1. HERITAGE
SITES IN INDIA
PRESENTED BY:
CELIN VAVACHEN

2. INTRODUCTION
 There are 32 World
Heritage Sites in
India that are recognized
by the United Nations
Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization
as of 2014.
 Of these 32 sites, 25 are
cultural sites and the
other seven are natural
sites.

4. WHY IS SUNDERBANS UNIQUE?
 Sunderbans is a national park, UNESCO World Heritage site
(1987) and a tiger reserve in West Bengal.
 About half of the Sunderbans is under water.
 The Indian Sunderbans forms the largest tiger reserve and
national park in India, and is home to 250 tigers.
 Sunderbans is also noted for its conservation of the Ridley
sea turtle.

5. SUNDERBANS NATIONAL
PARK

9. NANDA DEVI AND VALLEY OF
FLOWERS NATIONAL PARKS
 The Nanda Devi National Park is located in the upper Himalayan
ranges in the state of Uttarakhand.
 The Nanda Devi mountain, which is the second highest peak in
India soars to over 7,800 meters, and dominates the park on three
sides.
 Home to rare and endangered animals like Asiatic Black Bear, Snow
Leopard, Brown Bear and Blue Sheep.
 Together with the Valley of Flowers, Nanda Devi National Park has
been designated as an UNESCO World Heritage Site since the
year 1988.

14. WHY IS SANCHI AN IMPORTANT
BUDDHIST SITE?
 Sanchi in Madhya Pradesh is world famous for the ruins of
stupas , temples and monasteries.
 It is the largest and oldest Buddhist sanctuary in India.
 The Emperor Asoka built over 84,000 stupas.
 The Great Stupa at Sanchi is one of the oldest in India.
 The Asoka Pillar at Sanchi is a beautifully proportioned
structure.
 Declared as UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1989.

18. HUMAYUN’S TOMB
 Humayun’s tomb is the first distinct example of the pure
Mughal style, which was inspired by Persian architecture.
 The Taj Mahal has been inspired by Humayun’s tomb.
 Humayun’s Persian wife, Hamida Begum, supervised the
construction of her husband’s tomb in Delhi, from 1562-
1572.
 Declared as UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993.

22. QUTB MINAR
 Built by Sultan Qutbu’d Din Aibak.
 The work started in 1202, completed by his successor It is
72.5 meters tall, and to reach the top, one would have to
climb 379 steps, five times a day.
 Verses from the Holy Koran are carved on its sandstone
walls.
 Declared as UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993.

24. MOUNTAIN RAILWAYS
 There are three mountain railways in India that are
included in the World Heritage List.
 The first is the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway which was
opened in 1881.
 The second is the Nilgiris Mountain Railway which is 46 kms
long in Tamilnadu.
 The third railway is the Kalka Shimla Railway which is 96
kms long.
 Declared as UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999, 2005,
2008.

25.  The Darjeeling
Himalayan Railway
was laid to connect
Darjeeling with
Silguri.
 Passes through 13
stations.
 Known as Toy
Train.

26.  Nilgiris mountain
railway connects the
hill station of Ooty to
Mettupalayam.
 1899- the first train
chugged up this track.
 There are 208 curves
and 13 tunnels, and 27
viaducts on the route.
 The terminus is at
Ooty at 2,203 meters
above sea level.

27.  The Kalka Shimla Railway runs through 103 tunnels, across more
than 800 bridges and viaducts.
 It takes almost 5 hours to make its way up almost 4800 feet
from Kalka to Shimla.
 This rail route features in the Guinness Book of World Records
for offering the steepest rise in altitude in the space of 96 kms.

28. MAHABODHI TEMPLE
 Literally means the
‘Great Awakening
Temple’.
 Located in Bodh Gaya in
Bihar, at the place
where Lord Buddha
attained Enlightenment.
 Declared as a World
Heritage Site by
UNESCO in 2002.

30. BHIMBETKA ROCK SHELTERS
 The Bhimbetka Rock Shelters were discovered by Vishnu
Sridhar Wakankar, an archaeologist, in 1957.
 They were actually discovered by accident during a train
ride that he undertook.
 In 1975, he was awarded the Padmashree Award.
 Located in Madhya Pradesh.
 There are more than 700 rock shelters, of which over 400
of them are remarkable for their paintings.
 Declared as UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003.

32. CHAMPANER- PAVAGADH
ARCHAEOLOGICAL PARK
 The Champaner- Pavagadh Archaeological Park is the site of
the regional capital city built by Mehmud Begda in the 16th
century.
 Pavagadh Hill was a famous Hindu Fortress.
 In 1484, Sultan Mahmud Begarah took possession of the
fort, and renamed it Muhammadabad.
 The Park is located at the foot of, and around Pavagadh Hill.
 The park is spread over 3 levels.
 Base-Champaner, top of the hills- Pavagadh, and area
connecting them- Marchi.
 Declared as UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004.

33. CHHATRAPATI SHIVAJI TERMINUS
 The Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, formerly known as
Victoria Terminus in Mumbai.
 CST was designed by the British architect Frederick
William Stevens.
 Work began in 1878, and was completed 10 years later.
 On 2nd July 2004, the World Heritage Committee of
UNESCO nominated this magnificent specimen of late 19th
century railway architecture as a World Heritage Site.
 This terminus is one of the rare specimens of the excellent
fusion of traditional western and Indian architecture.

36. RED FORT
 The fifth Mughal Emperor of India, Shah Jahan built a new
capital which he named Shahjahanabad.
 Its palace fort was the Red Fort Complex, which was so
called because of its massive walls of red sandstones.
 Declared as UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007.
 Lahori gate, Kashmiri gate, Kabul gate and Ajmer gate are
the entrance gates to the Red Fort.

38. JANTAR MANTAR
 Built by Maharaja Sawai
Jai Singh II between 1727
and 1734 at Jaipur.
 The Samrat Yantra, the
largest instrument is 27
meters high, and its
shadow has been carefully
plotted to tell the time of
the day.

39. Declared as UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2010.

40. WESTERN GHATS
 The Western Ghats are a mountain range that runs almost
parallel to the western coast of Indian peninsula. It is one
of the eight "hottest hotspots" of biological diversity in the
world.
 It is sometimes called the Great Escarpment of India.
 Declared as UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2012.
 The range starts near the border
of Gujarat and Maharashtra, south of the Tapti River, and
runs approximately 1,600 km (990 mi) through the states
of Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and
Kerala ending at Kanyakumari, at the southern tip of India.

43. HILL FORTS OF RAJASTHAN
 The Hill Forts of Rajasthan in northern India are
a UNESCO World Heritage Site. They comprise:
Chittorgarh Fort
Kumbhalgarh Fort
Ranthambore Fort
Gagron Fort
Amber Fort
Jaisalmer Fort
 Declared as UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014.

46. RANI KI VAV
 Rani Ki vav (Queen’s
Stepwell) is an
intricately
constructed stepwell
situated in the town
of Patan in Gujarat,
India.
 It was included in the
list of UNESCO's
World Heritage Site
on 22 June 2014.

48. GREAT HIMALAYAN NATIONAL PARK
 The Great Himalayan
National Park (GHNP), is one
of India's national park, is
located in Kullu region in the
state of Himachal Pradesh.
 The park was built in 1984.
 In June 2014, the Great
Himalayan National Park was
added to the UNESCO list
of World Heritage Sites.

51. CONCLUSION
 Heritage is something that is passed down to us from our
forefathers.
 In this respect, heritage is a gift from past generations to
future generations.
 The term ‘World Heritage Sites’ is used to refer to those
treasures of the past and wonders of nature that are so
unique that all the nations of the World have a duty to
protect them, irrespective of the country that they are
located in.

52. REFERENCE
• www.wikipedia.com