5 World Heritage Sites Every History Student Should Visit

While studying history is one thing, immersing yourself in history through travel adds a whole new dimension to your learning experience. Here are five World Heritage sites every history student should visit, as well as a synopsis of what you would learn at these sites.

Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu in Peru is one of the most stunning World Heritage sites in the world. The nearly inaccessible city was one of the last refuges of the Inca. It is so popular that many people come to Peru just to see this one wonder. Others hike the Inca trail to see other Inca sites.

Bagan in Myanmar

Bagan in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, hosts the largest concentration of Buddhist temples in the world. And many of them are more than a thousand years old. Some of them have been restored in recent years, while many others are ruins. one benefit of this location is that it isn’t as crowded as Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

Krak des Chevaliers

The Western world is faced with a moral dilemma at confronting Muslim refugees and Islamic terrorists. This isn’t a new problem. The Krak des Chevaliers is a defensive fort built by the Emir of Aleppo after Muslim armies swept through the Middle East and took three of the five major centers of Christianity (Alexandria, Jerusalem, and Antioch). While modern historians see Christian Crusaders as an evil invasion, those learning the real history discover that the Crusaders came at the request of local bishops who’d suffered horribly under conquest. This historic artifact is one of the few places crusader art frescos are still found.

Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat was named the top tourist attraction on the planet in 2015. Many people are aware of the largest temple since it graces Cambodia’s flag, but they don’t know that there are more than a thousand temples here. The entire complex covers 154 square miles since it was the heart of the Khmer Empire at its height. In the 1200s, it may have been the largest city in the world. There are several villages inside the national park to protect it, populated today by farmers and monks. Around two million people visit the site each year and appreciate both its Hindu and Buddhist temples. This is a great place for someone with a masters degree in history or comparative religions to visit.

Great Wall of China

China’s history goes back thousands of years, making it a goldmine for anyone who’s pursuing a masters of history online. Seven out of the ten bloodiest wars in human history took place in China and its empires have stretched north to Siberia and west to Iran. At other times, it collapsed to the eastern coast and central river valleys and many warring states – one of which was called the Warring States period. Understand the land of Confucius and Sun Tzu by visiting the Great Wall of China. The Great Wall was built to keep out invaders, although it failed to keep out the Mongols. You can visit it as a day trip from Beijing.