These 34 World Heritage Sites Will Make You Fall in Love with India Again
India is a country resplendent with a beautiful heritage. The sites listed below are widely known around the world, but there are still facts about them that you may not know. Are you ready to be utterly stunned by some of the most famous heritage sites of the world?
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17. Sundarbans National Park
Credits: Wikimedia
- It has the world’s largest mangrove forest and the world’s largest river delta.
- The delta consists of a cluster of a staggering number of 54 small islands.
- Even though it is home to the Royal Bengal Tiger, they are rarely sighted.
- It is inhabited by 260 species of birds and other threatened endangered animals, such as the Indian python.
18. Bodh Gaya
Credit: Wikipedia
- It is believed that this is the land where Lord Buddha gained enlightenment and was known as ‘Urvela’ during his time.
- The main attraction is the Mahabodhi Temple, wherein resides a diamond throne and a holy Bodhi tree.
- Mahabodhi Temple was built by Emperor Ashoka, who embraced Buddhism and visited Bodh Gaya, after having idolised Lord Buddha.
- In 2013, there were a series of low intensity bomb blasts which hit the Mahabodhi Temple complex. However, the architecture and the trees were not damaged in any way.
19. Konark Sun Temple
Credit: Wikipedia
- The entire temple depicts the chariot of the Sun God being pulled by seven horses and was built by King Narasimhadeva I.
- The twelve pairs of wheels, located at the base of the temple, have a sun dial for its spokes and, therefore, all of them tell time.
- The temple is built and aligned in such a manner that the rising sun shines its first rays on the temple.
- The Konark Temple had a lodestone located at the top of the temple, which, according to a myth, helped the king’s throne to sustain itself midair. The collapse of the temple has been attributed to the stealing of this lodestone by Portuguese whose directions of ships would get disrupted, owing to the magnetic effect on their compasses.
20. Mountain Railways, Darjeeling
Credit: Wikipedia
- It is the first hill railway in India and one of the first, in the world.
- There were no tunnels created through the mountains, albeit, the 1934 earthquake required the construction of a small one.
- The sharpest curve which the train faces is 12 degrees.
- The last line was till the Darjeeling Bazaar, which is now lost under small buildings and the road surface of the place.
21. Manas Wildlife Sanctuary
Credit: Wikimedia
- It is situated on the border India shares with Bhutan and lies on the foothills of the Himalayas.
- In 1992 it was declared as one of the World Heritage Sites in Danger by UNESCO, owing to the rampant poaching and terrorist activities. However, in 2002, due to commendable efforts of preservation, UNESCO withdrew this title.
- The Manas Sanctuary is most known for its tiger and elephant reserves.
- Home to a wide range of flora and fauna, Manas Sanctuary is inhabited by endangered animals, birds and plants, such as the Bengal Florican, which has its largest population here.
22. Kaziranga National Park
Credits: Wikimedia
- Its name is derived from ‘Karbi’, which was the name of the woman who ruled the land.
- It harbours the world’s largest population of the endangered Indian one-horned rhinoceroses.
- Amongst a brilliant population of flora and fauna, Kaziranga has 11 stunning species of turtles.
23. Mahabalipuram
Credit: Wikipedia
- There has been a long standing debate about the existence of submerged temples of Mahabalipuram, regarding its truth as opposed to it being just a myth. However, in 2002, on claim of a few fisherman witnessing ruins at the bottom of the sea, a joint project was launched by the National Institute of Oceanography (India) and the Scientific Exploration Society, U.K., to explore the area. They came to the conclusion that there were potential remnants and future exploration was imperative.
- It has the oldest of the existing Dravidian architectural structures.
- Of the nine temples, the most renowned are the Five Rathas which are dedicated in the name of the five Pandavas.
- It has the largest stone-bas relief in the world.
24. Churches of Goa
Credit: Wikipedia
- The Basilica of Bom Jesus holds the mortal remains of St. Francis Xavier.
“The body of St Francis Xavier, which miraculously defied the laws of nature, of turning into dust, lies till this day in a silver casket in the Church of Bom Jesus Basilica in Goa, India.”
– Official Site of Bom Jesus
- The Churches of Old Goa were built to enthrall people into converting to Christianity.
- When the city was constructed in the 15th century, it beamed with a bustling population. However, by the 18th century, repeated conquests of the European states forced people to abandon it, with half its population being eradicated by the colonisers.
- Of the 60 Churches recorded in the 18th century, only 7 major ones survive today.
25. Great Living Chola Temples
Credit: Wikipedia
- The Brihadeeswarar Temple is one of a kind. There exists no other 216-foot tall architectural structure in the world till date, which incorporates a similar magnitude of intricacies.
- The shadow of the Brihadeeswarar Temple never falls on the ground at noon during any part of the year. This isn’t a coincidence; it was built to be so.
- Amidst the numerous carvings of Indian gods, saints and angels, there is a distinct carving of, what some people claim to be, a European man. The other part of the conjecture identifies it as a Chinese figure.
- It was ordered to be broken down in the 19th century by a British Officer, who deemed it was the best source for stones required for the construction of a weir across the Kollidam River. However, there was a huge uproar, which stopped this demolition.
26. Hampi
Credits: Pixabay
- The earliest record of a settlement dates back to 1 CE.
- The beautiful Vittala Temple, is more than just an architectural genius. When tapped gently, their walls make musical sounds. Owing to this, its pillars have the name ‘SAREGAMA pillars’.
- The two elephants placed in front of the ‘Stone Chariot’ are, in fact, not part of the original architecture. The chariot was initially built to be pulled by horses. The hind legs and the tail of one of the horses can still be seen.
- The main coin mint of Vijayanagra was situated here.
27. Nilgiri Mountain Railways
Credit: Wikipedia
- It is the slowest train in India.
- It has engines pushing it from behind when ascending the hills and in front , when coming downhill.
- It still depends on steam locomotives, and is one of the few left in the world to do so.
- Indian Railways faces a deficit of about 4 crores annually, for the management and operation of the NMR.
28. Western Ghats
Credit: Wikipedia
- The largest population of Asian Tigers roams freely across the Ghats. It harbours about 10% of the world’s tiger population and is home to a few of the most spectacular waterfalls in India.
- It may cover less than 6% of India’s land area, but is inhabited by more than 30% of its fauna population, with many rare species still being discovered.
- Only 9% of the Ghats is protected.
- It also harbours Salim Ali’s fruit bat, which is the only species of its kind.
29. Pattadakal
Credit: Pixabay
- The earliest temple to be built was in the 4th century and the latest one, in the 9th century. They have been, to this day, remarkably preserved.
- It was the second capital of the Chalukyan empire.
- It is the place where the Chalukyan kings used to be crowned and was mainly a place for their festivities and other social gatherings.
- The two major temples of Pattadakal, the Virupaksha temple and the Mallikarjuna temple, were built not by a king, but his queens. They were built by the wives of Vikramaditya II in commemoration of his conquests.
30. Champaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park, Gujarat
Photo: whc.unesco.org
- This heritage site is huge and is spread over 1,329 hectares, with an extended 2,812 hectares.
- The site is home to large number of unexcavated archaeological, historic, and living cultural heritage properties.
- Another interesting thing is that the site is the only complete and unchanged Islamic pre-Mughal city.
31. Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur, Rajasthan
Photo: whc.unesco.org
- Located in Bharatpur city, this park is famous for 364 species of wintering birds, which arrive from distant countries like Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, China, etc. In fact, the rare Siberian crane has also been spotted here.
- The national park was earlier a duck-hunting reserve of the Maharajas and was declared as a protected sanctuary in 1971.
- The founder of the World Wildlife Fund Peter Scott, has also said that the Keoladeo Sanctuary is one of the world’s best bird areas.
32. Jantar Mantar, Jaipur
Photo: Wikipedia
- Built by Maharaja Jai Singh II in Jaipur between 1727 and 1734, Jantar Mantar has the world’s largest stone sundial.
- Did you know that the monument was damaged in the 19th century? It was later restored under the supervision of Major Arthur Garrett, a keen amateur astronomer.
- Jai Singh had constructed a total of five such facilities at different locations. And Jaipur’s observatory is the largest and best preserved of these.
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33. Hill Forts of Rajasthan
Photo: Wikipedia
- This is a series of forts located on the rocky Aravali mountains of Rajasthan and portray the power of the Rajput princely states from 8th to 18th centuries.
- The forts include Chittorgarh, Kumbhalgarh, Amber, Ranthambore, Jaisalmer, Gagron. And you have to visit them to get the idea about how majestic these forts are.
- The interesting part of the forts is the use the natural defences offered by the landscape. They also showcase extensive water harvesting structures, largely still in use today.
34. Rani ki Vav, Gujarat
Photo: Wikipedia
- It is a beautiful stepwell situated in Patan, Gujarat. Such water storage systems have been in existence in India since 3rd millennium BC. And what once were a pit of sandy soil, gradually became a multi-storey work of art and architecture.
- Rani ki Vav has an inverted temple and seven levels of stairs. It holds more than 500 principle sculptures. The stepwell is filled with water from Saraswati river.
- It is believed that the stepwell was made in the memory of Bhimdev I , the son of Mularaja, the founder of the Solanki dynasty, by his widowed queen Udayamati.
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