List of World Heritage Sites in Pakistan

Moenjodaro

Takht-i-Bahi and Sahr-i-Bahlol

Rohtas Fort

Lahore Fort and Shalamar Gardens

Taxila

Makli Hill

Location of World Heritage Sites in Pakistan

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The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Sites are places of outstanding cultural or natural importance to the common heritage of humanity.^[1] The programme was founded with the Convention Concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage which was adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO on 16 November 1972 in Paris.^[2] Pakistan ratified the convention on 23 July 1976, making its historical sites eligible for inclusion on the list. Since then, UNESCO has designated six sites in Pakistan as World Heritage Sites and eighteen sites are on the tentative list.^[3]

The first sites to be inducted in the list were Archaeological Ruins at Moenjodaro, Buddhist Ruins of Takht-i-Bahi and Neighbouring City Remains at Sahr-i-Bahlol, and Taxila, all three of which were inscribed as places of cultural significance in 1980. In 1981 two other sites, Fort and Shalamar Gardens in Lahore and Historical Monuments at Makli, were inscribed. The last site to be designated as a World Heritage Site was Rohtas Fort in 1997. All the six inscribed and eighteen tentative sites are listed under the cultural category.^[3]

Inscribed sites

The table lists information about each World Heritage Site in Pakistan:

Name: as listed by the World Heritage Committee

Region: one of the 8 administrative units of Pakistan

Period: time period of significance, typically of construction

UNESCO data: the site's reference number; the year the site was inscribed on the World Heritage List; the criteria it was listed under: criteria (i) through (vi) are cultural, while (vii) through (x) are natural; sites meeting both criteria are categorized as "mixed sites"

Description: brief description of the site

Name	Image	Region	Period	UNESCO data	Description	Ref(s)
Archaeological Ruins at Moenjodaro		Sindh, Pakistan 27°19′45″N 68°8′20″E / 27.32917°N 68.13889°E / 27.32917; 68.13889 (Archaeological Ruins at Moenjodaro)	26th century BC to 19th century BC	0138 !138; 1980; ii, iii	Moenjodaro is an archaeological site located on the right bank of Indus River in Larkana District of Sindh. Dating back to the beginning of 3rd millennium BC, the 5000 year old city was one of the largest and earliest urbanized settlements in South Asia. The ruins were first discovered in 1922 and major excavations were carried out in 1930's, however after 1965 further excavations were banned due to weathering and disintegration. Only one-third of the site has been revealed so far and site conservation works have been on-going since then.	[4]
Taxila		Punjab, Pakistan 33°46′45″N 72°53′15″E / 33.77917°N 72.88750°E / 33.77917; 72.88750 (Taxila)	5th century BC to 2nd century AD	0139 !139; 1980; iii, vi	Taxila is an archaeological site located in the Rawalpindi District, 30 km northwest of Islamabad. The city dates back to the Gandhara period and contains the ruins of the Gandhāran city of Takṣaśilā which was an important Hindu and Buddhist centre, and is still considered a place of religious and historical sanctity in those traditions.	[5]
Buddhist Ruins of Takht-i-Bahi and Neighbouring City Remains at Sahr-i-Bahlol		Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan 34°19′15″N 71°56′45″E / 34.32083°N 71.94583°E / 34.32083; 71.94583 (Buddhist Ruins of Takht-i-Bahi and Neighbouring City Remains at Sahr-i-Bahlol)	1st century	0140 !140; 1980; iv	Takht-i-Bahi, meaning spring throne, is a Buddhist monastic complex dating to the 1st century BC located on top of a 152 m high hill. The ruins are located about 16 km from Mardan and 80 km from Peshawar. Sahr-i-Bahlol is a small fortified city, dating from the same era, located near Takht-i-Bahi. The historical complex is a complete Buddhist monastery consisting of four main groups; the Court of Stupas, a monastic complex, a temple complex, and a tantric monastic complex.	[6]
Fort and Shalamar Gardens in Lahore		Punjab, Pakistan 31°35′25″N 74°18′35″E / 31.59028°N 74.30972°E / 31.59028; 74.30972 (Fort and Shalamar Gardens in Lahore)	1556	0171 !171; 1981; i,ii,iii	The Fort and Shalamar Gardens in Lahore are two distinct royal complexes from the Mughal era. The Fort is located at the northwest corner of the Walled City of Lahore and has been destroyed and rebuilt several times during its history. The Shalamar Gardens are example of Mughal Gardens which were constructed by the emperor Shah Jahan in 1642. The gardens are influenced by Persian and Islamic traditions and cover 16 hectares of land area.	[7]
Historical Monuments at Makli, Thatta		Sindh, Pakistan 24°46′0″N 67°54′0″E / 24.76667°N 67.90000°E / 24.76667; 67.90000 (Historical Monuments at Makli, Thatta)	14th century to 18th century	0143 !143; 1981; iii	Makli is a necropolis in the archaeological city of Thatta dating back to 14th century. The monuments and mausoleums in Makli are built from high quality stone, brick, and glazed tiles representing the civilization of Sindh of the time. Tombs of famous saints and rulers including Jam Nizamuddin II are still preserved and are evidence of Hindu, Mughal, and Islamic architecture.	[8]
Rohtas Fort		Punjab, Pakistan 32°57′45″N 73°35′20″E / 32.96250°N 73.58889°E / 32.96250; 73.58889 (Rohtas Fort)	1541	0586 !586; 1997; ii, iv	Rohtas Fort is a garrison fort built by Sher Shah Suri, located about 16 km from Jhelum in Punjab, Pakistan. The fort is an exceptional example of Islamic military architecture, integrating artistic traditions from Turkey and the Indian subcontinent. It was built at a strategic location on a small hill alongside Kahan River to control the Ghakkars. Its name is derived from Rohtasgarh, the site of Sher Shah's victory in 1539 over a Hindu ruler.	[9]

Tentative sites

Member states can maintain a list of tentative sites that the World Heritage Committee may consider for nomination to the World Heritage list. Nominations for the list are only accepted if the site was previously included in the tentative list.^[10] As of 2012, following 18 sites are present in the tentative list;^[3]

Name	Image	Region	Category	Year submitted	Description	Reference
Badshahi Mosque, Lahore		Punjab, Pakistan	Cultural	1993	The mosque was commissioned by Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in 1671. It is the second largest mosque in Pakistan after Faisal Mosque and can accommodate over 100,000 worshipers in its hall and surroundings. The mosque is located opposite to Lahore Fort and symbolizes the rich Mughal architecture. It was the largest mosque in the Mughal empire and held the record of being the largest mosque in the world for 313 years until 1986. Under Sikh and British rule from 1799 to 1939, the mosque was used as military garrison and was severely damaged. Extensive repair work were done after 1939 and by 1960 it was restored to its original conditions. A small museum containing relics of Prophet Muhammad, his cousin Ali, and his daughter Fatimah is established inside the mosque.	[11][12]
Wazir Khan Mosque, Lahore		Punjab, Pakistan	Cultural	1993		[13]
Tombs of Jahangir, Asif Khan and Akbari Sarai, Lahore		Punjab, Pakistan	Cultural	1993		[14]
Hiran Minar and Tank, Sheikhupura		Punjab, Pakistan	Cultural	1993		[15]
Ranikot Fort, Dadu		Sindh, Pakistan	Cultural	1993		[16]
Shah Jahan Mosque, Thatta		Sindh, Pakistan	Cultural	1993		[17]
Chaukhandi Tombs, Karachi		Sindh, Pakistan	Cultural	1993		[18]
Archaeological Site of Mehrgarh		Balochistan, Pakistan	Cultural; iii, iv	2004		[19]
Archaeological Site of Rehman Dheri	-	Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan	Cultural; i, ii	2004		[20]
Archaeological Site of Harappa		Punjab, Pakistan	Cultural; ii, iv	2004		[21]
Archaeological Site of Ranigat		Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan	Cultural; ii, iv	2004		[22]
Shahbazgarhi Rock Edicts		Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan	Cultural; i, ii, vi	2004		[23]
Mansehra Rock Edicts		Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan	Cultural; i, ii, vi	2004		[24]
Baltit Fort		Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan	Cultural; i, ii	2004		[25]
Tombs of Bibi Jawindi, Baha'al-Halim and Ustead and the Tomb and Mosque of Jalaluddin Bukhari		Punjab, Pakistan	Cultural; ii,iv,vi	2004		[26]
Tomb of Shah Rukn-e-Alam		Punjab, Pakistan	Cultural; iii,iv,vi	1993, 2004		[27]
Port of Banbhore		Sindh, Pakistan	Cultural; iv,v,vi	2004		[28]

See also

• List of cultural heritage sites in Pakistan
• List of parks and gardens in Pakistan
• List of forts in Pakistan
• List of museums in Pakistan

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Archaeological sites in Pakistan.

• http://un.org.pk/iych/world-hert-pak.htm
• http://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/pk

World Heritage Sites in Pakistan Heritage Sites Archaeological Ruins at Moenjodaro Buddhist Ruins of Takht-i-Bahi and Neighbouring City Remains at Sahr-i-Bahlol Fort and Shalamar Gardens in Lahore Historical Monuments at Makli, Thatta Rohtas Fort Taxila Tentative Sites Badshahi Mosque Wazir Khan Mosque Tombs of Jahangir, Asif Khan and Akbari Sarai Hiran Minar and Tank Ranikot Fort Shah Jahan Mosque Chaukhandi Tombs Archaeological Site of Mehrgarh Archaeological Site of Rehman Dheri Archaeological Site of Harappa Archaeological Site of Ranigat Shahbazgarhi Rock Edicts Mansehra Rock Edicts Baltit Fort Tombs of Bibi Jawindi, Baha'al-Halim and Ustead and the Tomb and Mosque of Jalaluddin Bukhari Tomb of Shah Rukn-e-Alam Banbhore