India is truly a land of heritage. Blessed with 37 World Heritage Sites notified by UNESCO, India ranks 6th in the world in having the largest number of world heritage sites after Italy, China, Spain, France and Germany.
India’s world heritage sites are in fact the best ‘ready destinations’ for showcasing to the world. Sites like Tajmahal, Qutub Minar, Humayun’s Tomb, Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri do receive reasonable footfall of foreign tourists, however majority of our world heritage sites are still not visited in big numbers and their potential still remains untapped. Better Air, Rail and Road connectivity to these sites, improved tourism infrastructure and aggressive marketing of these lesser known iconic sites can put India into a higher orbit where Italy, China, Spain, France and Germany are located and are reaping the potential of their world heritage sites by getting record number of international travellers. Majority of India’s world heritage sites are not very well visited by the domestic travellers also. Every Indian domestic traveller should not miss an opportunity to visit these ‘wonders’ of the world located in India ( list attached ).
One such magnificent world heritage monument is the Sun Temple of ‘Konark’, an outstanding testimony to the 13th Century Kingdom of Odisha. A masterpiece of creative genius in both conception and realisation, the temple represents a chariot of Sun God with 12 pairs of wheels drawn by 7 horses evoking its movement across the heavens.
During my recent visit to Odisha, I seized opportunity to visit this wonderful world heritage site and was overwhelmed by its outstanding architecture and art.
