These three Indian sites could get the UNESCO World Heritage tag

Have you ever looked at a limestone cave in India and thought where’s the mud volcano? Chances are they’ve escaped your travel itinerary across the country entirely unless you’ve hit the islands off our coast. Not for the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), though. Three Indian properties have just been added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List: the Karst-mud-volcano Complex of Baratang and the Andaman Subduction Volcanoes, both in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, plus the Sirpur Cultural and Archaeological Landscape in Chhattisgarh. 

Here’s a quick note before the celebratory reels begin: this is not an official World Heritage Site tag, not yet. Read on to see why there's still cause for celebration, or even a trip, now.

What are the three sites?

Karst-mud-volcano Complex of Baratang (Andaman and Nicobar Islands)

Limestone caves, and active mud volcanoes. Karst landscapes happen when soluble rock like limestone slowly dissolves away. Mud volcanoes, meanwhile, push mud, gases and fluids out through vents in the earth. 

Andaman Subduction Volcanoes, Andaman and Nicobar Islands 

This one's made up of two volcanic islands, Barren Island and Narcondam Island. Barren Island has India's only confirmed active volcano. Read that again if you need to. The whole thing is tied to tectonic processes along the Andaman island arc, which is geology-speak for the earth doing something enormous, very slowly, and occasionally not so slowly.

Sirpur Cultural and Archaeological Landscape, Chhattisgarh

Back on dry land, Sirpur sits on the banks of the Mahanadi in Mahasamund district, and is tied to the ancient kingdom of Dakshina Kosala. Its remains include both Hindu and Buddhist religious structures. The headliner is the 7th-century Lakshmana Temple, a brick temple dedicated to Vishnu that's been standing for about 1,400 years. 

Your last renovation probably didn't survive a monsoon.

What is the UNESCO Tentative List?

The UNESCO Tentative List is a waitlist, of sorts. It's an inventory of properties a country considers suitable for nomination to the World Heritage List, and a site must be on it before it can be formally nominated. The World Heritage Committee, made up of representatives of 21 elected States Parties, makes the final inscription calls. The convention itself was adopted back in 1972. The most recent Indian entry on the actual World Heritage List is the Ancient Buddhist Site of Sarnath, which was inscribed in July 2026.

Still, this is where every nomination begins. In the meantime, you can always consider your travel list updated.