UNESCO World Heritage Sites

UNESCO World Heritage Sites A World Heritage site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). World Heritage sites are designated by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, scientific or other forms of significance. 

• The sites are judged to contain “cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity (OUV)”. 
• As of July 2024, a total of 1,199 World Heritage Sites (933 cultural, 227 natural, and 39 mixed properties) exist across 168 countries. 
• The countries with the most sites are Italy (59), China (57), Germany (52), France (52), Spain (50), India (42), Mexico (35), the United Kingdom (33) and Russia (31). 
• India has 42 world heritage sites, out of which 34 are cultural, 7 are natural sites and 1 mixed category. 
• The first site listed as a World Heritage site in India was Agra Fort (1983). The same year, Taj Mahal (1983), Ellora Caves (1983) and Ajanta Caves (1983) were inscribed on the list by the World Heritage Committee. 
• Considering that 57 more sites are on India’s World Heritage Tentative list, the addition of India’s heritage monuments will be a game changer in the tourism sector. 

1. Agra Fort:  

Year of Inscription : 1983, State : Uttar Pradesh , Category : Cultural Properties

• Near the gardens of the Taj Mahal stands the important 16th-century Mughal monument known as the Red Fort of Agra. 
• This powerful fortress of red sandstone encompasses, within its 2.5- km-long enclosure walls, the imperial city of the Mughal rulers. It comprises many fairy-tale palaces, such as the Jahangir Palace and the Khas Mahal, built by Shah Jahan; audience halls, such as the Diwan-i-Khas; and two very beautiful mosques.

2. Ajanta Caves:

Year of Inscription : 1983, State : Uttar Pradesh, Category : Cultural 

• The first Buddhist cave monuments at Ajanta date from the 2nd and 1st centuries B.C. During the Gupta period (5th and 6th centuries A.D.), many more richly decorated caves were added to the original group. 
• The paintings and sculptures of Ajanta, considered masterpieces of Buddhist religious art, have had a considerable artistic influence.

3. Ellora Caves:

Year of Inscription : 1983 State : Maharashtra Category : Cultural Properties 

• These 34 monasteries and temples, extending over more than 2 km, were dug side by side in the wall of a high basalt cliff, not far from Aurangabad, in Maharashtra. 
• Ellora, with its uninterrupted sequence of monuments dating from A.D. 600 to 1000, brings the civilization of ancient India to life. 
• Not only is the Ellora complex a unique artistic creation and a technological exploit but, with its sanctuaries devoted to Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism, it illustrates the spirit of tolerance that was characteristic of ancient India.

4. Taj Mahal

Year of Inscription : 1983, State : Uttar Pradesh, Category : Cultural Properties 

• An immense mausoleum of white marble, built in Agra between 1631 and 1648 by order of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favourite wife, the Taj Mahal is the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world’s heritage.

5. Sun Temple, Konârak

Year of Inscription : 1984, State : Odisha, Category : Cultural Properties 

• On the shores of the Bay of Bengal, bathed in the rays of the rising sun, the temple at Konarak is a monumental representation of the sun god Surya’s chariot; its 24 wheels are decorated with symbolic designs and it is led by a team of six horses. 
• Built in the 13th century, it is one of India’s most famous Brahman sanctuaries. 

6. Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram:

Year of Inscription : 1984, State : Tamil Nadu, Category : Cultural Properties 

• This group of sanctuaries, founded by the Pallava kings, was carved out of rock along the Coromandel coast in the 7th and 8th centuries. 
• It is known especially for its rathas (temples in the form of chariots), mandapas (cave sanctuaries), giant open-air reliefs such as the famous ‘Descent of the Ganges’, and the temple of Rivage, with thousands of sculptures to the glory of Shiva.

7. Kaziranga National Park

Year of Inscription : 1985, State : Assam, Category : Natural Properties 

• In the heart of Assam, this park is one of the last areas in eastern India undisturbed by a human presence. 
• It is inhabited by the world’s largest population of one-horned rhinoceroses, as well as many mammals, including tigers, elephants, panthers and bears, and thousands of birds.

8. Keoladeo National Park Year of Inscription : 1985 State : Rajasthan Category : Natural 

Properties 

• This former duck-hunting reserve of the Maharajas is one of the major wintering areas for large numbers of aquatic birds from Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, China and Siberia. Some 364 species of birds, including the rare Siberian crane, have been recorded in the park.

9. Manas Wildlife Sanctuary

Year of Inscription : 1985, State : Assam, Category : Natural Properties 

• On a gentle slope in the foothills of the Himalayas, where wooded hills give way to alluvial grasslands and tropical forests, the Manas sanctuary is home to a great variety of wildlife, including many endangered species, such as the tiger, pygmy hog, Indian rhinoceros and Indian elephant. 

10. Khajuraho Group of Monuments: Year of Inscription : 1986, State : Madhya Pradesh Category : Cultural Properties 

• The temples at Khajuraho were built during the Chandella dynasty, which reached its apogee between 950 and 1050. Only about 20 temples remain; they fall into three distinct groups and belong to two different religions – Hinduism and Jainism. 
• They strike a perfect balance between architecture and sculpture. The Temple of Kandariya is decorated with a profusion of sculptures that are among the greatest masterpieces of Indian art.

11. Fatehpur Sikri: Year of Inscription : 1986, State : Uttar Pradesh Category : Cultural Properties 

• Built during the second half of the 16th century by the Emperor Akbar, Fatehpur Sikri (the City of Victory) was the capital of the Mughal Empire for only some 10 years. 
• The complex of monuments and temples, all in a uniform architectural style, includes one of the largest mosques in India, the Jama Masjid. 

12. Churches and Convents of Goa: Year of Inscription : 1986,  State : Goa,  Category : Cultural Properties 

• The churches and convents of Goa, the former capital of the Portuguese Indies – particularly the Church of Bom Jesus, which contains the tomb of St Francis-Xavier – illustrate the evangelization of Asia. 
• These monuments were influential in spreading forms of Manueline, Mannerist and Baroque art in all the countries of Asia where missions were established.

13. Group of Monuments at Hampi, Year of Inscription : 1986, State : Karnataka Category : Cultural Properties 

• The austere, grandiose site of Hampi was the last capital of the last great Hindu Kingdom of Vijayanagar. 
• Its fabulously rich princes built Dravidian temples and palaces which won the admiration of travellers between the 14th and 16th centuries. 
• Conquered by the Deccan Muslim confederacy in 1565, the city was pillaged over a period of six months before being abandoned.

 

14. Sundarbans National Park: Year of Inscription : 1987, State : West Bengal Category : Natural Properties 

• The Sundarbans covers 10,000 km2 of land and water (more than half of it in India, the rest in Bangladesh) in the Ganges delta. 
• It contains the world’s largest area of mangrove forests. A number of rare or endangered species live in the park, including tigers, aquatic mammals, birds and reptiles.

15. Elephanta Caves: Year of Inscription : 1987, State : Maharashtra Category : Cultural Properties 

• The ‘City of Caves’, on an island in the Sea of Oman close to Mumbai, contains a collection of rock art linked to the cult of Shiva. 
• Here, Indian art has found one of its most perfect expressions, particularly the huge high reliefs in the main cave.

16. Group of Monuments at Pattadakal: Year of Inscription : 1987, State : Karnataka Category : Cultural Properties 

• Pattadakal, in Karnataka, represents the high point of an eclectic art which, in the 7th and 8th centuries under the Chalukya dynasty, achieved a harmonious blend of architectural forms from northern and southern India. 
• An impressive series of nine Hindu temples, as well as a Jain sanctuary, can be seen there. 
• One masterpiece from the group stands out – the Temple of Virupaksha, built in 740 by Queen Lokamahadevi to commemorate her husband’s victory over the kings from the South.

 

17. Great Living Chola Temples

Year of Inscription : 1987, 2004, State : Tamil Nadu Category : Cultural Properties 

• The Great Living Chola Temples were built by kings of the Chola Empire. The site includes three great 11th- and 12th-century 
• Temples: the Brihadisvara Temple at Thanjavur, the Brihadisvara Temple at Gangaikondacholisvaram and the Airavatesvara Temple at Darasuram. 
• The Temple of Gangaikondacholisvaram, was completed in 1035. The Airavatesvara temple complex at Darasuram features a 24-m vimana and a stone image of Shiva. 
• The temples testify to the brilliant achievements of the Chola in architecture, sculpture, painting and bronze casting.

18. Nanda Devi and Valley of Flowers National Parks

Year of Inscription : 1988, 2005 State : Uttarakhand Category : Natural Properties 

 

• Nestled high in West Himalaya, India’s Valley of Flowers National Park is renowned for its meadows of endemic alpine flowers and outstanding natural beauty. 
• This richly diverse area is also home to rare and endangered animals, including the Asiatic black bear, snow leopard, brown bear and blue sheep. 
• The gentle landscape of the Valley of Flowers National Park complements the rugged mountain wilderness of Nanda Devi National Park. 
• Together they encompass a unique transition zone between the mountain ranges of the Zanskar and Great Himalaya, praised by mountaineers and botanists for over a century and in Hindu mythology for much longer.

19. Buddhist Monuments at Sanchi 

Year of Inscription : 1989 State : Madhya Pradesh Category : Cultural Properties 

• On a hill overlooking the plain and about 40 km from Bhopal, the site of Sanchi comprises a group of Buddhist monuments (monolithic pillars, palaces, temples and monasteries) all in different states of conservation most of which date back to the 2nd and 1st centuries B.C. 
• It is the oldest Buddhist sanctuary in existence and was a major Buddhist centre in India until the 12th century A.D.

20. Humayun’s Tomb, Delhi

Year of Inscription : 1993 State : Delhi Category : Cultural Properties 

• This tomb, built in 1570, is of particular cultural significance as it was the first garden-tomb on the Indian subcontinent. 
• It inspired several major architectural innovations, culminating in the construction of the Taj Mahal.

21. Qutb Minar and its Monuments, Delhi 

Year of Inscription : 1993 State : Delhi Category : Cultural Properties 

• Built in the early 13th century a few kilometres south of Delhi, the red sandstone tower of Qutb Minar is 72.5 m high, tapering from 2.75 m in diameter at its peak to 14.32 m at its base, and alternating angular and rounded flutings. 
• The surrounding archaeological area contains funerary buildings, notably the magnificent Alai-Darwaza Gate, the masterpiece of IndoMuslim art (built in 1311), and two mosques, including the Quwwatu’l-Islam, the oldest in northern India, built of materials reused from some 20 Brahman temples.

 

22. Mountain Railways of India 

Year of Inscription : 1999, 2005, 2008 State : Darjeeling, West Bengal, Nilgiri, Tamil Nadu, Kalka-Shimla, Himachal Pradesh Category : Cultural Properties 

This site includes three railways. 

• The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway was the first, and is still the most outstanding, example of a hill passenger railway. Opened in 1881, its design applies bold and ingenious engineering solutions to the problem of establishing an effective rail link across a mountainous terrain of great beauty. 
• The construction of the Nilgiri Mountain Railway, a 46-km long metre-gauge single-track railway in Tamil Nadu State was first proposed in 1854, but due to the difficulty of the mountainous location the work only started in 1891 and was completed in 1908. This railway, scaling an elevation of 326 m to 2,203 m, represented the latest technology of the time. 
• The Kalka Shimla Railway, a 96-km long, single track working rail link built in the mid-19th century to provide a service to the highland town of Shimla is emblematic of the technical and material efforts to disenclave mountain populations through the railway. All three railways are still fully operational.

23. Mahabodhi Temple Complex at Bodh Gaya 

Year of Inscription : 2002, State : Bihar, Category : Cultural Properties 

• The Mahabodhi Temple Complex is one of the four holy sites related to the life of the Lord Buddha, and particularly to the attainment of Enlightenment. 
• The first temple was built by Emperor Asoka in the 3rd century B.C., and the present temple dates from the 5th or 6th centuries. 
• It is one of the earliest Buddhist temples built entirely in brick, still standing in India, from the late Gupta period. 

24. Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka

Year of Inscription : 2003, State : Madhya Pradesh, Category : Cultural Properties 

• The Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka are in the foothills of the Vindhya Mountains on the southern edge of the central Indian plateau. 
• Within massive sandstone outcrops, above comparatively dense forest, are five clusters of natural rock shelters, displaying paintings that appear to date from the Mesolithic Period right through to the historical period. 
• The cultural traditions of the inhabitants of the twenty-one villages adjacent to the site bear a strong resemblance to those represented in the rock paintings.

 

25. Champaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park

Year of Inscription : 2004, State : Gujarat, Category : Cultural Properties 

• A concentration of largely unexcavated archaeological, historic and living cultural heritage properties cradled in an impressive landscape which includes prehistoric (chalcolithic) sites, a hill fortress of an early Hindu capital, and remains of the 16th-century capital of the state of Gujarat. 
• The site also includes, among other vestiges, fortifications, palaces, religious buildings, residential precincts, agricultural structures and water installations, from the 8th to 14th centuries. 
• The Kalikamata Temple on top of Pavagadh Hill is considered to be an important shrine, attracting large numbers of pilgrims throughout the year. The site is the only complete and unchanged Islamic pre-Mughal city. 

26. Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (formerly Victoria Terminus) 

Year of Inscription : 2004 State : Maharashtra Category : Cultural Properties 

• The Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, formerly known as Victoria Terminus Station, in Mumbai, is an outstanding example of Victorian Gothic Revival architecture in India, blended with themes deriving from Indian traditional architecture. 
• The building, designed by the British architect F. W. Stevens, became the symbol of Bombay as the ‘Gothic City’ and the major international mercantile port of India. 
• The terminal was built over 10 years, starting in 1878, according to a High Victorian Gothic design based on late medieval Italian models. 
• Its remarkable stone dome, turrets, pointed arches and eccentric ground plan are close to traditional Indian palace architecture. 
• It is an outstanding example of the meeting of two cultures, as British architects worked with Indian craftsmen to include Indian architectural tradition and idioms thus forging a new style unique to Bombay.

27. Red Fort Complex

Year of Inscription : 2007 State : Delhi Category : Cultural Properties 

• The Red Fort Complex was built as the palace fort of Shahjahanabad – the new capital of the fifth Mughal Emperor of India, Shah Jahan. 
• Named for its massive enclosing walls of red sandstone, it is adjacent to an older fort, the Salimgarh, built by Islam Shah Suri in 1546, with which it forms the Red Fort Complex. 
• The private apartments consist of a row of pavilions connected by a continuous water channel, known as the Nahr-i-Behisht (Stream of Paradise). 
• The Red Fort is considered to represent the zenith of Mughal creativity which, under the Shah Jahan, was brought to a new level of refinement. 
• The planning of the palace is based on Islamic prototypes, but each pavilion reveals architectural elements typical of Mughal building, reflecting a fusion of Persian, Timurid and Hindu traditions 
• The Red Fort’s innovative planning and architectural style, including the garden design, strongly influenced later buildings and gardens in Rajasthan, Delhi, Agra and further afield.

28. The Jantar Mantar, Jaipur

Year of Inscription : 2010 State : Rajasthan Category : Cultural Properties 

• The Jantar Mantar, in Jaipur, is an astronomical observation site built in the early 18th century. It includes a set of some 20 main fixed instruments. 
• They are monumental examples in masonry of known instruments but which in many cases have specific characteristics of their own. 
• Designed for the observation of astronomical positions with the naked eye, they embody several architectural and instrumental innovations. 
• This is the most significant, most comprehensive, and the best preserved of India’s historic observatories. 
• It is an expression of the astronomical skills and cosmological concepts of the court of a scholarly prince at the end of the Mughal period. 

29. Western Ghats 

Year of Inscription : 2012, State : Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Category : Natural Properties 

• Older than the Himalaya mountains, the mountain chain of the Western Ghats represents geomorphic features of immense importance with unique biophysical and ecological processes. 
• The site’s high montane forest ecosystems influence the Indian monsoon weather pattern. 
• Moderating the tropical climate of the region, the site presents one of the best examples of the monsoon system on the planet. 
• It also has an exceptionally high level of biological diversity and endemism and is recognized as one of the world’s eight ‘hottest hotspots’ of biological diversity. 
• The forests of the site include some of the best representatives of non-equatorial tropical evergreen forests anywhere and are home to at least 325 globally threatened flora, fauna, bird, amphibian, reptile and fish species.

30. Hill Forts of Rajasthan 

Year of Inscription : 2013 State : Rajasthan Category : Cultural Properties 

• The serial site, situated in the state of Rajastahan, includes six majestic forts in Chittorgarh; Kumbhalgarh; Sawai Madhopur; Jhalawar; Jaipur, and Jaisalmer. 
• The eclectic architecture of the forts, some up to 20 kilometres in circumference, bears testimony to the power of the Rajput princely states that flourished in the region from the 8th to the 18th centuries. 
• Enclosed within defensive walls are major urban centres, palaces, trading centres and other buildings including temples that often predate the fortifications within which developed an elaborate courtly culture that supported learning, music and the arts. Some of the urban centres enclosed in the fortifications have survived, as have many of the site’s temples and other sacred buildings. 
• The forts use the natural defenses offered by the landscape: hills, deserts, rivers, and dense forests. They also feature extensive water harvesting structures, largely still in use today.

31. Great Himalayan National Park Conservation Area

Year of Inscription : 2014, State : Himachal Pradesh, Category : Natural Properties 

• This National Park in the western part of the Himalayan Mountains in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh is characterized by high alpine peaks, alpine meadows and riverine forests. 
• The 90,540 ha property includes the upper mountain glacial and snow meltwater sources of several rivers, and the catchments of water supplies that are vital to millions of downstream users. 
• The GHNPCA protects the monsoon-affected forests and alpine meadows of the Himalayan front ranges. 
• It is part of the Himalaya biodiversity hotspot and includes twenty-five forest types along with a rich assemblage of fauna species, several of which are threatened. This gives the site outstanding significance for biodiversity conservation. 

32. Rani-ki-Vav (the Queen’s Stepwell) at Patan, Gujarat 

Year of Inscription : 2014 State : Gujarat Category : Cultural Properties 

• Rani-ki-Vav was initially built as a memorial to a king in the 11th century AD. It was built at the height of craftsmens’ ability in stepwell construction and the Maru-Gurjara architectural style, reflecting mastery of this complex technique and great beauty of detail and proportions. 
• Designed as an inverted temple highlighting the sanctity of water, it is divided into seven levels of stairs with sculptural panels of high artistic quality; more than 500 principle sculptures and over a thousand minor ones combine religious, mythological and secular imagery, often referencing literary works. 
• The fourth level is the deepest and leads into a rectangular tank 9.5 m by 9.4 m, at a depth of 23 m. The well is located at the westernmost end of the property and consists of a shaft 10 m in diameter and 30 m deep. 

33. Archaeological Site of Nalanda Mahavihara at Nalanda, Bihar 

Year of Inscription : 2016 State : Bihar Category : Cultural Properties 

• The Nalanda Mahavihara site is in the State of Bihar, in north-eastern India. 
• It comprises the archaeological remains of a monastic and scholastic institution dating from the 3rd century BCE to the 13th century CE. 
• It includes stupas, shrines, viharas (residential and educational buildings) and important art works in stucco, stone and metal. 
• Nalanda stands out as the most ancient university of the Indian Subcontinent. It engaged in the organized transmission of knowledge over an uninterrupted period of 800 years. 
• The historical development of the site testifies to the development of Buddhism into a religion and the flourishing of monastic and educational traditions. 

34. Khangchendzonga National Park 

Year of Inscription : 2016 State : Sikkim Category : Mixed Properties 

• Located at the heart of the Himalayan range in northern India (State of Sikkim), the Khangchendzonga National Park includes a unique diversity of plains, valleys, lakes, glaciers and spectacular, snow-capped mountains covered with ancient forests, including the world’s third highest peak, Mount Khangchendzonga. 
• Mythological stories are associated with this mountain and with a great number of natural elements (caves, rivers, lakes, etc.) that are the object of worship by the indigenous people of Sikkim. 
• The sacred meanings of these stories and practices have been integrated with Buddhist beliefs and constitute the basis for Sikkimese identity

35. The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier, an Outstanding Contribution to the Modern Movement 

Year of Inscription : 2016, State : Chandigarh, Category : Cultural Properties 

• Chosen from the work of Le Corbusier, the 17 sites comprising this transnational serial property are spread over seven countries and are a testimonial to the invention of a new architectural language that made a break with the past. 
• They were built over a period of a half-century, in the course of what Le Corbusier described as “patient research”. 
• The Complexe du Capitole in Chandigarh (India), the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo (Japan), the House of Dr Curutchet in La Plata (Argentina) and the Unité d’habitation in Marseille (France) reflect the solutions that the Modern Movement sought to apply during the 20th century to the challenges of inventing new architectural techniques to respond to the needs of society. 
• These masterpieces of creative genius also attest to the internationalization of architectural practice across the planet. 

36. Historic City of Ahmedabad

Year of Inscription : 2017, State : Gujarat, Category : Cultural Properties 

• The walled city of Ahmadabad, founded by Sultan Ahmad Shah in the 15th century, on the eastern bank of the Sabarmati river, presents a rich architectural heritage from the sultanate period, notably the Bhadra citadel, the walls and gates of the Fort city and numerous mosques and tombs as well as important Hindu and Jain temples of later periods. 
• The urban fabric is made up of densely-packed traditional houses (pols) in gated traditional streets (puras) with characteristic features such as bird feeders, public wells and religious institutions. 
• The city continued to flourish as the capital of the State of Gujarat for six centuries, up to the present.

37. Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensembles of Mumbai

Year of Inscription : 2018, State : Maharashtra, Category : Cultural Properties 

• Having become a global trading centre, the city of Mumbai implemented an ambitious urban planning project in the second half of the 19th century. 
• It led to the construction of ensembles of public buildings bordering the Oval Maidan open space, first in the Victorian Neo-Gothic style and then, in the early 20th century, in the Art Deco idiom. 
• The Victorian ensemble includes Indian elements suited to the climate, including balconies and verandas. 
• The Art Deco edifices, with their cinemas and residential buildings, blend Indian design with Art Deco imagery, creating a unique style that has been described as Indo-Deco. 
• These two ensembles bear testimony to the phases of modernization that Mumbai has undergone in the course of the 19th and 20th centuries. 

38. Jaipur City, Rajasthan 

Year of Inscription : 2019, State : Rajasthan,  Category : Cultural Properties 

• The walled city of Jaipur, in India’s north-western state of Rajasthan was founded in 1727 by Sawai Jai Singh II. 
• Unlike other cities in the region located in hilly terrain, Jaipur was established on the plain and built according to a grid plan interpreted in the light of Vedic architecture. 
• The streets feature continuous colonnaded businesses that intersect in the centre, creating large public squares called chaupars. 
• Markets, shops, residences and temples built along the main streets have uniform facades. The city’s urban planning shows an exchange of ideas from ancient Hindu and early modern Mughal as well as Western cultures. 
• The grid plan is a model that prevails in the West, while the organization of the different city sectors (chowkris) refers to traditional Hindu concepts.
• Designed to be a commercial capital, the city has maintained its local commercial, artisanal and cooperative traditions to this day. 

39. Dholavira: a Harappan City 

Year of Inscription : 2021, State : Gujarat, Category : Cultural Properties 

• Dholavira, situated on an arid island in Gujarat, was a prominent city of the Harappan Civilization from approximately 3000-1500 BCE. 
• Known for its well-preserved urban layout, it features a fortified city with a castle, ceremonial grounds, and a sophisticated water management system reflecting the inhabitants’ adaptation to the region’s scarce water resources. 
• The site also includes a diverse cemetery with unique cenotaphs, bead workshops, and a variety of artifacts such as copper, shell, stone, and semi-precious jewelry, illustrating the cultural and technological achievements of the Harappan people. 
• Evidence of extensive trade links with other Harappan cities, as well as regions like Mesopotamia and Oman, highlights Dholavira’s role in ancient commerce. 

40. Kakatiya Rudreshwara (Ramappa) Temple, Telangana

Year of Inscription : 2021, State : Telangana, Category : Cultural Properties

• The Ramappa Temple, built between 1213 and 1214 CE during the Kakatiyan period, stands in Palampet, about 200 km northeast of Hyderabad, Telangana. 
• Known for its pyramidal Vimana constructed with lightweight porous bricks, the temple showcases intricate sculptures depicting regional dance forms and Kakatiyan cultural motifs. 
• Situated amidst a natural setting of hills, forests, and agricultural lands near the Ramappa Cheruvu reservoir, it exemplifies the dharmic principle of harmonizing religious structures with their natural environment.

41. Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysalas 

Year of Inscription : 2023, State : Karnataka, Category : Cultural Properties 

• This serial property encompasses the three most representative examples of Hoysala-style temple complexes in southern India, dating from the 12th to 13th centuries. 
• The Hoysala style was created through careful selection of contemporary temple features and those from the past to create a different identity from neighbouring kingdoms. 
• The shrines are characterized by hyper-real sculptures and stone carvings that cover the entire architectural surface, a circumambulatory platform, a large-scale sculptural gallery, a multi-tiered frieze, and sculptures of the Sala legend. 
• The excellence of the sculptural art underpins the artistic achievement of these temple complexes, which represent a significant stage in the historical development of Hindu temple architecture. 

42. Santiniketan

Year of Inscription : 2023, State : West Bengal, Category : Cultural Properties 

• Established in rural West Bengal in 1901 by the renowned poet and philosopher Rabindranath Tagore, Santiniketan was a residential school and centre for art based on ancient Indian traditions and a vision of the unity of humanity transcending religious and cultural boundaries. 
• A ‘world university’ was established at Santiniketan in 1921, recognizing the unity of humanity or “Visva Bharati”. 
• Distinct from the prevailing British colonial architectural orientations of the early 20th century and of European modernism, Santiniketan represents approaches toward a pan-Asian modernity, drawing on ancient, medieval and folk traditions from across the region. 

43. Moidams 

• In a significant cultural milestone for India, the “Moidams – the Mound-Burial System of the Ahom Dynasty” from Assam has been officially added to the UNESCO World Heritage List. 
• Announced on 26th July 2024 during the 46th session of the World Heritage Committee in New Delhi, this recognition makes it the 43rd UNESCO World Heritage site from India.

UNESCO World Heritage Sites (2)