World Heritage Day 2022: Taj Mahal to Bodh Gaya, 5 UNESCO sites in India

Every year on April 18, the globe celebrates World Heritage Day in order to promote awareness about the cultural heritage that surrounds us. The day also serves as a reminder to protect our cultural variety. International Monuments and Sites Day is another name for this day. India is rich in ancient monuments that characterise our culture and diversity.

Taj Mahal

The Taj Mahal, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, is a funeral mosque. It was built in memory of Emperor Shahjahan's third wife, Begum Mumtaz Mahal, who died in 1631. It was included as a cultural site on the UNESCO World Heritage List under Category I in 1983.

Ajanta Caves, Maharashtra

The Ajanta Caves, located in Maharashtra's Aurangabad, are widely regarded as Buddhist sacred art treasures. There are around 30 rock-cut Buddhist cave monuments dating from the second century BCE to around the year 480 CE. The tunnels are also mentioned in the memoirs of many mediaeval Chinese Buddhist visitors to India, as well as by an Akbar-era Mughal official in the early 17th century.

Kaziranga National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary, Assam

Kaziranga National Park is home to two-thirds of the world's gigantic one-horned rhinoceroses. Kaziranga's 'Big Five' include the One-Horned rhinoceros, Royal Bengal Tiger, Asian elephant, wild water buffalo, and swamp deer. It is a vast area of tall elephant grass, marshes, and deep tropical wet broadleaf forests that is crisscrossed by four major rivers, including the Brahmaputra, and many small bodies of water.

Bodh Gaya, Bihar

The Mahabodhi Shrine Complex is a Buddhist shrine in Bodh Gaya, Bihar, considered to be where Buddha attained enlightenment. It is home to a descendant of the Bodhi Tree, behind which Buddha obtained enlightenment, and has been a Hindu and Buddhist pilgrimage site for over two thousand years.

Hampi, Karnataka

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka's northernmost region. It is located inside the remains of Vijayanagar, a historic and rich country. The Hampi ruins are a collection of cultural monuments that showcase the great Dravidian style of art and architecture. The Virupaksha Temple, which remains a prominent religious centre for Hindus, is the most significant heritage monument in this location. This cultural site also includes a number of additional monuments.