A Bucket List of UNESCO World Heritage Sites and Attractions in India

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A Bucket List of UNESCO World Heritage Sites and Attractions in India

Hi all,

Someone made a comment to me that it would be nice to have a list of monuments, temples, or historical sites that aren't on the UNESCO list, but that you feel should be on the UNESCO list.

So, what are some of the attractions that you feel should be added to this list?

The first site that popped into my head is the Jaisalmer Fort. I visited there a few years ago and was fascinated by it, not only because of its history, but also because it's one of the very few forts in India that are still living forts. People still live there, there are shops and streets and gulleys full of day-to-day life. I found all of that fascinating because it gave me a glimpse of what life in the "olden" days must have been like in a fort.

Here are some of the pics I took from that visit:


Jaisalmer fort from the Roof Top Restaurant



View of one of the gulleys

There are so many places that may not be on the UNESCO WHS list but that does not mean that they do not deserve to be there!!! In my humble opinion, I would like quite a few of them to be added to that list.

Aihole temples, Badami cave temples, Belur temple, Halebid temple, Somnathpur temple, Bishnupur temples, Golconda Fort, Sarnath Buddhist Stupa & temples, Hemis Gompa, Alchi Gompa, Tawang Monastery, Pangong Lake, Chilika Lake, Wild Ass Sanctuary at the Rann of Kutch, Dholavira, Mandu, temples and palaces at Orchha.

Cheers,
Aadil.

Great suggestions, Aadil. Those attractions are quite a list indeed. I'll work on adding them to the list.

Actually, maybe we should make it a separate articles "Attractions that should be on the UNESCO list, but aren't"

Given the UN's facility for turning whatever it touches into a disaster (don't believe me, ask a Haitian), if I lived anywhere near a prospective WHS site I'd be lobbying hard to stay off their list. In no small part thanks to its WHS designation, Hampi currently looks like a shit-strewn bombed-out refugee camp. They tore down the dharamsala where visiting pilgrims could make a pit stop and crash for the night, along with the cheap dhabas - all in the interest of making things look nice for UNESCO, who certainly don't care that none of the locals are getting a pi out of all the "renovations". WHS is no validation of cultural worth, and the desperation of some Indians to get everything over a century old on the list is a symptom of an ongoing national inferiority complex, coupled with the usual corruption by elites whose pockets get lined while the actual site is destroyed, neglected or paved over.

What happened at Hampi is definitely not the UNESCO's doing. It has been a WHS since a very long time now. It was done very recently by the state government who reduced all the original Hampi Bazaar area into something that I am not able to understand. Even architectural experts like John Fritz and George Michell who work on the preservation and conservation of these places all the time were stunned by what happened there when the bulldozers and earthmovers came in and turned everything into a big earthquake ridden site. Even the old bookshop that sold all kinds of great books about Hampi and also some lovely maps and postcards is no more left standing after the tragic demolition.

Aadil.

Well, the excuse the authorities gave for their vandalism is that UNESCO threatened to lift their WH status if something wasn't done. Of course given the lot that runs Karnataka these days, I'm not willing to blame UNESCO either. It was the saffron brigade.

I am sorry, UN is not a monolith the same way Canada is not a homogenous hicksville. Anyone who was even remotely involved with Haitian earthquake relief, will tell you; US Army controlled the access for the first one month; and WHO, a UN entity with its partnership with regional affliates and through CARICOMM did an excellent job.

As to World heritage sites, look at the history of the various designations of sites by country - It is biased and lopsided. Some places/locations/sites benefited, some suffered.

UN did an excellent job in Haiti?

You're joking, right?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013...s-compensation

I think you fail to read what I wrote -


The Cholera epidemic introduced by a member nation (Nepal) is ofcourse a problem that has to be addressed because Nepal sent its staff under the UN flag, however to talk about UN as a homogenous monolith is inappropriate. There are many UN agencies, some excellent, some good and some really awful.

Another wonderful monument from India recently added to the UNESCO WHS list is the Rani Ki Vav step well in Patan, Gujarat state. Also added to the list earlier were the Hill Forts of Rajasthan and in the Natural Category the Western Ghats region from Maharashtra to Kerala.

Now to add a foren price to visit..