Google’s new AI-guided Talking Tours lets you “scale” Mount Kinabalu. — Kinabalu Unesco Global Geopark
You can now immerse yourself in the beauty of Kinabalu Park in Sabah without even having to set foot there, thanks to Google Arts & Culture’s Unesco World Heritage Site collection.
The Kinabalu Park's inclusion into the collection was unveiled recently in commemoration of the park’s 25th anniversary as a World Heritage Site this year.
On the Google Arts & Culture page, you can learn all about Malaysia’s tallest mountain – Mount Kinabalu – as well as the park’s lush rainforests and its geography.
The Kinabalu Park is not just a Unesco World Heritage Site, it is also a Unesco Global Geopark, while the Crocker Range Biosphere Reserve is part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves.
Take the virtual Talking Tour to visit all these places, as well as the park’s vibrant botanical garden.
Apart from the Kinabalu Park, Google’s expansion also features other Unesco-listed sites including in countries like Germany, Brazil and China. So far, there are 3,454 sites featured in the collection.
The Curonian Spit, a remarkable sand dune spit nestled between Lithuania and Russia, was designated as a World Heritage Site 25 years ago.
This unique sandy landscape, measuring a length of 98km, was carved by the sea, wind, and human activity more than 5,000 years ago.
Meanwhile, Rwanda’s first Natural World Heritage Site is the Nyungwe Forest National Park in the Albertine Rift Ecoregion. The park, which spans over 101,900ha, houses the African continent’s largest mountain forest and is part of the country’s biggest peat bog, particularly the Kamiranzovu Marsh.
Another equally important location is Macao, which was inscribed into the World Heritage Site list in 2005.
Macao’s architecture and landscape are largely influenced by the arrival of the Portuguese in the 16th century.
Other World Heritage Sites featured include the Leon Cathedral (Nicaragua), Buzau Land (Romania), Lencois Maranhenses National Park (Brazil) and The Windsborn Crater Lake (Germany).
