UNESCO World Heritage Sites - Selection Criteria and List
2019-11-23 | Team PendulumEdu
World Heritage Sites are the places/monuments/areas that are included in the World Heritage List by UNESCO due to their cultural, historical, natural, or any other significance. UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee meets minimum once a year in June or July. It identifies the property of Outstanding Universal Value for inclusion in the World Heritage List on the basis of following ten criteria.
- The property must represent a masterpiece of human creative genius.
- The property must exhibit an important interchange of human values, over a period of time or within a cultural area of the world. The important interchange of human values shown by the property must be on developments in
- Architecture or technology
- Monumental arts
- Town-planning
- Landscape design
- The property must carry either a unique or at minimum, an unusually good testimony to a cultural tradition or a living or disappeared civilization.
- The property must be an exceptionally good example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates one significant stage or more than one significant stages in human history.
- The property must be an exceptionally good example of a traditional human settlement, land-use, or sea-use that is representative of a culture (or cultures) or interaction between human and the environment and has become vulnerable due to irreversible change.
- The property must be directly or tangibly associated with
- Events or living traditions of outstanding universal significance.
- Ideas or beliefs of outstanding universal significance
- Artistic and literary works of outstanding universal significance.
- The property must have natural phenomena of the highest quality or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance.
- The property must be an exceptionally good example representing major stages of earth's history such as
- Record of life
- Significant continuing geological processes in the development of landforms
- Significant geomorphic or physiographic features
- The property must be an outstanding example representing significant continuing ecological and biological processes in the evolution and development of
- Terrestrial ecosystems and communities of plants and animals
- Freshwater ecosystems and communities of plants and animals
- Coastal ecosystems and communities of plants and animals
- Marine ecosystems and communities of plants and animals
- The property must have the most important and significant natural habitats for in-situ conservation of biological diversity. This criteria includes the natural habitats having threatened species of Outstanding Universal Value from the point of view of science or conservation.
As of December 2021, there are a total 1,154 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the world. These sites belong to 167 countries. China and Italy have the maximum number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. There are 40 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in India. The Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensembles, Mumbai was declared a World Heritage Sites in 2018. Jaipur city, Rajasthan was declared a World Heritage Sites in July 2019. In 2021, Kakatiya Rudreswar Temple (Ramappa Temple), Telangana and Dholavira were added to the list. Trans-Iranian Railway was also added to the World Heritage Site list in 2021.
S.No |
UNESCO World Heritage Sites In India |
Place |
Recognition Year |
Special Features |
CULTURAL |
||||
1 |
Agra Fort |
Uttar Pradesh |
1983 |
|
2 |
Ajanta Caves |
Aurangabad, Maharashtra |
1983 |
|
3 |
Archaeological Site of Nalanda Mahavihara |
Nalanda, Bihar |
2016 |
|
4 |
Buddhist Monuments at Sanchi |
Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh |
1989 |
|
5 |
Champaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park |
Gujarat |
2004 |
|
6 |
Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (formerly Victoria Terminus) |
Maharashtra |
2004 |
|
7 |
Churches and Convents |
Goa |
1986 |
|
8 |
Elephanta Caves |
Maharashtra |
1987
|
|
9 |
Ellora Caves |
Maharashtra |
1983 |
|
10 |
Fatehpur Sikri |
Agra, Uttar Pradesh |
1986 |
|
11 |
Great Living Chola Temples |
Tamil Nadu |
1987, 2004 |
|
12 |
Group of Monuments at Hampi |
Karnataka |
1986 |
|
13 |
Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram |
Tamil Nadu |
1984 |
|
14 |
Group of Monuments at Pattadakal |
Karnataka |
1987 |
|
15 |
Hill Forts |
Rajasthan |
2013 |
|
16 |
Historic City of Ahmadabad |
Gujarat |
2017 |
|
17 |
Humayun's Tomb |
Delhi |
1993 |
|
18 |
Jaipur City |
Rajasthan |
2019 |
|
19 |
Khajuraho Group of Monuments |
Madhya Pradesh |
1986 |
|
20 |
Mahabodhi Temple Complex at Bodh Gaya |
Bihar |
2002 |
|
21 |
Mountain Railways of India |
West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh |
1999, 2005, 2008 |
|
22 |
Qutb Minar and its Monuments |
Delhi |
1993 |
|
23 |
Rani-ki-Vav (the Queen’s Stepwell) |
Patan, Gujarat |
2014 |
|
24 |
Red Fort Complex |
Delhi |
2007 |
|
25 |
Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka |
Madhya Pradesh |
2003 |
|
26 |
Sun Temple, Konarak |
Odisha |
1984 |
|
27 |
Taj Mahal |
Agra, Uttar Pradesh |
1983 |
|
28 |
The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier |
Chandigarh |
2016 |
|
29 |
The Jantar Mantar |
Jaipur, Rajasthan |
2010 |
|
30 |
Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensembles of Mumbai |
Maharashtra |
2018 |
|
31 |
Kakatiya Rudreshwara Temple (Ramappa Temple) |
Telangana |
2021 |
|
32 |
Dholavira- A Harappan City |
Gujarat |
2021 |
|
NATURAL |
||||
33 |
Great Himalayan National Park Conservation Area |
Himachal Pradesh |
2014 |
|
34 |
Kaziranga National Park |
Assam |
1985 |
|
35 |
Keoladeo National Park |
Rajasthan |
1985 |
|
36 |
Manas Wildlife Sanctuary |
Assam |
1985 |
|
37 |
Nanda Devi and Valley of Flowers National Parks |
Uttarakhand |
1988, 2005 |
|
38 |
Sundarbans National Park |
West Bengal |
1987 |
|
39 |
Western Ghats |
Maharashtra, |
2012 |
|
MIXED |
||||
40 |
Khangchendzonga National Park |
Sikkim |
2016 |
|
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