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ranchandcoast.com 70 FEBRUARY 2023 RANCH & COAST MAGAZINE Maybe Too Popular? e UNESCO list is useful for learning about off-the- beaten-path places, but it also includes popular sites that draw big crowds. When Machu Picchu numbers skyrocketed, the government of Peru set a limit of 2,500 tourists a day, but this is still a lot of people. My advice for seeing this landmark without hordes of visitors is to stay near the site at Belmond Sanctuary Lodge. is makes it possible to enter as soon as it opens in the morning. I feel the same way about the Taj Mahal in India. e site receives more than 35,000 visitors a day, but if you stay nearby at e Oberoi Amarvilas Agra, the hotel can provide private transport first thing in the morning and at sunset — the two best times to be there. Rooms at the Oberoi also provide views of this 17th-century "monument to love." It's also best to wake early to see Angkor Wat without crowds. I gasped when our guide said he was going to pick us up at 5:30am, but I was grateful when we saw the sun rise on this ancient temple complex in Cambodia. I browse the UNESCO list looking for new destinations to explore, but I inevitably stop and read about old friends. Two of my favorites are the stunning Sydney Opera House that opened in 1973 and the Statue of Liberty, a gift from France on the centenary of our independence. New friends, old friends: e UNESCO World Heritage List is the place to find the world's most revered destinations. whc.unesco.org/en/list <<