When we think of UNESCO World Heritage sites, Peru’s stunning Machu Picchu or The Great Wall of China usually come to mind. 

But did you know that Canada has an impressive 17 world heritage sites?  Some of them are wildly popular destinations, while others are off the radar and make for great discoveries. 

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization recognizes sites around that world that have “outstanding” cultural or physical significance. Here are five Canadian highlights:

Gros Morne National Park, Newfoundland and Labrador

UNESCO praises this site on the western shore on Newfoundland’s Great Northern Peninsula as “an outstanding wilderness environment” and an area of “exceptional natural beauty.” Listed as a world heritage site in 1987, Gros Morne offers a visual feast: fjords, glacial valleys, waterfalls, cliffs and picturesque coastal lowlands.

However, the park is in danger of losing the world heritage designation if Canada doesn’t take steps to protect it from nearby fracking activities. The issue will be up for discussion at a UNESCO meeting in June.

Gros Morne

Rideau Canal, Ontario

Anyone who has ever visited or lived in Canada’s capital has fond memories of skating on the historic canal in the winter or watching boats navigate the locks near Parliament Hill in the summer. The canal serves as a backdrop for daily life in Ottawa, and it extends some 200 kilometres to Kingston Harbour on Lake Ontario.

Recognizing it as “the best preserved example of a slackwater canal in North America” that uses old European technology, UNESCO added the Rideau Canal to its list in 2007.

Rideau Canal Skateway

Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks, Alberta and British Columbia

The spectacular views from the Rockies are just one of the reasons why the national parks of Banff, Jasper, Kootenay and Yoho were recognized by UNESCO.

The UNESCO designation also includes Mount Robson, Mount Assiniboine and Hamber provincial parks, as well as the Burgess Shale, which is considered one of the world’s most significant fossil fields.

Ice climber missing near Banff

Historic district of Old Quebec

Founded in the 18th century, Old Quebec is rich in history and culture. Now a major tourist draw, Old Quebec remains North America’s only fortified  city. It has preserved much of its old-world charm while blending with the modern architecture that surrounds it. UNESCO says the historic district of Old Quebec is “an exceptional example of a fortified colonial town and by far the most complete north of Mexico.”

Skyline of old historic Quebec City

Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta

While the badlands scenery is breathtaking, this park was listed as a world heritage site in 1979 because of the world-renown dinosaur fossil discoveries made there over the years. Fossils from 40 different dinosaur species and thousands of other specimens dating back 75 million years were dug up in the park.

“The property is unmatched in terms of the number and variety of high quality specimens,” UNESCO says.

Dinosaur Provincial Park