Sacred Sites International

08/25/2026

UNESCO declared Mount Olympus a World Heritage Site in 2026. It is both a natural site as the tallest mountain in Greece and a cultural site for its significance as the home of the Olympian Gods and Goddesses as well as the Muses and Graces.

08/23/2026

This is the largest megalithic passage grave in Japan. Located in Nara, it was the tomb of Soga no Umaka (c.559-626 CE) and originally was covered by a mound. It was designated a National Historic Site in 1935 and elevated to a Special Historic Site in 1954.

08/22/2026

We're also concerned about some sacred cottonwood trees imperiled by the Border Wall. They hold deep sacred, spiritual, and cultural significance for many indigenous peoples in the region, including the Tohono O'odham (Tona Atam) and Yaqui (Yoeme) nations, who are the original stewards of the San Rafael Valley.

A 200-year-old "grandmother" cottonwood tree stands directly on the U.S.–Mexico border in Lochiel, Arizona, where activists have maintained an ongoing tree-sit protest to block federal contractors from clearing it for a planned 30-foot double border wall.

Out of a small historic grove, three trees were felled in late July 2026, leaving this final towering cottonwood protected by continuous human occupation on both sides of the international boundary.

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08/21/2026

The Greater Chaco Canyon Cultural Landscape has been listed on the 2026 National Trust for Historic Sites 11 Most Endangered Sites List.

The Greater Cultural Landscape encompasses outlier communities, ancient roads and sacred sites spread over tens of thousands of miles and connects Chaco Canyon to the Mesa Verde National Park and Aztec Ruins National Monument.

The threat: Changes to federal land policy threatens to open up significant portions of the landscape to oil and gas development.

08/19/2026

This is an article about the Kumeyaay on the Mexican side of the Border Wall. Read this and learn about what they have lost because of the wall.

In northwestern Mexico and parts of California and Arizona in the USA, Kumeyaay elders are fighting to preserve their language and culture.

08/18/2026

What we are really concerned about is the desecration of Indigenous sacred sites impacted by the border wall. Please read more about it below:

White sage burning, Norma Meza Calles gathers guests at a Mexican wellness resort into a semicircle facing Kuuchamaa Mountain and asks everyone to close

08/17/2026

This is Vat Phou, Laos. It is a vast temple & Shrine complex dating from the 5th century CE to the 15th century CE set within a cultural landscape. The sacred geography manifests Hindu values of people and their relationship with the natural world. It makes use of the mountains, trees, and water features within a geometric pattern of temples and shrines. Note the goat catching a snooze in one of the temple ruins. The site is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

08/15/2026

Shaman at funeral for Nepalese mountaineer Pur Bahadur Gurung at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Swayambhunantha Stupa in Kathmandu, Nepal.

08/11/2026

What we're reading at Sacred Sites International: The Wisdom of the Odyssey: Twenty-four Life Lessons from Homer's Epic, by Phil Cousineau.

The book mirrors the 24 chapters of Homer's Odyssey and connects the ancient tale with lessons that still ring true.

And, it is filled with sacred sites: The Holy City of Troy, the Cave of the Nymphs, The Grove of Athena, the isolated isle of Ogygia where the goddess Calypso could be found in the caves, Thrinacia, home of the God of the Sun, Helios...we think you get the idea. Now Read Phil's book!

08/07/2026

These are the Underground Mosques of Mangystau, Kazakhstan, newly inscribed UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2026. These are all identified with Sufi Masters from the 12th to the 18th centuries CE.