The picture above is of the Großglockner High Alpine Road in Austria, which is rated by drivers as one of the most spectacular in the Austrian Alps.

It’s also one of the 36 nominees for this year’s UNESCO World Heritage List (it’s no Chapman’s Peak, though).

The sites that make the grade will earn valuable tourism points as well as UNESCO’s protection.

Inaugurated in 1978, UNESCO’s site list includes famous destinations such as Yellowstone National Park in the United States, India’s Taj Mahal, Petra in Jordan and the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador, reports CNN.

The 2019 nomination list is separated into different categories — from natural properties such as Iceland’s Vatnajökull National Park to cultural sites such as Babylon in Iraq and mixed sites, which combine natural and cultural elements, such as Paraty in Brazil.

As it stands, UNESCO’s World Heritage Site list has 1 092 sites in 167 countries. Last year, 20 sites were added, so you might say the 36 nominees stand at least a 50% shot if the World Heritage Committee keeps that rate up.

The selections for 2019 follow a lengthy selection process during which experts visit the sites and assess their value in terms of preservation and historical relevance.

Here are some of the nominees for this year…

Historic Centre of Sheki with the Khan’s Palace in Azerbaijan:

Risco Caido and the Sacred Mountains of Gran Canaria Cultural Landscape in Spain:

French Austral Lands and Seas in France:

Frontiers of the Roman Empire, The Danube Limes, Austria, Hungary, Germany and Slovakia:

The archaeological remains of the ancient city of Babylon in Iraq:

The Migratory Bird Sanctuaries along the Coast of Yellow Sea-Bohai Gulf of China:

The ancient city of Bagan, located in present-day Myanmar is home to thousands of temples, monuments and monasteries:

The Lovell Telescope, Jodrell Bank Observatory, UK, dates back to 1945. It was the first of its kind:

Erzgebirge/Krušnohoří Mining Region in the Czech Republic and Germany which was mined for 800 years:

The burial fields of Dilmun and Tylos can be found on the western part of Bahrai and are home to ancient graves:

Another mining-based recommendation is this Polish region dating back to the Neolithic and Early Bronze ages:

The Colonial Transisthmian Route of Panamá was a trading system devised by Spain for its colonies in the 16th-19th centuries:

Ancient ferrous metallurgy sites in Burkina Faso:

This national park in Iceland is centred around the Vatnajökull glacier:

Prosecco Hills of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene in Italy:

Still going? Nice.

You can get the full list of destinations nomination for the UNESCO list in 2019 here.

[source:cnn]