Top 15 Archaeological Wonders of Ancient India
Archaeological sites in India have revealed the ancient cities, Indus valley civilisation and many more wonders of ancient India. In this article, we have a list of top 15 archaeological wonders of Incredible India.
Lothal, Gujarat
Lothal was the ancient city of the ancient Indus valley civilization and has been nominated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city was one of the oldest planned cities and excavated by the Archaeological Survey of India.
Dholavira, Gujarat
Dholavira archaeological site contains ruins of an ancient Indus Valley Civilization. The site along with Rakhigarhi, Kalibangan, Lothal and Rupnagar are the five largest Harappan sites in India.
Nalanda University, Bihar
Nalanda University site near Patna is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was visited by both Mahavira and the Buddha. Today its an important part of the Buddhist tourism circuit and a popular tourist destination in Bihar.
Vaishali Ancient City, Bihar
The ancient city of Vaishali is now an archaeological site and associated with both Buddhism and Jainism. Vaishali is an important Buddhist pilgrim site in Bihar and known for Pillars of Ashoka, Stupa and World Peace Pagoda.
Sanchi Stupa, Madhya Pradesh
Sanchi Stupa in Raisen District of Madhya Pradesh is the oldest stone structures in India and a major pilgrim site for Buddhism followers.
Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh
Khajuraho Group of Monuments are famous for their erotic sculptures and temples of two religions, Hinduism and Jainism. As per archaeological studies, there are 21 temples in the complex and Kandariya Mahadeva Temple is the largest surviving Shiva temple in Madhya Pradesh.
Hampi, Karnataka
Group of Monuments at Hampi near the Tungabhadra river was the centre of the Vijayanagara Empire and was the world’s second largest medieval era city. Hampi monuments are Hindu temples and active Hindu worship sites, now a principal destination for pilgrims and tourist.
Pattadakal, Karnataka
Pattadakal is another UNESCO World Heritage site in Karnataka, Located near Badami and Aihole, managed by the Archaeological Survey of India.
Descent of the Ganges, Tamil Nadu
Descent of the Ganges monument are part of the Group of Monuments at Mamallapuram, located on the Coromandel Coast and known for giant open air rock relief carved on two monolithic rock boulders.
Meenakshi Temple, Tamil Nadu
Meenakshi Temple on the bank of Vaigai river in Madurai is dedicated to Goddess Meenakshi. The town and complex are ancient, built around 3000 years ago and mentioned in 6th century CE texts.
Konark Sun Temple, Odisha
Konark Sun Temple is a giant chariot dedicated to the Sun god and an important landmark on the coastline of Odisha. The complex has many shrines, sculpture and monuments around the temple.
Kumbhalgarh Fort, Rajasthan
Kumbhalgarh Fort is a World Heritage Site and home to second largest wall complex in the world. The fort of Kumbhalgarh was built by Rana Kumbha and the birthplace of great king and warrior of Mewar – Maharana Pratap.
Unakoti, Tripura
Unakoti hill is a lesser known ancient site in the state of Tripura and famous for gigantic Ganesha figures, Unakotiswara Kal Bhairava rock figures and rock cut images of Nandi Bull.
Deopahar, Assam
Deopahar archaeological site is about 62 km from Kaziranga National Park and a must visit tourist destination in Assam. The site host False Hemp Trees, stone temple of Lord Shiva and vast range of stone sculpture.
Ellora Caves, Maharashtra
Ellora Caves in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra are monolithic rock excavation and the Kailasa temple monument is dedicated to Lord Shiva. There are 100 of caves in Aurangabad along with the nearby Ajanta Caves, protected monument under the Archaeological Survey of India.
Other popular archaeological sites of India also include Sirpur Group of Monuments, Kanchipuram, Bhimbetka Rock Shelters, Ambadevi Rock Shelters, Ajanta and Ellora Caves, Gawilghur, Jaisalmer Fort of Rajasthan, Daimabad, Karanpura, Kalibangan, Manda Jammu, Jognakhera and Sinauli.
