From far-flung islands with abundant wildlife to scarcely-visited desert kingdoms and largely forgotten burial tombs, we explore some of the overlooked and crowd-free UNESCO World Heritage Sites around the world that are well worth a visit.

Often bypassed for Andalucía's other historic big hitters, these three pre-historic burial sites (or dolmens) are well worth a detour. Just outside the pleasant town of Antequera, the impressive subterranean structures are one of the most remarkable architectural works from European prehistory and one of the most important examples of European Megalithism. They gained World Heritage Site status in 2016.

Built with hefty stone blocks by farmers in the Guadalhorce Valley during the Neolithic and Bronze Ages, the tombs remain buried beneath their original earth mounds. Duck down to marvel at this ancient feat of construction then head up to see the spectacular mountain formations of El Torcal de Antequera and Peña de los Enamorados. Follow walking trails to see the unusual limestone rock formations up close.

Often overlooked for the Maya ruins of Tikal in neighbouring Guatemala and Chichén Itzá in Mexico, Copán is equally impressive particularly for its art and history. As the site of one of the most important Maya civilisations, the city reached its peak at the beginning of the 9th century when it’s thought it was home to 20,000 people. By the 1200s it was abandoned entirely for reasons no one is certain about, but the insightful on-site museum will give you some clues.

The peaceful ruins sit in Honduras’s western highlands, close to the border with Guatemala, and were discovered in the 16th century by a Spanish explorer. Awarded UNESCO status in 1980, Copán has step pyramids, intricately carved stelae, temples, public squares, and ball courts. Its crowning glory is a vast hieroglyphic stairwell: the stone steps to the temple-pyramid known rather prosaically as Structure 26 are painstakingly carved with around 1,260 symbols that record the history of the kingdom’s royalty.

It’s a bit of trek to get there, but the fascinating church town in Luleå, within Swedish Lapland, is a wonderful UNESCO World Heritage Site. It's the world's most extensive and best preserved example of a Scandinavian 'church village', with more than 400 church cottages set around a medieval stone church. The little red-coloured cottages were built by farmers so they could stay overnight after attending church and parish meetings. Today most are privately owned.

It's one of just 16 church towns that remain – the settlements were common in remote northern Sweden due to big distances between towns. Gammelstad is particularly pretty during the dark days of winter when the snow falls and the tourist centre runs lantern tours around the 520 protected buildings and roads. You can also find out more about traditional life in this rural part of Sweden at the open-air museum in nearby Hägnan.

The beautiful ruins of the Jesuit missions of Trinidad de Parana and nearby Jesus de Tavarangue are Paraguay's only UNESCO site. They were built in the 17th and 18th centuries by European Jesuits who came to spread the faith and convert the native Guarani people. Trinidad is the best-preserved and most impressive of the two, and while the sites may be light on visitors, they’re rich with history and intrigue.

Around 12km away lie the smaller sister ruins of Jesús de Tavarangue, which also give a fascinating glimpse into the Jesuit way of life with well-preserved remains of churches, apartments, schools, shops, gardens and orchards.

An incredibly rewarding but controversial destination, Saudi Arabia has archaeological and spiritual wonders aplenty. The hidden desert city of Al-Hijr (or Madâin Sâlih) is one such treasure. The rock-hewn ruins of the southernmost settlement of the Nabatean civilisation rival that of Petra but garner fewer visitors – special permits are currently necessary to visit. It became the country’s first UNESCO site in 2008.

Halfway between Petra and Medina, the ancient ruins were the second kingdom of the mysterious Nabateans – the nomadic traders who eventually built their mighty desert cities. Madâin Sâlih has a wealth of fascinating archaeological features, including 111 well-preserved and decorated monumental tombs that date from between the 1st century BC and 1st century AD, and water wells. UNESCO says it's an "outstanding example of the Nabataeans’ architectural accomplishment and hydraulic expertise”.

This breathtaking complex of Taoist temples and monasteries within the Wudang Mountains in the Hubei province are well known in China as the birthplace of Taoism and tai chi, but they're not exactly a big draw for most overseas tourists. The deeply spiritual site, which includes Taoist buildings from as early as the 7th century, is an incredible and uplifting place to visit.

Recognised by UNESCO in 1994, the organisation said the complex represents “the highest level of Chinese art and architecture”. Take a tour of the beautiful mountain-top temples, such as the aptly-named lofty Purple Cloud Temple, first built in the 12th century. Look out for martial arts performances as you explore – they happen regularly in the ancient building complex. Then head for the hills to explore the stunning surrounds of the sacred Wudangs, all peaks, cliffs, caverns and ravines.

So Goa is hardly an off-the-beaten track location, but while hordes of people flock to its golden-sand beaches not many take the time to explore the beautiful and historic convents and churches of Old Goa, a legacy of its Portuguese past. The most significant of the buildings that form the UNESCO World Heritage Site is the 16th-century Basilica of Bom Jesus church, which contains the revered relics of Saint Francis Xavier.

The most famous is white-washed Se cathedral, the largest church in all of Asia. Its construction, which was ordered by King Dom Sebastiao of Portugal, took nearly a hundred years to complete – starting in 1562 and finally ending in 1652. Admire its sumptuous façade, then go inside to gaze up to its soaring ceilings, fabulous mosaic work and intricate wood and gilded carvings. The oldest of Goa's churches is the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary, which was built in 1543. 

Italy is home to more UNESCO World Heritage Sites than any other country – an impressive 53. While millions flock to Florence and Rome, few head to Crespi d’Adda, a fascinating example of a 19th-century industrial town in the province of Bergamo in the north. It was built by enlightened industrialist Cristoforo Benigno Crespi along the banks of the Adda River next to his textile factory to give his workers better living conditions. 

The self-sufficient village included a church, hospital, shop, public baths, and cemetery as well as individual houses with gardens. According to UNESCO, it’s “the most complete and best preserved of south Europe”. Forward-thinking Crespi also gave free education to the employees’ children and it was the first village in Italy to have public lighting. You can visit its factory, see inside the simple cottage homes of the workers and poke around the castle-like residence of the boss, an altogether more lavish abode.

This remote and rugged island around 300 miles off the coast of Costa Rica is quite a mission to get to but those that make the effort are bowled over by its natural wonders. The hilly and densely forested isle has been recognised by UNESCO for its incredible biodiversity – it’s also the only island in the tropical eastern Pacific with a rainforest. 

The best way of getting to the island is on a live-aboard diving trip – access to the land has to be granted by island rangers. But if you don’t manage to set foot on the uninhabited island you won’t be disappointed by the underwater sights – the waters here are magnet for serious divers who come to marvel at the plethora of rays, sharks and dolphins.

Forget Hawaii and Iceland and head to the scarcely explored peninsula of Kamchatka in Russia instead – a place of remarkable and dramatic beauty that’s one of the most volcanically active volcanic places on Earth. All snow-capped peaks, steaming springs and gushing geysers, the sparsely-populated finger of land has the largest active volcano in the northern hemisphere – Klyuchevskaya Sopka is over 15,000-feet tall.

The vast area also gained UNESCO status for its abundant wildlife: it has the world's largest known variety of salmonoid fish and an “exceptional concentration of brown bears”. Head to the southern tip of the peninsula in August to witness the largest salmon run in the world when hundreds of bears congregate at Lake Kurilskoe to scoop up the leaping fish in a feeding frenzy. Its unspoiled waters are also home to sea otters and whales, and you may spy the Stellar's sea eagle, reindeer, and wolves.

One of Albania’s oldest cities, hilly Berat is also one of the best-preserved Ottoman settlements in all of the Balkans. While the stunning city is one of the country’s top historical sights, its ancient streets are quiet compared to other tourist-thronged historic centres in Europe that have been granted UNESCO World Heritage Site status.

Berat joined another historic centre in Albania, Gjirokastër, on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2008. Roam around the city's cobblestoned streets to see why: walk past the charming white houses that line the incline up towards Berat’s hilltop citadel, known as Kala. Its walls encircle numerous medieval Byzantine churches and ruined mosques built under the Ottoman era. Don’t miss the fantastic ethnographic museum nor the Onufri museum with an impressive collection of Albanian icons.

Renowned for its man-made ancient wonders, Egypt also possesses incredible natural marvels including the astonishing valley of fossilised whales in the Western Desert, southwest of Cairo. Remote Wadi al-Hitan, or Whale Valley as it’s more commonly known, was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005 for its vast and well-preserved collection of skeletons and fossils of a now extinct suborder of whales called the Archaeoceti.

Set among a surreal and stunning landscape of sand and rocks, the remarkable collection of fossils reveals the ancient creatures in the last stages of losing their hind legs. According to UNESCO, this is the most important site in the world for telling the story of the whale’s transition from land animal to ocean-going mammal.

The UNESCO World Heritage Site of SG̱ang Gwaay, or Ninstints as it’s more commonly known, is as remote as they come. But those that make the effort to get to the ancestral island home of the Haida First Nations people in British Columbia are richly rewarded: the remarkable sight of decaying wooden totem poles and an incredible insight into an ancient culture. 

Kayaking around the Haida Gwaii archipelago is a wonderful way to appreciate the beauty of the islands, once home to a robust community of Haida people that was decimated by disease in the 1880s. Now all that remains here are the weathered ruins of wooden houses and memorial poles amid the tangle of forest. The carved poles are recognised by UNESCO as among the finest examples of their type in the world. Some were moved to a museum but a few were left and are slowly being reclaimed by nature. 

Put off by the boatfuls of tourists in the Great Barrier Reef? Then visit a quieter patch of paradise in Australia: Lord Howe Island lies 370 miles off the coast of New South Wales and is a veritable treasure island. Designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its varied landscapes – mountains, valleys, hills, lowlands, and sea-cliffs – and habitat types, a holiday here is all about immersing yourself in nature. Snorkel, dive, or conquer its highest peak Mount Gower.

Unspoiled beauty abounds wherever you go: around 75% of the island’s original vegetation remains undisturbed and it has 241 species of indigenous plants of which 113 are only found here. There are many beautiful beaches from which you can explore its pristine waters and coral reefs too. Borrow snorkelling gear at Ned's Beach (popping a dollar or so in the honesty box) to swim above an array of fish or venture further out on unforgettable dive. With limited (and expensive) flights and accommodation the island remains crowd-free.