Crowd-free alternatives to five Asian Unesco World Heritage Sites worth a visit when flights resume
- Not Angkor Wat but similar, not a Suzhou canal but nearly – heritage sites just as appealing as their famous cousins but less visited await you
- If you tire of the crowds in Hoi An, try nearby Cam Kim; if Borobudur is besieged, make your way to Mendut, another 9th century temple close by
Throw a dart at a map of planet Earth and like as not you’ll hit a Unesco World Heritage site. At the last count, there were 1,121 of them, about as many as there are Holiday Inn hotels. And the sites act like touristic catnip, luring so many visitors year-round that they demean their own status.
In a similar vein, “best-kept secrets” are usually anything but, and once an attraction gets into someone’s “top 10” list, thousands queue up for a visit. The answer is to step away from the beaten track and understand that “must-sees” aren’t necessarily so.
Here are five alternative, less visited heritage sites that, thankfully, have yet to be burdened with that Unesco stamp of approval and so may be of interest once cross-border travel within Asia is once again a possibility. Don’t all rush at once …
1. Not Angkor Wat, Cambodia
Some two-and-a-half million visitors traipse around the centuries-old temple of the Angkor Archaeological Park in Cambodia in a normal year. Yet a couple of hours’ drive northeast is Koh Ker – smaller, older, yet just as remarkable and with barely a selfie stick or its owner in sight.
Much of this archaeological treasure has yet to be explored due to thick surrounding jungle and the possibility of unexploded ordnance. But the centrepiece – a seven-tiered, 36-metre-high, moated pyramid called Prasat Thom – is infinitely climbable, not least because of the spectacular views from the top. As like as not the only other people up there will be local children, for whom Koh Ker is one vast adventure playground.
2. Not Hoi An, Vietnam
One of the sheer impossibilities of 21st-century travel is snapping a photo of the Japanese Bridge (built 1590) in Hoi An, central Vietnam, without sundry tourists getting in the frame. Much the same goes for the rest of the town, but the one-time island of Cam Kim – a short bike ride across the bridge spanning the Thu Bon river – supplies a handy escape.