The 21 wonders added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2016

For another year, we take a look at the collection of international wonders added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Among the 21 new properties are such highlights as the inscription on the ruins of the abandoned Armenian city of Ani, the awe-inspiring remains of Nan Madol in Micronesia, and the massive stone sculptures of Ennedi in Chad.

Also following these links you can find in pictures all the places that achieved UNESCO recognition in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015.

Zuojiang Huashan Rock Art Cultural Landscape in China. 2000-year-old paintings on a cliff in these gorgeous mountains. Image by Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Department of Culture

Archaeological Site of Ani, the old medieval Armenian capital, with its remains standing within Turkish boundaries. This nomination could stop this sad story of destruction due to invasions, earthquakes, vandalism, and neglect. Image by Sarah Murray

The Gorham's Cave Complex in Gibraltar has nothing to do with Batman. It was the home of Neanderthals for more than 100,000 years. Image by Clive Finlayson, Gibraltar Museum

Archaeological Site of Philippi in Northern Greece. The remains of a great theater and early Christian basilicas are what is left from what once was a magnificent Hellenistic city. Image by Achilleas Savvopoulos

Pampulha Modern Ensemble is not a band of bossa nova. It is a complex of several modernist buildings developed by Oscar Niemeyer around an artificial lake in 1940 at Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Image by Ludmila Tavares

Antequera Dolmens Site near Malaga, in the south of Spain, includes three megalithic monuments (Menga and Viera dolmens and the Tholos of El Romeral), and two natural monuments (Peña de los Enamorados and El Torcal). Image by Ángel M. Felicísimo

Antigua Naval Dockyard and Related Archaeological Sites. This was a naturally well-suited harbour of the British Royal Navy to protect ships from hurricanes in Antigua and Barbuda. Image by Prayitno

Nan Madol is an impressive artificial ceremonial centre built using huge basalt stones, that existed until 1628 on the island of Pohnpei (Federated States of Micronesia). Image by Gallenm

Archaeological Site of Nalanda Mahavihara (or Nalanda University), a learning institution from the 7th century BC to 1200 CE at Bihar state in India. Image by Amila Tennakoon

The Stećci Medieval Tombstones are very original carved graveyards located following the old borders of the kingdom of Bosnia. The inscription includes 28 necropoleis, most of them in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but also in Croatia, Montenegro, and Serbia. Image by Adnan Šahbaz

The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier. Or why the architecture of our cities became so ugly after the Second World War.
Image by Dominik

The Persian Qanat is a clever work of engineering comprising subterranean tunnels and reservoirs to irrigate the arid lands, developed since the 1st millennium BC. Image by Naeinsun

Shark orgy in the deeps of the Revillagigedo Archipelago, a group of four volcanic islands in the Pacific side of Mexico bursting with wildlife. Image by Waskyo

Hubei Shennongjia primary forests in Central China, are areas of great biodiversity.
Image by Evilbish

Lut Desert in Iran is one of the driest and hottest places in the world and has a permanently changing landscape.
Image by Alireza Amrikazemi

The Mistaken Point in Newfoundland and Labrador (Canada), is important because it preserves fossils telling us about the history of life and the appearance of larger and more complex organisms. Image by Zach Bonnell

Sanganeb Marine National Park, Dungonab Bay (a dugong is the animal in the picture that looks like an underwater vacuum cleaner), and Mukkawar Island Marine National Park, all of them in Sudan. Image by Julien Willem

Western Tien-Shan (or the Mountain of Heaven), one of the world's largest ranges, extended in three countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. Image by Thomas Depenbusch

Khangchendzonga National Park is standing in the middle of the Himalayan range in northern India.
Image by A.Ostrovsky

The Ahwar of Southern Iraq: Refuge of Biodiversity and the Relict Landscape of the Mesopotamian Cities. After this long name are included the archeological remains of 3 Summerian cities (the mythical Ur, Uruk and Eridu) and four wetland areas. Image by Kaufingdude

The Ennedi Massif is an arid land of spectacular rock formations in Chad. We called it the dead heart of Africa in a long article about this place that you can access by clicking on the link.
Image by David Stanley