39 UNESCO Protected World Heritage Sites in India and their Locations:
What is UNESCO World Heritage Site?
UNESCO World Heritage Sites are special places (such as forest areas, mountains, lakes, deserts, monuments, buildings, or cities, etc.) that are selected by the World Heritage Site Committee; And this committee oversees these sites under the auspices of UNESCO.
The purpose of this program is to select and preserve such places of the world which are important for humanity from the point of view of world culture. Under certain circumstances, financial assistance is also given to such places by this committee.
Important facts related to World Heritage or World Heritage Sites:
- World Heritage Sites or World Heritage Sites are some special places present in the world which are protected by the international organization UNESCO.
- These places present in the world are valuable, ancient and rare which are important for the world culture. These places can be forest area, mountain, lake, desert, monument, building or city.
- These places are selected by the World Heritage Committee under the auspices of UNESCO.
- World Heritage Day is celebrated by UNESCO on 18th April every year for the awareness of people towards these places.
- As of July 2019, 1,121 places from 167 countries have been included in the list of World Heritage Sites, including 869 cultural, 213 natural and 39 mixed buildings.
- China has the largest number of sites listed in the list of World Heritage Sites by UNESCO (55), followed by Italy (55), Spain (48), France (44), Germany (46), India (38), Mexico (35). ), the United Kingdom (32) and 31 places from the British Overseas Territories are included in this list.
- According to the Union Ministry of Culture, the total number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in India is 39, including 31 cultural, 7 natural and 1 mixed site.
- The Kakatiya Rudreswara Temple (also known as Ramappa Temple) at Palampet in Mulugu district, near Warangal in Telangana, during the 44th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee UNESCO World Heritage Site Inscribed on the heritage list.
- Jaipur, the capital of the Indian state of Rajasthan, is the largest city in the 43rd session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee held in the year 2019. Which is also known as the Pink City. It has been included in the list of World Heritage Sites.
- The sites to be included in the year 2018 are - 'The Victorian and Art Deco Ensemble of Mumbai' and 'Art Deco' buildings of Mumbai were included in the list of World Heritage Sites.
- The sites to be included in the year 2016 are the Capitol Complex of Chandigarh, Kanchenjunga Park and the archaeological site of Nalanda University.
- Ajanta and Ellora caves and Agra fort were first included in the list of World Heritage by UNESCO in the year 1983 from India.
List of World Heritage Sites of India declared by UNESCO:
Names of Places | State Names | year |
Taj Mahal | Uttar Pradesh | 1983 |
Agra Fort | Uttar Pradesh | 1983 |
Ajanta Caves | Maharashtra | 1983 |
Ellora Caves | Maharashtra | 1983 |
Sun Temple at Konark | Odisha | 1984 |
Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram | Tamil Nadu | 1984 |
Kaziranga National Park | Assam | 1985 |
Manas Wildlife Sanctuary | Assam | 1985 |
Keola Dev National Park | Rajasthan | 1985 |
Churches and Monasteries of Old Goa | Goa | 1986 |
Fatehpur Sikri | Uttar Pradesh | 1986 |
Hampi Group of Monuments | Karnataka | 1986 |
Khajuraho Temples | Madhya Pradesh | 1986 |
Elephanta Caves | Maharashtra | 1987 |
Pattadakal Group of Monuments | Karnataka | 1987 |
Sunderbans National Park | West Bengal | 1987 |
Brihadisvara Temple | Tamil Nadu | 1987 |
Nanda Devi National Park | Uttarakhand | 1988 |
Buddhist Monuments at Sanchi | Madhya Pradesh | 1989 |
Humayun's Tomb | Delhi | 1993 |
Darjeeling Himalayan Railway | West Bengal | 1999 |
Mahabodhi Temple | Bihar | 2002 |
Bhimbetka Caves | Madhya Pradesh | 2003 |
Gangai Koda Cholapuram Temple | Tamil Nadu | 2004 |
Airavatesvara Temple | Tamil Nadu | 2004 |
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus | Maharashtra | 2004 |
Nilgiri Mountain Railway | Tamil Nadu | 2005 |
Valley of Flowers National Park | Uttarakhand | 2005 |
Red Fort | Delhi | 2007 |
Kalka Shimla Railway | Himachal Pradesh | 2008 |
Simlipal Sanctuary | Odisha | 2009 |
Nokrek Sanctuary | Meghalaya | 2009 |
Bhitarkanika Garden | Odisha | 2010 |
Jantar Mantar of Jaipur | Rajasthan | 2010 |
Western Ghats | Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu | 2012 |
Amer Fort | Rajasthan | 2013 |
Ranthambore Fort | Rajasthan | 2013 |
Kumbhalgarh Fort | Rajasthan | 2013 |
Sonar Fort | Rajasthan | 2013 |
Chittorgarh Fort | Rajasthan | 2013 |
Gagron Fort | Rajasthan | 2013 |
Rani ka Vav | Gujarat | 2014 |
Great Himalaya National Park | Himachal Pradesh | 2014 |
Capital Complex of Chandigarh | Chandigarh, Punjab | 2016 |
Kanchenjunga Park | Sikkim | 2016 |
Archaeological site of Nalanda University | Bihar | 2016 |
Victorian Gothic | Mumbai, Maharashtra | 2018 |
Art Deco | Mumbai, Maharashtra | 2018 |
Jaipur | Jaipur, Rajasthan | 2019 |
Kakatiya Rudreshwar Temple | Mulugu, Warangal, Telangana | 2020 |
Rampappa Temple | Telangana | 2021 |
Dholavira | Gujarat | 2021 |
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Ajanta was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in the year 1983. The Ajanta Caves are about 29 rock-cut Buddhist monument caves located in Maharashtra, India, dating back to the 2nd century BC. Excellent samples of depiction and craftsmanship related to Buddhism are found here.
In the year 2003, UNESCO declared the Bhimbetka Rock Shelters Caves as a World Heritage Site. Bhimbetka (भिमबेथका) is a Palaeolithic residential site located in Raisen district of Madhya Pradesh state, India. It is famous for rock paintings and rock shelters made by early humans.
On July 1, 2012, the Western Ghats of India was included in the World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The mountain range situated on the west coast of India is called Western Ghats or Sahyadri. Along the western edge of the Deccan plateau, this mountain range is 1600 km long from north to south.
Ramappa Temple, Telangana. Out of these 39 UNESCO heritage sites in India, this list includes 31 cultural sites, 7 natural sites and 1 mixed site.2
There is no identified cultural site recognized by UNESCO as a 'World Heritage Site' in South America.