mountains National Park in Uganda includes the continent's third highest peak, as well as some of its most spectacular alpine scenery, making it a favorite destination with hikers.Getty Images/iStockphotoEven if you haven't heard of Sagarmatha National Park, you've most certainly heard of its most famous peak, Mount Everest.Getty Images/iStockphotoSydney Harbour - September 2009Getty Images/iStockphotoThe Serengeti in Tanzania, one of the world's most iconic savannah habitats, witnesses the impressive annual migrations of vast herbivore herds, including zebras and wildebeest.Getty Images/iStockphotoAyutthayaGetty Images/iStockphotoWhile China has gifted Giant Pandas to several zoos around the world, the best place to see them (and their tiny, fuzzy babies) is in the panda sanctuaries of Sichuan Province, where 30 percent of the world's pandas live.Getty Images/FuseSome of the flora and fauna of Yemen's Socotra Archipelago look straight out of a surrealist painting. The islands house several species found nowhere else on Earth.Getty Images/iStockphotoKinderdijk early morning sunGetty Images/iStockphotoThe provinces of Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangxi make up the South China Karst region, a land of stone forests and limestone pillar-lined rivers.Getty Images/iStockphotoPalmhouse in the garden of SchonbrunnGetty Images/iStockphotoThe endangered tropical rain forests of Sumatra in Indonesia includes three national parks where the endemic Sumatran orangutan live.Getty Images/iStockphotoChain Bridge in downtown Budapest during the blue hourGetty Images/iStockphotoWhen you think of picture-perfect alpine scenery, you probably envision something pretty close to the Swiss Alps.Getty Images/iStockphotoTsingy de Bemaraha Strict Nature Reserve in Madagascar comprises a forest of needle-like limestone karsts and pillars.Getty Images/iStockphotoThe Statue of Liberty and New York CityGetty Images/iStockphotoSerious scuba divers know that the Philippines have some of the best sites along with the best prices. One of those sites, the Tubbataha Reefs, have an incredible density of marine life and serve as a nesting site for majestic sea turtles.Getty Images/iStockphotoThe mists from the jaw-dropping Victoria Falls can be seen from more than 12 miles away.Getty Images/iStockphotoGermany's Wadden Sea is a flat, temperate coastal wetland that provides a variety of transitional habitats for a huge range of plants and animals. Some 12 million birds come here to breed or winter each year.Getty Images/HemeraThe 3,000 sandstone peaks and pillars of Wulingyuan Scenic Area in China's Hunan Province seem like something out of a fairy tale.Getty Images/iStockphotoTower of London. Royal Palace and Fortress at the eveningGetty Images/iStockphotoThe warm-temperate ancient forests of Yakushima on Japan's Yaku Island are completely unique in the region.Flickr/Casey YeeYellowstone National Park, the oldest and largest of the US's national parks, contains half of all known geothermal features in the world.Getty Images/iStockphotoYosemite National Park allows visitors to see a whole host of natural wonders in a single day, including Half Dome, El Capitan, Yosemite Falls and the Merced River.Getty Images/iStockphotoFeatured Weekly Ad