World Heritage Day is observed annually on April 18th to raise awareness about World Heritage sites, which are a valuable part of our shared cultural and natural heritage.
India is home to a rich cultural heritage and houses 40 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, which include 23 cultural, seven natural and one mixed landmarks.
These sites showcase the country's architectural marvels, biodiversity, and cultural diversity. The Taj Mahal, an iconic monument of love, is one of the most popular UNESCO world heritage sites in India.
This National Park in the western part of the Himalayan Mountains in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh is characterized by high alpine peaks, alpine meadows and riverine forests.
The 90,540 ha property is part of the Himalaya biodiversity hotspot and includes twenty-five forest types along with a rich assemblage of fauna species, several of which are threatened.
In the heart of Assam, this park is one of the last areas in eastern India undisturbed by a human presence.
It is inhabited by the world's largest population of one-horned rhinoceroses, as well as many mammals, including tigers, elephants, panthers and bears, and thousands of birds.
This former duck-hunting reserve of the Maharajas is one of the major wintering areas for large numbers of aquatic birds from Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, China and Siberia.
Around 364 species of birds, including the rare Siberian crane, have been recorded in the park.
On a gentle slope in the foothills of the Himalayas, where wooded hills give way to alluvial grasslands and tropical forests, the Manas sanctuary is home to a great variety of wildlife.
It includes many endangered species, such as the tiger, pygmy hog, Indian rhinoceros and Indian elephant.
Nestled high in West Himalaya, India’s Valley of Flowers National Park is renowned for its meadows of endemic alpine flowers and outstanding natural beauty.
This richly diverse area is also home to rare and endangered animals, including the Asiatic black bear, snow leopard, brown bear and blue sheep.
The Sundarbans covers 10,000 km2 of land and water (more than half of it in India, the rest in Bangladesh) in the Ganges delta.
It contains the world's largest area of mangrove forests and several rare or endangered species including tigers, aquatic mammals, birds and reptiles.
Older than the Himalaya mountains, the mountain chain of the Western Ghats represents geomorphic features of immense importance with unique biophysical and ecological processes.
It also has an exceptionally high level of biological diversity and endemism and is recognized as one of the world’s eight ‘hottest hotspots’ of biological diversity.
This Indian National Park is located at the heart of the Himalayan range in the state of Sikkim.
It includes a unique diversity of plains, valleys, lakes, glaciers and spectacular, snow-capped mountains covered with ancient forests, including the world’s third highest peak, Mount Khangchendzonga.