Top 15 Ancient Lost Cities of India Forgotten By Time

A lost city which is completely uninhabited and have been forgotten but have been rediscovered. Some of these abandoned cities of India are either ruins or known as ghost town such as Kuldhara abandoned village in the Jaisalmer district of Rajasthan, Fatehpur Sikri Royal Ghost Town and Dhanushkodi Beach of Rameswaram.

Vijayanagar, Karnataka

Vijayanagar ruin city of Karnataka was the capital of Vijayanagara Empire, located around the the modern day village of Hampi in Ballari district. The Vijayanagara empire lost City lies on the south bank of the Tungabhadra River and today one of the UNESCO World Heritage Site and famous for Virupaksha Temple,Hemakuta Hill,Narasimha statue and Sugriva’s cave.

Dwarka, Gujarat

Dwarka is one of the seven sacred cities of Hinduism and listed as Sapta Puri. The underwater ancient city of Dwarka was the abode of Lord Krishna and in modern days to be developed as a scuba diving site.

Dholavira, Gujarat

Dholavira archaeological site of Gujarat contains ruins of an ancient Harappan city. The site of Dholavira is an important archaeological sites and one of the five largest Harappan sites in India.

Kalibangan, Rajasthan

Kalibangan in Hanumangarh district of Rajasthan is located southern banks of the Ghaggar river. Kalibangan means black bangles and the site contains Harappan remains.

Lothal, Gujarat

Lothal was the most prominent cities of the ancient India Indus valley civilization and one of the world’s earliest known city. The city has ancient monuments and protected by the Archaeological Survey of India.

Pattadakal, Karnataka

Pattadakal is the most important tourist attraction of Karnataka,located on the left bank of the Malaprabha river. The heritage site is located about 10 km from Aihole and 22 km from Badami and known for Chalukya monuments and temples of Jain Narayana Temple,Virupaksha Temple,Sangameshwara Temple,Kashi Vishwanatha Temple and Mallikarjuna Temple.

Poompuhar, Tamil Nadu

Poompuhar town of Tamil Nadu was an ancient port city known as Kaveri poompattinam. The city of poompuhar was built on the north banks of the river Kaveri and was a major fort of the Chola empire.

Rakhigarhi, Haryana

Rakhigarhi in Hisar District of Haryana is the site of an Indus Valley Civilisation, located in the Ghaggar Hakra river plain. There are many important archaeological sites in the river valley such as Kunal, Lohari Ragho and Balu.

Banawali, Haryana

Banawali site in Fatehabad district of Haryana belong to Indus Valley Civilization, located 120 km from Kalibangan. The archaeological site was part of the lower middle valley of dried up Sarasvathi river.

Rupnagar, Punjab

Rupnagar or Rupar in Rupnagar district of Punjab was one of the major Harappan sites discovered in India. The Archaeological Museum of ASI exhibits the remains of first Harappan site of Independent India.

Surkotada, Gujarat

Surkotada belongs to Indus Valley Civilisation, located in Rapar Taluka of Kutch district. The archaeological site at Surkotada contains horse remains and bone samples.

Vasai, Maharashtra

Vasai is the part of Vasai Virar city and one of the most popular shooting destination around Mumbai. The Bassein Fort is protected by the Archaeological Survey of India and has list of monument of national importance.

Muziris, Kerala

Muziris port city of Kerala was an ancient seaport located on the Malabar Coast. The exact location of lost city of Muziris is still not known and excavations conducted at Kodungallur.

Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh

Sanchi Town in Raisen district of Madhya Pradesh was an important places of Buddhist pilgrimage, earlier known as Chetiyagiri. There are numerous monuments at Sanchi, the Great Stupa, Sunga period stupa and Sunga balustrade.

Nagarjunakonda, Andhra Pradesh

Nagarjunakonda Buddhist town was one of the richest Buddhist sites in India and important historic site near Amaravathi. The Buddhist archaeological site was the prominent center for universities and monasteries.