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World Heritage Day: 10 architectural marvels you must visit in India

World Heritage Day is celebrated every year on April 18. The day is observed to raise awareness about the significance of heritage sites around the globe and the need to safeguard them for future generations. The International Council on Monuments and Sites first proposed observing the day as World Heritage Day in 1982 which was later approved by the United Nations General Assembly in 1983. (Image: Shutterstock)
The heritage sites are a valuable part of India’s rich culture and history. Let us look at the 10 must-visit heritage sites in India: (Image: Shutterstock)
No 6. Destination: Agra | Duration of stay: At least two days | Tourists should consider spending at least two days in Agra to immerse themselves in the historical and cultural richness that this city has to offer. Agra is most renowned for the iconic Taj Mahal, a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the Seven Wonders of the World, and exploring this breathtaking monument deserves ample time. Beyond the Taj Mahal, Agra boasts of historical treasures such as the Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri.
Taj Mahal, Agra: Built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in the 17th Century, the Taj Mahal is known for its elegant Mughal Architecture and beautiful gardens. Known as a ‘symbol of love’ Taj Mahal is considered India’s most visited UNESCO World Heritage Site. (Image: Reuters)
Qutub Minar, Delhi: Built by Qutab-Ud-Din Aibak in the 12th Century, Qutub Minar stands as a magnificent example of Indo-Islamic architecture. The 73-metre tall minaret was declared a ‘World Heritage Site’ by UNESCO in 1993. (Image: Shutterstock)
A view shows Humayun's Tomb before the lights were turned off for Earth Hour in New Delhi, India, March 25, 2023. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis
Humayun’s Tomb, Delhi: Built in 1570, Humayun’s Tomb is said to be the first garden tomb of India. It was commissioned in 1569 by Hamidah Banu Begam after the death of Mughal Emperor Humayun. The architectural marvel was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1993. (Image: Reuters)
Ajanta Caves, Maharashtra: The Ajanta Caves are believed to be the masterpieces of Buddhist culture. While the first phase was built during the 1st and 2nd century BC, the second phase is said to be built between the 5th and 6th century BC. There are 30 caves which include five unfinished caves.
Ellora Caves, Maharashtra: The monumental caves of Ellora are believed to have been built between 600 AD and 1000 AD. With 34 caves, the historical monument is the symbol of religious harmony and brotherhood.
Konark Sun Temple, Odisha: Located on the shores of the Bay of Bengal, Konark Sun Temple stands as a testament to India’s rich architectural brilliance. Built-in the 13th Century, the monument is shaped like a chariot with 24 carved wheels teamed up with a team of six horses.
Fatehpur Sikri, Agra: Once the capital City of India during the Mughal time, Fatehpur Sikri was built during the second half of the 16th century by Mughal Emperor Akbar. It is believed to be the first planned city that was built by the Mughals. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
Red Fort, Delhi: Built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in the mid-17th century, Red Fort remains a major tourist attraction. The monument is a unique example of architectural brilliance and planning in the Mughal reign. The fort was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2007. (Image: Shutterstock)
Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu: Located along the shores of the Coromandel Coast, Mahabalipuram is said to be the port city of the Pallavas. The group of monuments include several rock-cut cave temples, monolithic temples, bas-relief sculptures, and structural temples. The monuments were built by the Pallava dynasty. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
Amber Fort, Rajasthan: Known for the blend of Hindu and Mughal Architecture, the construction of the Amber Fort started under the leadership of Raja Man Singh I in 1592. The fort was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2013.
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On This Day: Provisional Government of Free India was announced, Nobel Prize awarded to Pablo Neruda and more

 1296 |  Mughal ruler Alauddin Khilji took the throne of Delhi. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
1931 | Famous Indian actor and director Shammi Kapoor was born. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
1951 | The Bhartiya Jana Sangh was established by Syama Prasad Mukherjee. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
1959 | 20 Indian troops were attacked by the Chinese in Ladakh. Ten Indian policemen were martyred while seven other troops were imprisoned by the Chinese, but they managed to escape later. (Representational Image: Shutterstock)
1971 | Nobel Prize for literature was awarded to Pablo Neruda. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
1990 | In an iconic event, Brazilian F1 driver Ayrton Senna crashed his McLaren into his rival during the Japanese Grand Prix to clinch his second Formula 1 World Drivers Championship. (Image: Reuters)
2012 | Famous Indian filmmaker and the romance king of Bollywood Yash Chopra passed away. (Image: Reuters)
2013 | The Parliament of Canada conferred Honorary Canadian citizenship on Malala Yousafzai. (Image: Reuters)
2017 | The Spanish government suspended Catalonia’s autonomy during a deepening political crisis over the region’s push for independence. (Image: Reuters)
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On This Day: Sino-India war started, Muammar Gaddafi and his son were killed and more

1950 |  Chemists Archer John Porter Martin and James Lovelock demonstrated the use of gas chromatography. The technique was rapidly adopted by the global petrochemical industry. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
1955 | The third and final volume of The Lord of the Rings, “The Return of the King”, was published. (Image: Wikipedia)
1973 | Queen Elizabeth II officially opened the doors of the Sydney Opera House.
1978 | India’s aggressive right-hand batsman Virender Sehwag was born. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
1991 | A devastating earthquake of 6.8 magnitude hit Uttarkashi in India killing more than 1,000 people. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
1996 | Pakistani cricketers Wasim Akram and Saqlain Mushtaq set a new Test cricket record 8th wicket by scoring 313 runs against Zimbabwe. (Image: Reuters)
2011 | Former leader of Libya Muammar Gaddafi and his son Moatassem Gaddafi were killed in the custody of NTC fighters, shortly after the civil war, the Battle of Sirte. (Image: Reuters)
2021 | The Brazilian Senate inquiry said that President Jair Bolsonaro should be charged for nine crimes, including crimes against humanity, for his mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Image: Reuters)
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On This Day: Mother Teresa beatified, Napoleon retreated from Russia and more

1812 | The French invasion of Russia fails as Napoleon Bonaparte was forced to retreat from Russia. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
1900 | Max Planck discovers Planck’s law. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
1910 | Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, an Indian astrophysicist, astronomer and mathematician who won the Nobel Prize, was born. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
1950 | Mother Teresa establishes the Missionary of Charities in Kolkata. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
1956 | Hindi actor-turned-politician Sunny Deol was born. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
1970 | The Indian Air Force incorporates the first indigenously built MiG-21 aircraft into its fleet. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
1987 | The Dow Jones Industrial Average witnesses its biggest single-day percentage drop. The day is called Black Monday. (Image: Shutterstock)
2003 | Mother Teresa is beatified by Pope John Paul II. (Image: Reuters)
2005 | Saddam Hussein is placed on trial by the Iraqi Special Tribunal on charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. (Image: Reuters)
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On This Day: Veerappan was killed; BBC was established and more

1867 | The US took formal possession of Alaska from Russia after paying USD 7.2 million. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
1922 | The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) was established. (Image: Shutterstock)
1950 | Famous Indian actor Om Puri was born. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
1967 | The first Soviet Probe Venera 4 entered Venus’ atmosphere becoming the first space probe ever to enter another planet’s atmosphere.  (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
1967 | An animated musical adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s ‘The Jungle Book’ was released by Walt Disney. (Image: Youtube)
1972 | The SA 315, India’s first multipurpose helicopter was tested in Bangalore. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
1980 | The first Himalayan Car Rally was flagged off from Brabourne Stadium, Bombay (Mumbai). (Image: Overdrive)
2007 | Benazir Bhutto returned to Pakistan after eight years in exile. The same night, suicide bombers blew themselves up near Bhutto’s convoy, killing over 100. Bhutto managed to escape uninjured. (Image: Reuters)
2008 | Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati returned 189.25 acres of land to the Railway Ministry for the Modern Railway Coach factory in Rae Bareli. (Image: Reuters)
2019 | The first all-female spacewalk in history by NASA astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir was performed outside the International Space Station. (Image: Reuters)
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On This Day: Dr BR Ambedkar converted to Buddhism, Chuck Yeager flew faster than the speed of sound and more

1884 |  The paper strip photographic film was patented by George Eastman, founder of the Kodak company. (Image: Shutterstock)
1892 |  “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes” was published for the first time by Arthur Conan Doyle as a collection of 12 stories serially in “The Strand Magazine”. (Image: Shutterstock)
1926 | The famous cartoon ‘Winnie-the-Pooh’ made his literary debut in a collection of short stories. (Image: Shutterstock)
1947 | Chuck Yeager became the first human to fly faster than the speed of sound in the Bell X-1, a rocket engine-powered aircraft. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
1964 |  American social activist, Martin Luther King Jr. was named the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
1991 |  Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi won the Nobel Peace Prize for “her non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights.” (Image: Shutterstock)
1994 |   Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, fifth Prime Minister of Israel Yitzhak Rabin and Israeli leader Shimon Peres shared the Nobel Peace Prize. (Image: Reuters)
2001 |  German Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher won his fourth F1 World Drivers Championship title. (Image: Reuters)
2019 | The Booker Prize was jointly awarded to Margaret Atwood for “The Testaments” and Bernardine Evaristo for “Girl, Woman, Other” who became the first black woman to win the prize. (Image: Reuters)

Also Read: World Egg Day 2022: Celebrating the small wonder with a big heart

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On This Day: Manmohan Singh inaugurated first train service in Kashmir Valley, Amitabh Bachchan was born and more

1737 |  A devastating earthquake reportedly killed 3 lakh people and destroyed half of Calcutta (now Kolkata). (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
1939 |  Albert Einstein informed then-US president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt of the possibility of an atomic bomb, during World War 2. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
1942 |  Bollywood great Amitabh Bachchan was born in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh. (Image: Reuters)
1945 |  The Chinese civil war began between the Kuomintang government led by Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong’s Communist Party. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
1984 |  The first spacewalk by US woman Dr Kathryn D Sullivan was performed. (Image: Reuters)
2019 |  The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed for brokering the peace deal with Eritrea. (Image: Reuters)
2019 | Former Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli scored his career-best 254 not out to move past 7,000 Test runs. (Image: Reuters)
2020 |  British Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton won the Eifel Grand Prix to equal Michael Schumacher’s record of 91 Formula 1 victories. (Image: Reuters)
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On This Day: Indian Air Force was established; world’s first internal pacemaker was implanted and more

1936 |  Munshi Premchand, famous Hindi writer and novelist, died. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
1945 | The patent for the Microwave oven was received by US inventor Percy Spencer. (Representational Image: Wikimedia Commons)
1958 | Dr Ake Senning installed the first internal pacemaker in a 43-year-old man in Stockholm, Sweden. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
1970 | Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, a Soviet author, won the Nobel Prize for Literature. (Image: Reuters)
1998 |  José Saramago became the first person from Portugal to win the Nobel Prize for Literature. (Image: Reuters)
2000 | German Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher won his third Formula 1 World Drivers Championship and the first of 5 straight F1 World Drivers Championships. (Image: Reuters)
2004 | Wangari Maathai from Kenya became the first African woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for “her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace”. (Image: Reuters)
2005 | A disastrous earthquake occurred in the Pakistan-administered portion of the Kashmir region, which also affected adjacent parts of India and Afghanistan. At least 79,000 people were killed in the earthquake and more than 32,000 buildings collapsed in Kashmir, making it one of the most destructive earthquakes in recent times. (Image: Reuters)
2021 | Journalists Maria Ressa of the Philippines and Dmitry Muratov of Russia won the Nobel Peace Prize “for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression”. (Image: Reuters)
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On This Day: Chandigarh was inaugurated, Vladimir Putin was born and more

1708 |  Guru Gobind Singh, the 10th and the last Sikh Guru, died. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
1737 | A cyclone triggering 40-foot waves in Calcutta (Kolkata) is believed to have killed over 3,00,000 people. (Representational image: Wikimedia Commons)
1919 | The KLM, Royal Dutch Airlines, the oldest existing airline was established. (Image: Reuters)
1950 | Mother Teresa founded the Missionaries of Charity Center in Kolkata. The institution was created to help the poor and those in need. (Image: Reuters)
1952 | Russian President Vladimir Putin was born. (Image: Reuters)
1959 | The far side or the dark side of the Moon was seen for the first time by the USSR’s Luna 3 space probe. (Wikimedia Commons)
2001 | War in Afghanistan began after American and British troops started air strikes against Al Qaeda and Taliban targets. The response came after the Taliban refused to hand over Osama bin Laden, the mastermind behind the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. (Image: Reuters)
2008 | Asteroid 2008 TC3 impacted the Earth. Astronomers discovered the 80-tonne meteorite was on a collision course with Earth and in 2008 TC3 rocketed across northern Sudan’s skies and exploded 37 km above the Nubian Desert. This marked the first successful prediction of an asteroid hitting the Earth. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
2020 | Nobel Prize for Chemistry was awarded to Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna “for the development of a method for genome editing”. (Image: Reuters)
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On This Day: India launched Aakash tablet, Russian artistes go to space for first film in orbit and more

 1676 | The King of England granted the East India Company the right to exchange Indian currency in Mumbai. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
1948 | One of the world’s deadliest earthquakes hit Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, killing 110,000 people. Damage and casualties were reported in Iran as well. (Representational Image: Wikimedia Commons)
1962 | The World Premiere of the first James Bond film ‘Dr No’ was held on this day. The film about a British spy was adapted from Ian Fleming’s novel and starred Sean Connery. (Image: James Bond 007 Youtube )
1997 | Prime Minister Indra Kumar Gujral unveiled the statue of Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi at the source of the River Nile in Uganda. The idea to have a statue of Gandhi was proposed by the Indian community in Uganda. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
1998 | After a 21-16 vote, the judiciary committee of the US House of Representatives recommended a full impeachment inquiry against then-President Bill Clinton. (Image: Reuters)
2021 | A major investigation discovered that French clergy sexually abused over 200,000 children in the past 70 years. Around 3,000 priests committed abuses over children, mostly boys, which was covered up by Catholic authorities over decades in a ‘systemic manner’. (Image: Reuters)
2021 | Russia sends actor Yulia Peresild and director Klim Shipenko into space on a landmark mission to film the world’s first movie in orbit. The duo is accompanied by cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov, a veteran of three space missions. (Image: Reuters)