World Heritage Sites

in
INDIA
DONE BY: RAJAJI GROUP GIRLS.

QUTUB MINAR-DELHI
Qutab Minar, is the 2nd tallestminar(73 metres) in India
afterFateh BurjinChappar ChiriatMohaliwhich stands
100 meters tall. Qutb Minar originally is aUNESCOWorld
Heritage Site.Located inDelhi, the Qutb Minar is made
of red sandstone and marble. The stairs of the tower has
379 steps,is 72.5 metres (237.8ft) high, and has a base
diameter of 14.3 metres, which narrows to 2.7 metres at
the top.
Construction was started in 1192 byQutb-ud-din Aibak
and was carried on by his successor,Iltutmish. In
1368,Firoz Shah Tughlaqconstructed the fifth and the
last storey. It is surrounded by several other ancient and
medieval structures and ruins, collectively known as

AJANTA CAVES-MAHARASHTRA
TheAjanta
Caves
in
Aurangabad
districtofMaharashtra,Indiaare
about
30
rockcutBuddhistcave monuments which date from the 2nd
centuryBCEto about 480 or 650 CE.
The caves include paintings and sculptures described by
the governmentArchaeological Survey of Indiaas "the
finest surviving examples of Indian art, particularly
painting"which are masterpieces ofBuddhist religious
art, with figures of the Buddha and depictions of
theJatakatales.
The caves were built in two phases starting around the
2nd century BCE, with the second group of caves built
around 400650CEaccording to older accounts, or all in a
brief period of 460 to 480 according to the recent
proposals of Walter M. Spink.The site is a protected
monument in the care of the Archaeological Survey of

KHAJURAHO GROUP OF MONUMENTS

MADHYA PRADESH
TheKhajurahoGroupofMonumentsareagroupofHinduand
JaintemplesinMadhyaPradesh,India.About620kilometres
(385mi) southeast of New Delhi, they are one of the
UNESCO World Heritage Sites in India.The temples are
famous for theirNagara-style architectural symbolism and
theireroticsculptures.
MostKhajurahotempleswerebuiltbetween950and1050AD,
during the Chandella dynasty. Historical records note that
Khajurahotemplesitehad85templesby12thcentury,spread
over 20 square kilometers. Of these, only about 20 temples
have survived, spread over 6 square kilometers.Of the
varioussurviving temples, theKandariyatemple isdecorated
withaprofusionofsculptureswithintricatedetails,symbolism
andexpressivenessofancientIndianart.
TheKhajurahogroupoftempleswerebuilttogetherbutwere
dedicated to two schools of Hinduismand toJainism-
suggesting a tradition of acceptance and respect for diverse
religiousviewsamongHindusandJains.

JANTAR MANTAR- JAIPUR

The Jantar Mantar is located in the modern city of New
Delhi.
It consists of 13 architecturalastronomyinstruments.
The site is one of five built byMaharajaJai Singh IIofJaipur,
from 1724 onwards, as he was given byMughal
emperorMuhammad Shahthe task of revising the calendar
and astronomical tables. There is a plaque fixed on one of
the structures in theJantar Mantarobservatory inNew
Delhithat was placed there in 1910 mistakenly dating the
construction of the complex to the year 1710. Later
research, though, suggests 1724 as the actual year of
construction.
The primary purpose of the observatory was to compile
astronomical tables, and to predict the times and
movements of the sun, moon and planets. Some of these
purposes nowadays would be classified asastronomy.
Completed in 1724, the Delhi Jantar Mantar had decayed
considerably by 1867.

MAHABALIPURAM- TAMILNADU
Mahabalipuram, also known asMamallapuramis a town
inKancheepuram districtin theIndianstateofTamil Nadu. It
is around 60km south from the city ofChennai. It is an
ancient historic town and was a bustling seaport during the
time ofPeriplus(1st century CE) and Ptolemy(140 CE).
Ancient Indian traders who went to countries ofSouth East
Asiasailed from the seaport of Mahabalipuram.
By the 7th century it was a port city ofSouth Indiandynasty
of thePallavas. It has a group of sanctuaries, which was
carved out of rock along the Coromandel coast in the 7th
and 8th centuries:rathas(temples in the form of
chariots),mandapas(cave
sanctuaries),
giant
openairreliefssuch as the famous 'Descent of the Ganges', and
theShore Temple, with thousands of sculptures to the glory
ofShiva. Thegroup of monuments at Mahabalipuramhas
been classified as a UNESCOWorld Heritage Site.
It has an average elevation of 12metres (39feet). The
modern city of Mahabalipuram was established by
theBritish Rajin 1827.

SUNDARBANS NATIONAL PARKWEST BENGAL

TheSundarbansisanaturalregioninBengal.
It is the largest single block of tidal halophytic
mangroveforest in the world. The Sundarbans
covers approximately 10,000 square kilometres
(3,900sqmi) of which 60percent is in
Bangladeshwith the remainder in India. The
SundarbansisaUNESCOWorldHeritageSite.
TheSundarbans National Parkis aNational
Park,Tiger Reserve, and aBiosphere Reserve
located in the Sundarbansdeltain the Indian state
ofWest
Bengal.
SundarbansSouth,East
andWestarethreeprotectedforestsinBangladesh.
Thisregionisdenselycoveredbymangroveforests,
and is one of the largest reserves for theBengal
tiger.

RANI KI VAV- GUJARAT

Rani ki vav is an intricately
constructed stepwell situated in the town
of Patan in Gujarat,India. It was added to the list
of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites on 22 June 2014.
Rani ki vav, or Ran-ki vav (Queens step well) was
constructed during the rule of the Solanki dynasty.
It is generally assumed that it was built in the memory
of Bhimdev I (AD 1022 to 1063), the son of Mularaja,
the founder of the Solanki dynasty of Anahilwada
Patan about 1050 AD by his widowed
queen Udayamati and probably completed by
Udayamati and Karandev I after his death. A reference
to Udayamati building the monument is in Prabandha
Chintamani, composed by the Jain monk Merunga
Suri in 1304 AD.

MANAS WILD LIFE

SANCTUARY- ASSAM
Manas National ParkorManas Wildlife
Sanctuaryis aNational
Park,UNESCONaturalWorld Heritage
site, aProject TigerReserve, an
Elephant Reserve and a Biosphere
Reserve inAssam,India. Located in
theHimalayanfoothills, it is contiguous
with theRoyal Manas National
ParkinBhutan. The park is known for its
rare and endangered endemic wildlife
such as theAssam Roofed Turtle,Hispid
Hare,Golden LangurandPygmy Hog.
Manas is famous for its population of
the Wild water buffalo.

CHURCHES AND CONVENTS OF

GOA
Old
Goa or Velha
Goa (Velha means
"old"
in Portuguese) is a historical city in North Goa
district in the Indian state of Goa.
The city was constructed by the Bijapur Sultanate in
the 15th century, and served as capital of Portuguese
India from the 16th century until its abandonment in
the 18th century due to a plague.
It is said to have once been a city of nearly 200,000
where from, before the plague, the Portuguese traded
across continents.
The remains of the city are a UNESCO World Heritage
Site. Old Goa is approximately 10 kilometres east of
the state capital Panjim.

WESTERN GHATS-KERALA
TheWesternGhatsareamountainrangethatrunsalmost
parallel to the western coast ofIndianpeninsula, located
entirely in India. It is aUNESCOWorld Heritage Siteand
isoneoftheeight"hottesthotspots"ofbiologicaldiversity
intheworld.ItissometimescalledtheGreatEscarpment
ofIndia.Therangerunsnorthtosouthalongthewestern
edge of theDeccan Plateau, and separates the plateau
from a narrow coastal plain, calledKonkan, along
theArabian Sea.Atotal of thirty nine properties including
national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and reserve forests
weredesignatedasworldheritagesites-twentyinKerala,
ten inKarnataka, five inTamil Naduand four
inMaharashtra
SouthofthePalghatGaparetheAnaimalaiHills,located
inwesternTamilNaduandKerala.Smallerrangesare
furthersouth,includingtheCardamomHills.

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