PRESENTED BY:

CELIN VAVACHEN

HERITAGE SITES IN INDIA

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.

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.

SUNDERBANS NATIONAL PARK

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway was laid to connect Darjeeling with Silguri.

Passes through 13 stations.

Known as Toy Train.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Declared as UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2010.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

REFERENCE

• www.wikipedia.com