Important Heritage Sites in India

List of Heritage sites of India in Eastern Zone:

1) Bihar

• Mahabodhi Temple Complex at Bodh Gaya – A UNESCO world heritage site & it is a Buddhist temple, known to be where buddha got enlightenment.
• Nalanda – It is a large Buddhist Monastery from the ancient period of Magadha & is spread in 14 hectares.

2) Orissa

• Konarak, Sun Temple – This heritage site was build in 13th Century by a king in the shape of a gigantic chariot. It is spread in 42,804 sq. meters.

3) West Bengal

• Mountain Railways of India – This site includes 3 railways i.e Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, Nilgiri Mountain Railway and Kalka-Shimla Railway. All three railways are still fully functional and operational.
• Sunderban National Park – It is diffused in an area of 10,000 km2 of land & water with a wide range of species living here.

List of Heritage sites of India in Western Zone:

1) Rajasthan

• Red Fort Complex – It is built in the palace fort of shahjanabad, the new capital of the fifth Mughal Emperor of India, Shah Jahan.
• Keoladeo National Park – This heritage site was used to be a duck hunting site by maharajas where large number of species with aquatic birds were found.
• The Jantar Mantar, Jaipur – It is a monument built in 18th Century in Jaipur & is famous for the world largest stone sundial.
• Hill forts of Rajasthan – This heritage site includes 6 different ceremonious forts in Chittorgarh, Kumbhalgarh, Sawai Madhopur, Jhalawar, Jaipur, and Jaisalmer.

2) Gujarat

• Champaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park – This Heritage site is stretched in an area of more than 1,329 hectares. This site is flecked with forts and bastions.
• Rani-ki-Vav (the Queen’s Stepwell) – It was built as a memorial to a king in 11th Century & was built on Sarasvati river. It is a distinctive form of covered water resource and storage systems on the Indian subcontinent.

3) Goa

• Churches and Convents of Goa – It was the former capital of the Portuguese Indies. These monuments were dominant in spreading forms of Manueline, Mannerist and Baroque art in all over Asia.

4) Maharashtra

• Ajanta Caves – It is the first Buddhist cave from the 2nd & 1stCenturies in B.C. The painting & sculptures are the master piece of Ajanta.
• Ellora Caves – Ellora is a largest rock-cut monastery with 34 monasteries and temples, extending over more than 2 km.
• Elephanta Caves – It is the collection of rock art linked to the cult of Shiva & also known as the city of caves located in east Mumbai.
• Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus – Earlier it was known as Victoria Terminus Station and is famous for the themes deriving from Indian traditional architecture.
• Western Ghats – These Ghats are more older than Himalayas & represents the geomorphic features of gigantic importance with unique biophysical and ecological processes.

List of Heritage sites of India in Central Zone:

1) Madhya Pradesh

• Buddhist Monuments at Sanchi – It is exalted for its great stupa but it also comprises of a group of Buddhist monuments.
• Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka – These are the foothills of the Vindhyan Mountains on the southern edge of the central Indian plateau. The site is spread over 10 km in length and about 3 km in width has more than 700 rock shelters.
• Khajuraho Group of Monuments – Here only 25 temples have survived with an area of 6sq. km. 2 different religions of temples are found here – Hinduism & Jainism.

List of Heritage sites of India in Southern Zone:

1) Karnataka

• Group of Monuments at Hampi – It was the last great Hindu Kingdom in Vijayanagar, famous for its Dravidian temple.
• Group of Monuments at Pattadakal – This place represents the broad art of the 7th & 8th Centuries with an impressive series of nine Hindu temples, as well as a Jain sanctuary.

2) Tamil Nadu

• Great Living Chola Temples – This Cultural Heritage site was built in 11th & 12th Century with 3 great temples: the Brihadisvara Temple at Thanjavur, the Brihadisvara Temple at Gangaikondacholisvaram and the Airavatesvara Temple at Darasuram.
• Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram – This area is special for the temples & cave sanctuaries, here the temple has approximately 40 monuments, build in 8th & 7th

List of Heritage sites of India in Northern Zone:

1) Himachal Pradesh

1. Great Himalayan National Park – It is one was of the oldest national park in India spread over an area of 1,171 km2.

2) Uttarakhand

• Nanda Devi and Valley of Flowers National Parks – It is located in the west Himalaya and is known for its meadows of endemic alpine flowers and the variety of flora.

3) Uttar Pradesh

• Agra Fort – It was used to be the main residence of the emperors of the Mughal dynasty. It is spread in a wide area of 2.5km.
• Fatehpur Sikri – It is a city in agra built in the 16th century and it was the capital of the Mughal emperor for about 10 years.
• Taj Mahal – It comes in the seven wonders of the world & recently has been ranked as 5th in the world. It is made on the south bank of Yamuna river by a Mughal emperor with an area of 700 hectares with an estimated cost of 32 million rupees.

List of Heritage sites of India in North Eastern Zone:

1) Assam

• Kaziranga National Park – This national park is eminent for the world's largest population of one-horned rhinoceroses with other mammals.
• Manas Wildlife Sanctuary – It is a reserve for many endangered species & is located in the foothills of Himalayas.

2) Sikkim

• Khangchendzonga National Park – It is a national park as well as a biosphere reserve due to which it has become the first mixed heritage site of India.