Meteora in Greece and the town of Uberaba in Brazil, designated UNESCO Global Geoparks

The list of new geological sites recognized by UNESCO was recently revealed. 18 new Global Geoparks have been added to the 213 existing ones. In Greece, Meteora was chosen, while in Brazil, the Uberaba site was chosen.

UNESCO has designated new sites, classified as UNESCO Global Geoparks, including the Normandy-Maine park, for France. Greece already has two classified sites, UNESCO Global Geoparks, one on the island of Lesvos and its fossilized forest, the other on the island of Ikaria. To these, has now been added the unique site of Meteora. In Brazil, the Uberaba site was chosen and after 13 years of work, the organizers of the bid were finally able to celebrate their victory.

The unique site of Meteora, Greece

To fully appreciate the uniqueness of Meteora, you have to imagine immense sandstone columns, which reach up to 300 meters in height, topped by six monasteries dating from the 12th and 16th centuries. The monks who live in these monasteries, which can be visited and recently flown over, call these columns the columns of heaven. They are a prayer that ascends to heaven. Several films have also been filmed in Meteora, including a James Bond.

The monks still use large baskets, a sort of rope basket, to go up and down from their monasteries, which contain unimaginable treasures of Byzantine art, including unique frescoes. Otherwise, there are hundreds of steps to climb, but once you reach the top, the view that covers the entire region makes you forget the fatigue and takes your breath away.

Meteora also contains geological wonders, the taffoni of Kalambaka, rock formations, hollowed out by millennia of alveolar erosion. Finally, in the western part of the Geopark, which is 2,409 square kilometers large, are the Pindos mountains, which constitute a refuge for animal and plant biodiversity.

The town hall of the Meteora region hopes that its integration into the Geoparks chain will breathe new life into local tourism, particularly ecotourism currently in vogue in Greece. The monks are satisfied to see their monasteries valued. Archaeologists hope that the integration of Meteora into the Geoparks chain will protect this monumental site from the initiatives of the Ministry of Culture, which aims for mass tourism exploitation of all archaeological sites, even if it means disfiguring them.

The “city of dinosaurs” in Brazil

With this designation, the city of Uberaba hopes to develop research as well as tourism in the region. We call her the“city of dinosaurs” because more than 3,000 fossils have already been discovered there since the 1940s. This is where the country’s first fossilized dinosaur egg was found. But above all, several specimens of the largest living organism to have ever set foot on Brazilian soil were unearthed, the immense Uberabatitan Riberoi, a herbivore 28 meters long and 14 high.

There are 31 geosites, a museum and a reference research center in Uberaba. The diversity of fossils here is enormous and it is the second largest dinosaur nesting site in the world. There is therefore still much to discover, explains geologist Luis Carlos Ribeiro, who initiated the nomination project. “There is the number of fossils, but also the quality of conservation which is exceptional. The bones are white, without manganese infiltration, on the teeth, we can still see the enamel. The recognition from UNESCO draws the spotlight on Uberaba will therefore help us to develop local search much further, because this will necessarily attract new investments.”

The protection of the park, part of which is in the city, is already well ensured with special regulations. A team of geologists supports all work involving digging into the ground. With this new UNESCO status, the town hall wants to go even further to protect fossils.

In this sixth Geopark of Brazil, there are other reasons which justified this recognition from Unesco, because the interest in environmental education, the tourist potential and cultural issues are also considered. In Uberaba, sustainable breeding is highlighted, with zebu breeding, as well as religious tourism. Indeed, the famous medium, Chico Xavier, who died in 2003, lived there and his aura continues to attract many followers of spiritualism, while his influence remains very important in Brazil.