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WORLD HERITAGE SITES
The World Heritage Committee has inscribed the following properties
on the World Heritage List. We suggest you to include this list
of sites, whenever you plan to visit INDIA.
1983 Ajanta Caves
1983 Ellora Caves
1983 Agra Fort
1983 Taj Mahal
1984 Sun Temple, Konarak
1985 Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram
1985 Kaziranga National Park
1985 Manas Wildlife Sanctuary
1985 Keoladeo National Park
1986 Churches and Convents of Goa
1986 Khajuraho Group of Monuments
1986 Group of Monuments at Hampi
1986 Fatehpur Sikri
1987 Group of Monuments at Pattadakal
1987 Elephanta Caves
1987 Brihadisvara Temple, Thanjavur
1987 Sundarbans National Park
1988 Nanda Devi National Park
1989 Buddhist Monuments at Sanchi
1993 Humayun's Tomb, Delhi
1993 Qutb Minar and its Monuments, Delhi
1999 Darjeeling Himalayan Railway
2002 Mahabodhi Temple Complex at Bodh Gaya
AJANTA
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.
ELLORA
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.
AGRA FORT
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.
TAJ MAHAL
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.
SUN TEMPLE, KONARAK
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.
GROUP OF MONUMENT AT MAHABALIPURAM
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.
KAZIRANGA NATIONAL PARK
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.
MANAS WILDLIFE SANCTUARY
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.
KEOLADEO NATIONAL PARK
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.
CHURCHES AND CONVENTS OF GOA
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.
KHAJURAHO GROUP OF MONUMENTS
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.
GROUP OF MONUMENTS AT HAMPI
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.
FATEHPUR SIKRI
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.
GROUP OF MONUMENTS AT PATTADAKAL
Pattadakal, in Karnatāka, illustrates the apogee of an eclectic
art which, in the 7th and 8th centuries A.D., under the Chālukya
Dynasty, achieved a harmonious blend of architectural forms from
the north and south of India. An impressive series of nine Hindu
temples, as well as a Jain sanctuary can be seen there. In this
group one masterpiece stands out - the Temple of Virūpāksha, built
around 740 by Queen Lokamahadevi to commemorate her husband's victory
over the kings from the south.
ELEPHANTA CAVES
The 'City of Caves', on an island in the Sea of Oman close to Bombay,
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.
BRIHADISVARA TEMPLE, THANJAVUR
The great Temple of Tanjore (Thanjavur) was built between 1003
and 1010 in the reign of the great King Rajaraja, founder of the
Chola Empire which stretched over all of South India and the neighbouring
islands. Surrounded by two rectangular enclosures, the Brihadisvar
(built from blocks of granite and, in part, from bricks) is crowned
with a pyramidal 13-storey tower, the vimana, standing 61 m high
and topped with a bulb-shaped monolith. The walls of the temple
are covered with rich sculptural decoration.
SUNDARBANS NATIONAL PARK
The Sundarbans covers 10,000 sq. km 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.
NANDA DEVI NATIONAL PARK
The Nanda Devi National Park is one of the most spectacular wilderness
areas in the Himalayas. It is dominated by the peak of Nanda Devi,
which rises to over 7,800 m. No humans live in the park, which has
remained more or less intact because of its inaccessibility. It
is the habitat of several endangered mammals, especially the snow
leopard, Himalayan musk deer and bharal.
BUDDHIST MONUMENTS IN SANCHI
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.
HUMANYUN'S TOMB, DELHI
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.
QUTB MINAR AND ITS MONUMENTS, DELHI
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 Indo-Muslim 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.
DARJEELING HIMALAYAN RAILWAY
The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway is the first, and still the most
outstanding, example of a hill passenger railway. Opened in 1881,
it applied bold, ingenious engineering solutions to the problem
of establishing an effective rail link across a mountainous terrain
of great beauty. It is still fully operational and retains most
of its original features.
MAHABODHI TEMPLE COMPLEX AT BODH GAYA
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. Emperor Asoka built the first temple 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.
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