Take a UNESCO World Heritage pilgrimage in Mississippi River Country

Meandering through ten states and covering a distance of around 3,766km, the USA’s most famous river acts as a thread connecting people and places – both with each other and the past. Collectively, the states that line the waterway are known as Mississippi River Country and are home to not one but five UNESCO World Heritage Sites, scattered both along the waterway and far from its banks.

Starting in Louisiana, where the river widens before spooling out into the Gulf of Mexico, is a remarkable site in the north-eastern reaches of the state called Poverty Point. Viewed from the ground, it appears as a series of grassy hills surrounded by a network of 4km of hiking trails; but from above, the complexity of these 3,400-year-old man-made constructions is better revealed. Painstakingly created by Indigenous Americans, an estimated 1.5 million cubic metres of soil went into their creation, all moved and shaped by hand. The series of concentric half-circles that form these hills resembles the tiered interior of Rome’s Colosseum, despite being built without modern devices or the tools that the Romans had to hand.

Archaeologists still don’t know with complete certainty the purpose of these mounds, though the absence of burial remains and evidence of crop growth has led many to suspect they were used as a ceremonial centre and residential area, and that they were key to local trade. Since being abandoned in 1100 BC, the millions of artefacts that have been found there, including figurines, rudimentary tools and cooking utensils, helped support this theory, and many are available to study at the visitor centre.

Further up the river, in the oblong-shaped state of Tennessee, lies Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Here, in contrast to the site in Louisiana, there are few man-made wonders to explore; instead, you will find a sprawling example of mother nature’s finest work. Memorably depicted by travel writer Bill Bryson in his book A Walk in the Woods, the park is cleaved through by the Appalachian Trail long-distance footpath and supports a healthy population of black bears. It was awarded heritage status due to its ecologically rich and diverse landscape, and it is home to around 3,500 plant species and over 130 types of tree, plus the world’s largest species of salamander. It doesn’t take much of a walk to experience what the region looked like before humans existed.

Further north, in Kentucky, another wholly natural construct awaits – though this time it lies underground. Mammoth Cave National Park, in the centre of the state, holds the title of the most extensive natural cave system in the world. Stalactites drip from a roof made up of layer upon layer of limestone strata, capped by sandstone. The names of the caverns found within the labyrinthine tunnels mesmerise – from Neptune’s Cups to Cascade Hall – and regular ranger walks allow access to some of them. Outside is just as captivating, with deep river valleys, diverse plant life and a sinkhole that nods to the hidden depths below. There is also evidence of early humans having lived in both the subterranean caverns and the surrounding woodland.

The state of Illinois offers yet more remnants of our ancestors at Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, a place thought to have been occupied by 20,000 people between 800 and 1200 AD, making it larger than the city of London at the time. Nowadays it’s a beautiful cluster of green hills edged by trees and encircled by trails, but back then it was replete with a network of street-like pathways, plazas, houses, courtyards and a marketplace. The most impressive relic of this thriving metropolis today is Monks Mount – the largest prehistoric earthwork in both North and South America.

From ancient history to that of the more modern variety. Also in Illinois – though it is found in the neighbouring state of Wisconsin as well – are a collection of buildings designed by the iconic US architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Best known for his ‘prairie style’ housing – spacious, single-storey, multi-windowed houses – his signature design went on to form the template for numerous residential homes across the USA.

Of the eight buildings listed by UNESCO, four are found in Mississippi River Country. In Wisconsin, you will discover the Jacobs I house in Madison – one of the first ‘budget’ homes Wright created – and Taliesin in Spring Green, while Unity Temple (a church) in Oak Park and the classic prairie-style Robie House in Chicago both fall within Illinois. Not all of these houses are open to visitors but Taliesin is, and it is worth dropping by. It was Wright’s former estate and comprises his home, studio and buildings from every decade of his career, which was as long and winding as the Mississippi River itself. If anything, it will provide the perfect source of inspiration to explore this famous waterway further.

Need to know

Location: Louisiana’s Poverty Point is a two-hour drive from Jackson International Airport. The Tennessee side of Great Smoky Mountains NP is a three-hour drive from Nashville International Airport. Mammoth Cave NP, Kentucky, is a 1.5-hour drive from Nashville International Airport. Cahokia Mounds is just 25 minutes from St Louis. Wisconsin’s Taliesin, the main Frank Lloyd Wright site, is around three hour’s drive from Chicago International Airport.

Getting around: Hire a car and hit the Great River Road; it runs 5,000km from the Mississippi River’s source in Minnesota to the Louisiana coast.

Accommodation: For Poverty Point try Black Bear Lodge (lastateparks.com); Great Smoky Mountains NP’s Le Conte Lodge is reached via an 8km hike; the lodge beside the Mammoth Cave NP visitor centre is ideal for overnight trips; the boutique Hotel Indigo in St Louis is not far from Cahokia Mounds; and you can stay near Taliesin in the former home of Frank Lloyd Wright’s uncle.

Further info: Get up-to-date info at experiencemississippiriver.com and mississippirivercountry.com.

Explore more UNESCO-listed wonders

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Purnululu and the Bungle Bungles, Australia

Melaka, Malaysia