Travel's most endangered destinations

6. The Taj Mahal

Where: Agra, India

What's at stake: This may be on your do-it-before-you-die list anyway, but you might want to move it up: The world's most famous mausoleum is under threat from environmental damage, with soot, particulates, and acid rain from nearby factories and refineries turning the monument's white facade a pale yellow. Several restoration projects are being bandied about, including a proposal to temporarily pack the Taj in mud—essentially, a gigantic facial. It's a sad irony that this grand gesture by an emperor to preserve the memory of his wife needs help being preserved itself.

Get yourself to: The Oberoi Amarvilas, a luxury hotel just a five-minute walk from the monument. Nearly all rooms overlook the Taj, and staying here overnight means you can appreciate it at its finest hour: sunrise, when the white marble turns various shades of pink—naturally.

For more information:
UNESCO World Heritage

Oberoi Amarvilas
Tel: 800 562 3764 (toll-free)
Tel: 91 562 223 1515
Doubles from $741

Slide show   Celebrating world heritage In total, UNESCO has inscribed nearly 900 sites to its World Heritage List. Click through the slide show to see some of the world’s best-known World Heritage List locations. more photos

7. Arctic polar bears

Where: Northern Manitoba Coast, Canada

What's at stake: The graceful beauty of the snow-colored polar bear, which goes well beyond those holiday-time Coca-Cola ads. The bears of Canada and Alaska live on sea ice, but global warming is melting that ice rapidly, decreasing the food supply of these magnificent creatures. Making matters worse, the Bush Administration recently leased 30 million acres of the polar bear habitat in the Chukchi Sea for oil exploration. In 2007, scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey issued a report saying that if global warming trends continue at their current pace, the species could be wiped out by 2050.

Get yourself to: Northern Manitoba in the fall, where you can still see polar bears in the wild. Stay in the mobile Tundra Buggy® Lodge right near the shore of Hudson Bay, where the animals congregate to hunt seals.

For more information: Polar Bear International

Tundra Buggy® Lodge
Tel: 800 663 9832 (toll-free)
Tel: 204 949 2050
Two-night trips, including lunches and transportation from Winnipeg, from $3,350

8. Great Barrier Reef

Where: Queensland, Australia

AFP/Getty Images Australia's Great Barrier Reef is a top tourism attraction in Australia and the only living thing visible from space — but it is slowly dying because of acidity and the global rise in water temperatures. It was added to the World heritage List in 1981.

What's at stake: The top tourism attraction in Australia and the only living thing visible from space, the Great Barrier Reef is slowly dying because of acidity and the global rise in water temperatures. Periods of warm water have caused the coral to die out (or "bleach") in the past, but it has recovered as the temperatures dropped again. But now the warming trends don't seem to be abating, causing some scientists to worry that the reefs that comprise this living treasure may die in as little as 20 years.

Get yourself to: Eco-friendly Hinchinbrook Island Wilderness Lodge, situated on 152 acres of national park, where guests can use free canoes, fishing gear, and snorkel equipment. The property generates its own power and water, and takes all garbage off-island.

For more information: World Wildlife Fund

Hinchinbrook Island Wilderness Lodge
Tel: 61 7 4066 8270
Cabins from $256

9. Louisiana's coastal salt marshes

Where: Atchafalaya Basin, Louisiana

What's at stake: Just what is a coastal salt marsh, you might ask yourself, and why should I care? Well, the marshes fringe the coast of Louisiana and Mississippi, and they act as a buffer, protecting New Orleans and other coastal towns from hurricanes and storm surges. And you know what else? They're beautiful, hosting your fantasy image of the bayou—cypress trees dripping with Spanish moss, elegant water birds, wide horizons. Thanks to clear-cutting of cypress forests to manufacture mulch, ill-advised flood control projects by the Army Corps of Engineers, and other human activity, Louisiana is estimated to lose over 25 square miles of delta wetlands to the sea each year.

Get yourself to: The town of Lafayette, an ideal jumping-off point for visiting the Atchafalaya Basin, in south central Louisiana. You'll find cypress swamps, gators, some of the best fishing in America, and fantastically spicy Cajun food. After your trip, visit nearby New Orleans, the very prize that these shrinking wetlands are struggling to protect.

For more information:
The Sierra Club's Louisiana Chapter

Lafayette Convention & Visitors Commission
Tel: 800 346 1958 (toll-free)

10. The snows of Kilimanjaro

Where: Tanzania

Mladen Antonov / AFP/Getty Images file The snows of Kilimanjaro are disappearing rapidly, however, and while scientists can't agree on exactly why, global warming is considered one of the culprits.

What's at stake: Other than being the defining image of one of Hemingway's best short stories, Kilimanjaro is the only one of the "seven summits" (the highest peak on each continent) that can be climbed by everyday Joes. The snows of Kilimanjaro are disappearing rapidly, however, and while scientists can't agree on exactly why, global warming is considered one of the culprits. Ironically, the very fact that its snowfield are endangered means people are rushing to climb Kilimanjaro now, before the glaciers melt entirely—meaning even more pressure on the fragile mountain and the nearby Serengeti Plain.

Get yourself to: The Marangu Hotel, in the nearby town of Moshi, which has beautiful views of the mountain and will organize your Kilimanjaro trek either "fully equipped" or "the hard way." Don't expect the Western idea of luxury near Kilimanjaro, but the Marangu does have a pool and well-kept grounds.

Marangu Hotel
Tel: 255 27 275 6594
Doubles, including breakfast and dinner, from $120

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