List of World Heritage Sites in Southeast Asia
Encyclopedia
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has designated 31 World Heritage Site
s in seven countries (also called "state parties
") of Southeast Asia
: Thailand
, Laos
, Cambodia
, Vietnam
, Malaysia, Philippines
and Indonesia
. Four states in the region do not have any World Heritage Site: Burma, Brunei
, Singapore
and East Timor
Indonesia and Vietnam lead this list with seven inscribed sites each The first sites from the region were inscribed at the 15th session of the World Heritage Committee in 1991. Each year, UNESCO's World Heritage Committee
may inscribe new sites on the list, or delist sites that that no longer meet the criteria. Selection is based on ten criteria: six for cultural heritage
(i–vi) and four for natural heritage
(vii–x). Some sites, designated "mixed sites," represent both cultural and natural heritage. In Southeast Asia, there are 19 cultural, 12 natural, and no mixed sites.
The World Heritage Committee may also specify that a site is endangered, citing "conditions which threaten the very characteristics for which a property was inscribed on the World Heritage List." Two sites in this region, Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra
and Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras
are presently listed as endangered, and one site, Angkor
, was previously listed but lost that status in 2004.
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
s in seven countries (also called "state parties
Sovereign state
A sovereign state, or simply, state, is a state with a defined territory on which it exercises internal and external sovereignty, a permanent population, a government, and the capacity to enter into relations with other sovereign states. It is also normally understood to be a state which is neither...
") of Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
: Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
, Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
, Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, Malaysia, Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
and Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
. Four states in the region do not have any World Heritage Site: Burma, Brunei
Brunei
Brunei , officially the State of Brunei Darussalam or the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace , is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia...
, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
and East Timor
East Timor
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
Indonesia and Vietnam lead this list with seven inscribed sites each The first sites from the region were inscribed at the 15th session of the World Heritage Committee in 1991. Each year, UNESCO's World Heritage Committee
World Heritage Committee
The World Heritage Committee establishes the sites to be listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. It is responsible for the implementation of the World Heritage Convention, defines the use of the World Heritage Fund and allocates financial assistance upon requests from States Parties...
may inscribe new sites on the list, or delist sites that that no longer meet the criteria. Selection is based on ten criteria: six for cultural heritage
Cultural heritage
Cultural heritage is the legacy of physical artifacts and intangible attributes of a group or society that are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations...
(i–vi) and four for natural heritage
Natural heritage
Natural heritage is the legacy of natural objects and intangible attributes encompassing the countryside and natural environment, including flora and fauna, scientifically known as biodiversity, and geology and landforms ....
(vii–x). Some sites, designated "mixed sites," represent both cultural and natural heritage. In Southeast Asia, there are 19 cultural, 12 natural, and no mixed sites.
The World Heritage Committee may also specify that a site is endangered, citing "conditions which threaten the very characteristics for which a property was inscribed on the World Heritage List." Two sites in this region, Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra
Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra
The Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra site was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2004. It comprises three Indonesian national parks on the island of Sumatra: Gunung Leuser National Park, Kerinci Seblat National Park and the Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park...
and Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras
Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras
The Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1995. This inscription has five sites: the Batad Rice Terraces, Bangaan Rice Terraces , Mayoyao Rice Terraces , Hungduan Rice Terraces and Nagacadan Rice Terraces , all in the Ifugao Province, the...
are presently listed as endangered, and one site, Angkor
Angkor
Angkor is a region of Cambodia that served as the seat of the Khmer Empire, which flourished from approximately the 9th to 15th centuries. The word Angkor is derived from the Sanskrit nagara , meaning "city"...
, was previously listed but lost that status in 2004.
Legend
The table is sortable by column by clicking on the at the top of the appropriate column; alphanumerically for the Site, Area, and Year columns; by state party for the Location column; and by criteria type for the Criteria column. Transborder sites sort at the bottom.- Site; named after the World Heritage Committee's official designation
- Location; at city, regional, or provincial level and geocoordinates
- Criteria; as defined by the World Heritage Committee
- Area; in hectareHectareThe hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
s and acreAcreThe acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...
s. If available, the size of the buffer zone has been noted as well. A value of zero implies that no data has been published by UNESCO - Year; during which the site was inscribed to the World Heritage List
- Description; brief information about the site, including reasons for qualifying as an endangered site, if applicable
Inscribed sites
| Site | Image | Location | Criteria | Area ha (acre) |
Year | Description | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Angkor Angkor Angkor is a region of Cambodia that served as the seat of the Khmer Empire, which flourished from approximately the 9th to 15th centuries. The word Angkor is derived from the Sanskrit nagara , meaning "city"... |
 |
Cultural: (i), (ii), (iii), (iv) |
1992 | The site had been listed as endangered from its inscription in times of political instability following the civil war in the 1980s to 2004. | |||
| Ban Chiang Archaeological Site | Cultural: (iii) |
64 (158.1 acre) | 1992 | ||||
| Baroque Churches of the Philippines Baroque Churches of the Philippines The Baroque Churches of the Philippines is the official designation to a collection of four Spanish-era churches in the Philippines, upon its inscription to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1993.The collection is composed of the following:... |
 |
Cultural: (ii), (iv) |
1993 | ||||
| Borobudur Temple Compounds Borobudur Temple Compounds Borobudur Temple Compounds is a term used by the World Heritage designation of the area of 3 Buddhist temples in Central Java, Indonesia.It comprises Borobudur, Mendut, and Pawon. These 3 temples are located in a straight line, and have been considered as being built during the Sailendra dynasty... |
 |
Cultural: (i), (ii), (vi) |
1991 | ||||
| Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long - Hanoi | Cultural: (ii), (iii), (vi) |
18 (44.5 acre); buffer zone 108 (266.9 acre) | 2010 | ||||
| Citadel of the Ho Dynasty | Cultural: (ii), (iv) |
156 (385.5 acre); buffer zone 5079 (12,550.5 acre) | 2011 | ||||
| Complex of Hué Monuments |  |
Cultural: (iii), (iv) |
1993 | ||||
| Dong Phayayen Dong Phaya Yen mountains Dong Phaya Yen is a mountain range in central Thailand.-Description:Dong Phaya Yen is the southeastern extension of the Phetchabun mountains, dividing the Chao Phraya river valley of Central Thailand and the Khorat Plateau of the northeast... -Khao Yai Khao Yai National Park Khao Yai National Park is a national park in Thailand.-Description:Khao Yai National Park is situated in the Sankamphaeng Mountain Range, the southern prolongation of the Dong Phaya Yen Mountains, at the southwestern boundary of the Khorat Plateau.... Forest Complex |
Natural: (x) |
615500 (1,520,932.3 acre) | 2005 | ||||
| Gunung Mulu National Park Gunung Mulu National Park Gunung Mulu National Park near Miri, Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that encompasses incredible caves and karst formations in a mountainous equatorial rainforest setting... |
Natural: (vii), (viii), (ix), (x) |
52864 (130,629.7 acre) | 2000 | ||||
| Ha Long Bay |  |
Natural: (vii), (viii) |
150000 (370,657.7 acre) | 1994Extended inscription in 2000 to include natural criterion (i) (in present nomenclature criterion (vii)). | |||
| Historic City of Ayutthaya |  |
Cultural: (iii) |
289 (714.1 acre) | 1991 | |||
| Historic Town of Sukhothai and Associated Historic Towns Historic Town of Sukhothai and Associated Historic Towns The Historic Town of Sukhothai and Associated Historic Towns is a Unesco World Heritage site which consists of Sukhothai historical park, Kamphaeng Phet historical park and Si Satchanalai historical park. These historical parks preserve the remains of the three main cities of the Sukhothai Kingdom... |
Cultural: (i), (iii) |
11852 (29,286.9 acre) | 1991 | ||||
| Historic Town of Vigan |  |
Cultural: (ii), (iv) |
1999 | ||||
| Hoi An Ancient Town |  |
Cultural: (ii), (v) |
30 (74.1 acre); buffer zone 280 (691.9 acre) | 1999 | |||
| Kinabalu Park |  |
Natural: (ix), (x) |
75370 (186,243.2 acre) | 2000 | |||
| Komodo National Park Komodo National Park The Komodo National Park is a national park in Indonesia located within the Lesser Sunda Islands in the border region between the provinces of East Nusa Tenggara and West Nusa Tenggara. The park includes the three larger islands Komodo, Padar and Rincah, and 26 smaller ones, with a total area of... |
Natural: (vii), (x) |
219322 (541,956 acre) | 1991 | ||||
| Lorentz National Park Lorentz National Park Lorentz National Park is located in the Indonesian province of Papua, formerly known as Irian Jaya . With an area of 25,056 km² , it is the largest national park in South-East Asia... |
 |
Natural: (vii), (ix), (x) |
2350000 (5,806,971.3 acre) | 1999 | |||
| Melaka and George Town George Town, Penang George Town was voted as one of the best cities in Asia by Asiaweek, ranked 6th in 1998 and 9th in 2000. More recently, George Town has improved a notch to rank as the 9th most liveable city in Asia in a survey of 254 cities worldwide according to an international location ratings survey by , an... , Historic Cities of the Straits of Malacca |
Cultural: (ii), (iii), (iv) |
148 (365.7 acre); buffer zone 284 (701.8 acre) | 2008 | ||||
| My Son Sanctuary | Cultural: (ii), (iii) |
142 (350.9 acre); buffer zone 920 (2,273.4 acre) | 1999 | ||||
| Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park |  |
Natural: (viii) |
85754 (211,902.6 acre) | 2003 | |||
| Prambanan Temple Compounds | Cultural: (i), (iv) |
1991 | |||||
| Puerto-Princesa Subterranean River National Park | Natural: (vii), (x) |
5753 (14,216 acre) | 1999 | ||||
| Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras The Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1995. This inscription has five sites: the Batad Rice Terraces, Bangaan Rice Terraces , Mayoyao Rice Terraces , Hungduan Rice Terraces and Nagacadan Rice Terraces , all in the Ifugao Province, the... |
Cultural: (iii), (iv), (v) |
1995 | The site has been listed as endangered since 2001 due to the absence of a systematic monitoring programme or of a comprehensive management plan. | ||||
| Sangiran Early Man Site | Cultural: (iii), (vi) |
5600 (13,837.9 acre) | 1996 | ||||
| Temple of Preah Vihear | Cultural: (i) |
155 (383 acre); buffer zone 2643 (6,531 acre) | 2008 | ||||
| Thungyai Thungyai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary The Wildlife Sanctuary Thung Yai Naresuan is a protected area in Thailand in the northern part of Kanchanaburi province and the southern part of Tak province... -Huai Kha Khaeng Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected area in Thailand. It is located in the Provinces Kanchanaburi, Tak and Uthai Thani. It was declared a World Heritage Site Site by the United Nations in 1991, together with the adjoining Thungyai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary... Wildlife Sanctuaries |
Natural: (vii), (ix), (x) |
622200 (1,537,488.3 acre) | 1991 | ||||
| Town of Luang Prabang |  |
Cultural: (ii), (iv), (v) |
1995 | ||||
| Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra The Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra site was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2004. It comprises three Indonesian national parks on the island of Sumatra: Gunung Leuser National Park, Kerinci Seblat National Park and the Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park... † |
 |
Natural: (vii), (ix), (x) |
2595124 (6,412,685.4 acre) | 2004 | The site has been listed as endangered since 2011 due to poaching, illegal logging, agricultural encroachment, and plans to build roads. | ||
| Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park |  |
Natural: (vii), (ix), (x) |
130028 (321,305.9 acre) | 1993Extended in 2009 and name change from Tubbataha Reef Marine Park to the present name. | |||
| Ujung Kulon National Park Ujung Kulon National Park Ujung Kulon National Park is located at the western-most tip of Java, Banten, Indonesia. It includes the volcanic island group of Krakatoa and other islands including Panaitan, Handeuleum and Peucang on the Sunda Strait.-Geography:... |
 |
Natural: (vii), (x) |
78525 (194,039.3 acre) | 1991 | |||
| Vat Phou and Associated Ancient Settlements within the Champasak Cultural Landscape |  |
Cultural: (iii), (iv), (vi) |
39000 (96,371 acre) | 2001 |