Hearing that the Taliban were destroying hundreds of religious statues and temples in Afghanistan in 2001 was a life changing moment for photographer Tito Dupret. Their actions inspired him to document UNESCO’s World Heritage sites in QTVR panoramas. And it has turned into his life’s work. For the past seven years, he has been on the road, traveling from one amazing location to another, camera in hand, determined to create panographies of each and every World Heritage site. So far, 253 of his panographics are posted on the WHTour site that he has been creating.
Panography is what he does and he is good at it. So if you fancy a visit to a World Heritage site but don’t have the time or the money to physically get there, go 360 with Tito instead. It’s the next best thing to being there yourself.
I’ve just been visiting Nubia in Egypt. I stood outside Abu Simbel and did the 360, looking first at the monuments, turning slowly towards the sea. I looked down at sand and up to the towering monuments. I zoomed into and out of the scene as I pleased, like I was holding the camera myself. It truly felt like I was there.
WHTour is one site not to be missed.
So excuse me while I head back there again. It’s time to go inside Abu Simbel…
But first, I’m going to sign up and become a member of WHTours. That way, I can get full screen access to all of the panoramic photographs plus be notified when new panographies appear.
And if you want to know more about the project and the photographer, then have a read of these two interviews:
An Update on World Heritage Traveler and Photographer Tito Dupret
A Conversation with Tito Dupret About His World Heritage Tour
Happy virtual traveling.
Dazzling tour, and I’m eager for more. Great being able to see these buildings in context, which you rarely do. I really got an idea of the scale of Borobodur, and some of the sites in Iran were fascinating, with wonderful skies and mountains in the background. And I enjoyed seeing the lovely garden of Plantin-Moretus in Antwerp again, looking sunnier and better cared for than I remember. Thanks for posting this!
Wow!!
Thanks for recommending this site. I’ve never seen it before, and the photography work is amazing. I homeschool my children, and how great it will be to have a place for them to see where we are studying. Great resource!!
Hi Marilyn and Kathie, it is a wonderful resource, for us armchair travelers and for helping kids learn about the amazing and beautiful places around the world, both from a historic, cultural, and geographic point of view…
I’m blown away by the realness of the the photography.
A 360 virtual tour can interest, intrigue and excite through panoramas. Unlike other virtual tour companies, ours can be viewed full screen. A virtual tour is a popular Devon web service.
The first exhibit of 360° panographic images and virtual visits of World Heritage sites to be shown in France. It was made possible with the support of Vocations Patrimoine’s partners AXA and MAZARS, as well as the French Ministry for Culture and Communication, the French representation of the European Commission, Hewlett Packard, the WHTour association, the Kaplan Foundation and Tokyo Broadcasting Systems.The exhibition includes panographic photos and virtual visits of World Heritage sites, videos about the first World Heritage Fellowships awarded for research in China, India, Japan, the Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the United Republic of Tanzania, as well as images of World Heritage sites.
360° virtual tour photography takes the idea of a static image on a webpage to a new level. Virtual tours can be easily viewed within web browsers compare to that of flash, whilst providing panoramas in full screen and views vertically as well as horizontally. A virtual tour can display any business service, ideal for showrooms