Carved sandstone spires and figure sculpture on a temple at Khajuraho.
A carved stone chariot wheel on the plinth of the Sun Temple at Konark.
The Taj Mahal in white marble, reflected in its watercourse at dawn.
Temple ruins among granite boulders in the landscape at Hampi.
Rock-cut monuments on the shore at Mahabalipuram.
Carved sandstone spires and figure sculpture on a temple at Khajuraho.
A carved stone chariot wheel on the plinth of the Sun Temple at Konark.
The Taj Mahal in white marble, reflected in its watercourse at dawn.
Temple ruins among granite boulders in the landscape at Hampi.
Rock-cut monuments on the shore at Mahabalipuram.

World Heritage

Forty-five places, one continuous argument

India holds 45 UNESCO World Heritage properties, and every one of them is documented here. A few are set out at length first — chosen because together they show the same impulse worked out in rock-cut basalt, in granite, in sandstone and in marble, across two thousand years.

The Taj Mahal in white marble, reflected in its watercourse at dawn.

Inscribed 1983 · 17th century

Taj Mahal

Agra, Uttar Pradesh

A mausoleum in white marble raised by Shah Jahan for Mumtaz Mahal. Its symmetry is almost total — the plan mirrors itself across both axes, and the four minarets lean fractionally outward so that an earthquake would drop them away from the dome.

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Carved sandstone spires and figure sculpture on a temple at Khajuraho.

Inscribed 1986 · 950–1050 CE

Khajuraho Group of Monuments

Chhatarpur, Madhya Pradesh

Chandela temples built across a single century, then left to the forest for five hundred years. Of an estimated eighty-five, about twenty-five survive — their walls carrying registers of sculpture that treat divinity, court life and desire as one continuous subject.

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A carved stone chariot wheel on the plinth of the Sun Temple at Konark.

Inscribed 1984 · 13th century

Sun Temple, Konârak

Puri, Odisha

The temple is built as the chariot of Surya, the sun: twenty-four carved stone wheels along its base, drawn by seven horses. The wheels are sundials, and the spokes still read the hour.

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Temple ruins among granite boulders in the landscape at Hampi.

Inscribed 1986 · 14th–16th century

Group of Monuments at Hampi

Vijayanagara, Karnataka

The last capital of the Vijayanagara empire, set among granite boulders on the Tungabhadra. Persian and European visitors described a city rivalling Rome; it was sacked in 1565 and never rebuilt.

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Rock-cut facades of the Buddhist cave complex at Ajanta.

Inscribed 1983 · 2nd century BCE – 6th century CE

Ajanta Caves

Aurangabad, Maharashtra

Thirty Buddhist prayer halls and monasteries cut into a horseshoe of basalt cliff. The murals inside are the largest surviving body of early Indian painting — and the reason so much of what we know about the period's dress, music and court life is known at all.

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The carved eastern gateway of the Great Stupa at Sanchi.

Inscribed 1989 · 3rd century BCE onward

Buddhist Monuments at Sanchi

Raisen, Madhya Pradesh

The oldest stone structures in India still standing, begun under Ashoka. The Great Stupa's four gateways are carved with the Buddha's life told entirely through symbol — a footprint, an empty throne, a wheel — because the figure itself was not yet depicted.

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Ruined monastery walls beside the Dhamek Stupa at Sarnath.

Inscribed 2026 · 3rd century BCE onward

Ancient Buddhist Site of Sarnath

Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh

Where the Buddha gave his first sermon and the Sangha began. The Ashokan lion capital excavated here became the State Emblem of India, and the wheel from its abacus sits at the centre of the national flag.

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Rock-cut monuments on the shore at Mahabalipuram.

Inscribed 1984 · 7th–8th century

Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram

Chengalpattu, Tamil Nadu

Pallava monuments cut straight from the shore's granite — monolithic rathas, cave temples, and Arjuna's Penance, a relief the size of a building face in which a carved fissure once ran with real water.

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The fluted red sandstone shaft of the Qutb Minar in Delhi.

Inscribed 1993 · 1199 onward

Qutb Minar and its Monuments

Delhi

A fluted victory tower of red sandstone and marble, 73 metres tall, built in stages by successive rulers. Beside it stands a fourth-century iron pillar that has resisted rust for sixteen hundred years.

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The red sandstone walls and gateway of the Red Fort in Delhi.

Inscribed 2007 · 1639–1648

Red Fort Complex

Delhi

Shah Jahan's citadel at Shahjahanabad, and the place from which the Prime Minister addresses the country every Independence Day. Its private halls once carried the inscription: if there is a paradise on earth, it is this.

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The complete list

All 45 World Heritage properties

Ordered by year of inscription within each category, from the first four in 1983 through to Sarnath in 2026.

Cultural · 37

The Taj Mahal in white marble, reflected in its watercourse at dawn.

1983

Taj Mahal

Agra, Uttar Pradesh

Rock-cut facades of the Buddhist cave complex at Ajanta.

1983

Ajanta Caves

Aurangabad, Maharashtra

The red sandstone ramparts and gateway of Agra Fort.

1983

Agra Fort

Agra, Uttar Pradesh

The Kailasa temple at Ellora, carved downward out of solid basalt.

1983

Ellora Caves

Aurangabad district, Maharashtra

A carved stone chariot wheel on the plinth of the Sun Temple at Konark.

1984

Sun Temple, Konârak

Puri, Odisha

Rock-cut monuments on the shore at Mahabalipuram.

1984

Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram

Chengalpattu, Tamil Nadu

Carved sandstone spires and figure sculpture on a temple at Khajuraho.

1986

Khajuraho Group of Monuments

Chhatarpur, Madhya Pradesh

Temple ruins among granite boulders in the landscape at Hampi.

1986

Group of Monuments at Hampi

Vijayanagara, Karnataka

The red sandstone courtyards and pavilions of Fatehpur Sikri.

1986

Fatehpur Sikri

Agra district, Uttar Pradesh

The laterite facade of the Basilica of Bom Jesus at Velha Goa.

1986

Churches and Convents of Goa

Velha Goa, Goa

The three-headed Trimurti sculpture of Shiva at the Elephanta Caves.

1987

Elephanta Caves

Elephanta Island, Maharashtra

The towering vimana of the Brihadisvara temple at Thanjavur.

1987

Great Living Chola Temples

Thanjavur, Gangaikonda Cholapuram and Darasuram, Tamil Nadu

Sandstone temples of the Pattadakal group beside the Malaprabha river.

1987

Group of Monuments at Pattadakal

Bagalkot district, Karnataka

The carved eastern gateway of the Great Stupa at Sanchi.

1989

Buddhist Monuments at Sanchi

Raisen, Madhya Pradesh

The fluted red sandstone shaft of the Qutb Minar in Delhi.

1993

Qutb Minar and its Monuments

Delhi

Humayun's Tomb in red sandstone and white marble, seen across its garden.

1993

Humayun's Tomb

Delhi

A narrow-gauge steam locomotive on a mountain railway in India.

1999

Mountain Railways of India

Darjeeling, the Nilgiris and Kalka–Shimla

The tall brick tower of the Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya.

2002

Mahabodhi Temple Complex

Bodh Gaya, Bihar

Prehistoric paintings in red and white on the wall of a rock shelter at Bhimbetka.

2003

Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka

Raisen district, Madhya Pradesh

The Victorian Gothic facade and central dome of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus.

2004

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus

Mumbai, Maharashtra

The carved stone minarets and dome of the Jami Masjid at Champaner.

2004

Champaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park

Panchmahal district, Gujarat

The red sandstone walls and gateway of the Red Fort in Delhi.

2007

Red Fort Complex

Delhi

The large masonry sundial and astronomical instruments of the Jantar Mantar in Jaipur.

2010

The Jantar Mantar, Jaipur

Jaipur, Rajasthan

The ramparts of a Rajput hill fort following the contours of a ridge.

2013

Hill Forts of Rajasthan

Chittorgarh, Kumbhalgarh, Ranthambore, Amber, Jaisalmer and Gagron

The descending sculpted galleries of the Rani-ki-Vav stepwell at Patan.

2014

Rani-ki-Vav, the Queen's Stepwell

Patan, Gujarat

Excavated brick monastery foundations and stupas at Nalanda.

2016

Archaeological Site of Nalanda Mahavihara

Nalanda district, Bihar

The concrete portico of the Palace of Assembly in Chandigarh's Capitol Complex.

2016

Capitol Complex, Chandigarh

Chandigarh

The carved stone tracery window of the Sidi Saiyyed Mosque in Ahmedabad.

2017

Historic City of Ahmadabad

Ahmedabad, Gujarat

Art Deco apartment blocks along Marine Drive in Mumbai.

2018

Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensembles of Mumbai

Mumbai, Maharashtra

The pink sandstone facade of the Hawa Mahal in Jaipur.

2019

Jaipur City, Rajasthan

Jaipur, Rajasthan

The carved basalt bracket figures and stepped tower of the Ramappa Temple.

2021

Kakatiya Rudreshwara (Ramappa) Temple

Palampet, Telangana

Excavated stone walls and reservoirs of the Harappan city at Dholavira.

2021

Dholavira: A Harappan City

Kachchh district, Gujarat

A mural-decorated building at Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan.

2023

Santiniketan

Birbhum district, West Bengal

Densely carved soapstone friezes on a Hoysala temple wall.

2023

Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysalas

Belur, Halebidu and Somanathapura, Karnataka

Grass-covered hemispherical burial mounds at Charaideo, Assam.

2024

Moidams — the Mound-Burial System of the Ahom Dynasty

Charaideo, Assam

A Maratha sea fort with stone ramparts rising from the coast.

2025

Maratha Military Landscapes of India

Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu

Ruined monastery walls beside the Dhamek Stupa at Sarnath.

2026

Ancient Buddhist Site of Sarnath

Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh

Natural · 7

A greater one-horned rhinoceros in the tall grassland of Kaziranga.

1985

Kaziranga National Park

Golaghat and Nagaon districts, Assam

Waterbirds wading among submerged trees in the wetland at Keoladeo.

1985

Keoladeo National Park

Bharatpur, Rajasthan

Grassland and forest of the Manas Wildlife Sanctuary below the Bhutan hills.

1985

Manas Wildlife Sanctuary

Assam

Mangrove forest and tidal creeks in the Sundarbans delta.

1987

Sundarbans National Park

South 24 Parganas, West Bengal

Alpine meadow in bloom below snow peaks in the Valley of Flowers.

1988

Nanda Devi and Valley of Flowers National Parks

Chamoli district, Uttarakhand

Forested ridges of the Western Ghats under monsoon cloud.

2012

Western Ghats

Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat

Alpine meadow and snow peaks in the Great Himalayan National Park.

2014

Great Himalayan National Park Conservation Area

Kullu district, Himachal Pradesh

Mixed · 1

The snow peaks of Khangchendzonga above forested ridges in Sikkim.

2016

Khangchendzonga National Park

Sikkim

Tentative List

Not yet inscribed

A place on the Tentative List is a formal candidacy, not a designation. These are listed separately here so the distinction stays honest.

Sculpted gopuram towers of the Meenakshi Amman Temple, Madurai.

Meenakshi Amman Temple

Madurai, Tamil Nadu · Rebuilt 16th–17th century

A working temple city rather than a monument: fourteen gopurams rising over a walled complex that still orders the street plan of Madurai around it. It sits on India's UNESCO Tentative List, not the World Heritage List.

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