This article first appeared in My Travelogue by Bhushavali
Unlike the other 5, this is the only Natural World Heritage Site in south India. Western Ghats Mountains begins in the border of Tamil Nadu & Karnataka and extends all the way upto Maharashtra. I've been on multiple trips to various regions of the Western Ghats right from Silent Valley& Eravikulam of Kerala to Kabini & Nagarhole of Karnataka to Vazhachal forests of Tamil Nadu. Western Ghats biodiversity is so rich that this region is described by UNESCO as one of the top 8 ecological hottest Hotspots of biodiversity! This stretch is one of those places which I could go several more times and still be fascinated everytime. This region is exactly what made the 'parks'& 'safaris' is Europe, super boring for me. The adrenaline that you get here when you spot the western ghats animals like leopard in the wild cannot be explained in words!!! Its very much possible to go on a trail walking in the forests in Europe and its pretty much safe, unlike the Western Ghats where you might be eaten by a tiger or leopord!!!!!!!!!
This is one place which I've been to a few tens of times!!! It is one of the typical weekend destinations from Chennai. We just go there, coz, why not??? Its about 2 hrs from Chennai and is extremely well connected by public transport, so why not?!!! This is a group of rock-cut monuments, excavated in 7th-8th C CE under the Pallava rulers. Some of the best include the huge relief panels of Bhagiratha's Penance and the elephants with nagas descending between them! The monuments of Mahishasura Mardhini, Trivikrama and Varaha are just perfection - the exquisite examples of the Pallava beauty - there's no much decoration, but just life-like perfection!!! The Shore temple and Pancha ratha monuments are all-together another pieces of marvel, which were few of the earliest to be built in 600-630 CE. Its one of the major examples of Indian Heritage and top tourist places in India. Just that - if you're going on a weekend or holiday, be prepared for the extreme crowd.
GREAT LIVING CHOLA TEMPLES - WORLD HERITAGE SITES IN TAMIL NADU
I visited Thanjavur Brahadeeswara Temple, when I was a school girl, along with my parents. So yeah, its high time I go there again. This is fondly called the Big Temple, for its humongous size. There are so many myths shrouded around this temple, including its shadow doesn't fall on the ground and that its crown stone is a single piece and more - well they're myths. But the truth is equally fascinating - the sheer size of the temple and the fact that it was built in 1010 CE, the sculptural marvel, the frescoes inside (the oldest of it is inside the sanctum sanctorum and cannot be seen by the public). I don't really remember my visit to Thanjavur Brahadeeswara Temple, Gangai Konda Cholapuram or Thirubuvanam (we didn't visit Dharasuram, the 4th of the 4 living Chola temples), except for the photos of that era!!!
I underestimated Hampi initially! I thought I need only 2 days to see Hampi but, boy was I wrong! Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was the capital city of Vijayanagara Empire in 1343-1565. It was very rich but now is in complete ruins. Like Mahabalipuram, this too is a group of monuments, and there are several places to visit in Hampi over a vast area, that its not even possible to walk and cover it all in a single day. This is one of the important historical places in India. Hampi to Bangalore is a short distance making it one of the weekend destinations from Bangalore. Hire a bike and explore the beautiful sites. Right from pre-historic rock art to living temples to Vijayanagara ruins to stunning view points - its just spectacular!
Pic Courtesy: Shivajidesai29 - Own work via Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0
This is one of the South Indian UNESCO Sites that I haven't been to yet. When I visited Hampi, I though I'll take a day off to visit Pattadakkal, but then Hampi itself was so fascinating, that I spent all my time there! Anyways, Pattadakkal along with Aihole and Badami, form the basis of rock-cut architecture that followed. These monuments belong to 7th-8th C and is an exceptional example of Chalukya architecture. Its considered the epitome of 'Vesara' style architecture - the mix of south Indian 'Dravida' and north Indian 'Nagara' style temples. Along with Aihole and Badami caves, this is considered as a set of the tourist places to see in Karnataka for 2 days.
This is the 2nd of the 6 UNESCO Sites of Southern India that I'm yet to experience - The Nilgiri Mountain railways. 3 of India's mountain railways are included in UNESCO Listing - Darjeeling and Kalka-Simla. The only mountain-railway that I've been was the Araku Valley railway and I was so fascinated by that! I really hope to experience the Nilgiri as soon as possible! Its called a 'toy train' and has the historic wooden cabins and runs through absolutely stunning views, tunnels and bridges and more! The destination Udagamandalam or Ooty is one of the best tourist places in India as well as one of the preferred honeymoon destinations in India.
Fingers crossed.... I'm hoping to visit Pattadakkal and experience atleast one of the mountain railways soon!!! Thus seeing all the 6 UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITES IN SOUTHERN INDIA.
Fingers crossed.... I'm hoping to visit Pattadakkal and experience atleast one of the mountain railways soon!!! Thus seeing all the 6 UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITES IN SOUTHERN INDIA.