"My greatest under visited locations" Personal Page by JLBG

In 2007, Ingrid (Trekki), built on her homepage an album entitled : « Join the club - Kings of non-Top5 Destinations :-) »
Recently (December 18, 2008) Drew (hundwalder) initiated a thread « The VT destination pages least travelled by ! »
In both cases, the query was the same: how to improve the visibility of excellent pages that receive little or few visits because their name is unknown of other Vters. Finally the idea arose that each of us would build an album on their HP to present pages (their own’s and other’s) that fulfill this criterion and would tell Ingrid.

I will actually build three albums.
The first one is the present one. I will present here a very stern selection of my pages on outstanding locations that have few visitors and consequently few pages on VT. I have limited it at one location per country.

The second album will present a wider selection, again of my own pages, on locations that deserve to have more visitors.

The third album will give links with the pages from fellow Vters that belong to the same kind.

As they are out of the beaten path, you cannot rely on public transport to visit them but all of them but one are easily reached (the exception: Tassili n'Ajjer National Park). Once I had processed to the selection, I found that 5 out of 9 were World Heritage sites. I did not select them on this criterion.

My 9 greatest under visited locations*

Europe > Albania > Dhërmi and the Albanian riviera . A strip of narrow and winding road with outstanding landscapes all along the way (photo above)

Beram

Europe > Croatia > Beram, a hidden marvel. The interior of a small chapel are decorated from floor to ceiling with amazing frescoes painted by Vincent of Kastav in 1474.

Europe > Slovenia, 30km north to Beram, Hrastovlje has a very different Danse Macabre painted in 1490 by John of Kastav, son of Vincent.

La Couvertoirade

Europe > France > La Couvertoirade , a mediaeval village in excellent condition, reflecting Templars military power and Hospitalier daily life.

Bassai

Europe > Greece > Figalia, the Temple of Apollo Epikourios in Bassai, a World Heritage site (the first Greek site to be inscribed on the World Heritage List, in1986). The temple is the twin to the Parthenon but with no crowd.

Skellig Michael

Europe > Ireland > Great and Small Skellig, a World Heritage site. Since the early Middle Ages, monks have lived on this isolated island, clung on a tiny rock. The path to the hermitage is breathtaking.

Europe > Italy > Avigliana, Sacra di San Michele, another breathtaking monastery standing on top of a rock, in the middle of the Alps.

Europe > France > Mont Saint Michel, “Merveille de l’Occident” is a third, equally breathtaking, monastery, dedicated to St Michael.

According to some theories, all three places, together with several others are linked on an amazing St Michael-Apollo Axis. If that is not true, that was well coined!

Tassili n'Ajjer National Park

Africa > Algeria >Tassili n'Ajjer National Park, a World Heritage site with thousands of rock paintings and rock carvings dating from the Neolithic. This site can only be reached by a trek lead by an authorized guide, either with camels or with donkeys

Dougga

Africa > Tunisia > Dougga, a World Heritage site, an ancient Romans city with incredibly well preserved monuments and few visitors.

Mexican Hat

America > USA > Mexican Hat, a small place with a geological curiosity.