Which Mixed World Heritage Sites Are Found in India?
Jan, 30 2026
India is one of the few countries in the world with mixed World Heritage Sites - places recognized by UNESCO for both their outstanding cultural value and natural significance. These aren’t just ancient ruins or protected forests. They’re living landscapes where human history and nature are deeply intertwined. As of 2026, India has four sites on the UNESCO Mixed World Heritage List. Each tells a story not just of temples or wildlife, but of how people and nature have shaped each other over centuries.
Khangchendzonga National Park
Located in the Indian state of Sikkim, Khangchendzonga National Park is the highest protected area in the world. It covers 850 square kilometers of alpine peaks, glaciers, and deep valleys, including the third-highest mountain on Earth, Mount Khangchendzonga at 8,586 meters. But this isn’t just a mountaineer’s dream. For the local Lepcha, Bhutia, and Nepali communities, the mountain is sacred - the abode of their guardian deity. The park contains over 100 ancient shrines, prayer flags, and monasteries that have been part of daily spiritual life for generations.
UNESCO recognized it in 2016 as a mixed site because it’s not just about biodiversity. It’s about how culture and nature coexist. The park protects over 1,000 plant species, 55 mammal species including the snow leopard, and 400 bird species. But equally important is the living tradition of oral storytelling, ritual festivals, and sacred geography tied to the landscape. You can’t separate the spiritual practices here from the mountains themselves.
Kakatiya Rudreshwara (Ramappa) Temple
Wait - wasn’t this a cultural site? It is. But it’s also part of a larger mixed heritage story. The Ramappa Temple, built in 1213 CE in Telangana, is famous for its floating bricks and intricate carvings. But what makes it a mixed site? The temple sits at the heart of an ancient water management system that’s still functional today. The temple complex was built using a unique lightweight brick technology that reduced the load on the foundation, and the entire site was designed to work with the natural drainage of the land.
Surrounding the temple are three ancient lakes - Ramappa Talav, Vemulawada, and Kondapalli - which were used for irrigation and community water supply. These lakes still collect monsoon runoff and feed local agriculture. The temple’s builders didn’t just create a religious structure; they engineered a sustainable ecosystem. UNESCO included it in 2021 as a mixed site because the architecture and the natural hydrology are inseparable. The temple doesn’t stand alone - it’s part of a living landscape shaped by both human skill and natural cycles.
Western Ghats
Stretching over 1,600 kilometers along India’s western coast, the Western Ghats are one of the world’s eight hottest biodiversity hotspots. This mountain range is home to more than 7,400 flowering plant species, 1,800 of which are found nowhere else on Earth. It’s also where you’ll find the last populations of the Nilgiri tahr, the lion-tailed macaque, and the Malabar giant squirrel.
But the Western Ghats aren’t just wild. For over 2,000 years, communities here have practiced terrace farming, agroforestry, and sacred grove conservation. Tribal groups like the Irula, Kattunayakan, and Kurumba have protected forest patches called ‘kavus’ - sacred groves where cutting trees is forbidden. These groves are biodiversity refuges, often richer in species than nearby forests. Temples and shrines are tucked into these groves, and rituals are tied to seasonal rains and harvests.
UNESCO listed the Western Ghats as a mixed site in 2012 because the cultural practices here are not separate from conservation - they’re the reason the ecosystem survived. The region’s 39 component sites include both protected areas and working landscapes where people and nature are still in balance.
Champaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park
This site in Gujarat is a rare blend of medieval Islamic architecture and ancient Hindu hilltop traditions. The Pavagadh Hill has been a pilgrimage site for over 2,000 years, home to the Kalika Mata Temple, one of the 51 Shakti Peethas in Hinduism. At the base of the hill lies the 15th-century city of Champaner, founded by Sultan Mahmud Begada after he conquered the region.
What makes this site mixed is how the natural landscape shaped human settlement. The hilltop temple complex sits atop a volcanic rock formation that’s been sacred since prehistoric times. The city below was built using local stone and water channels that followed the natural contours of the land. Ancient stepwells, mosques, palaces, and fort walls were all constructed to work with the hill’s geology - not against it.
UNESCO recognized it in 2004 as a mixed site because the spiritual and architectural heritage is rooted in the physical geography. Pilgrims still climb the same paths used for centuries, and the same water systems still supply the town. The site isn’t frozen in time - it’s actively used, maintained, and revered by both religious communities and local residents.
Why Mixed Sites Matter
Mixed World Heritage Sites are rare. Only 39 exist worldwide. India’s four are among the most complex because they show how culture and nature aren’t just adjacent - they’re codependent. You can’t protect the Ramappa Temple without protecting its water system. You can’t preserve the Western Ghats without respecting the sacred groves that local communities have guarded for generations.
These sites challenge the idea that heritage is either cultural or natural. In India, it’s both. The temples are built from mountain stone. The rivers that feed the fields are named in ancient hymns. The forests that shelter tigers also shelter monks. This isn’t tourism. It’s coexistence.
What You’ll See If You Visit
Visiting these places isn’t like touring a museum. In Khangchendzonga, you’ll see prayer flags fluttering over glaciers. In the Western Ghats, you’ll walk through forests where tribal guides point out medicinal plants used in village remedies. At Champaner-Pavagadh, pilgrims and tourists climb the same steps - some to pray, others to photograph ancient architecture.
Each site requires a different kind of travel. Khangchendzonga demands respect - no drones, no loudspeakers, no plastic. The Western Ghats are best explored with local eco-tour operators who know the sacred groves. Ramappa Temple is quiet and less crowded, with artisans still making the same bricks used 800 years ago. Champaner-Pavagadh offers sunrise views from the hilltop that feel timeless.
What’s Not on the List
Many people assume Taj Mahal or Khajuraho are mixed sites. They’re not. They’re cultural only. The Sundarbans? It’s natural only - no human-built structures qualify it as mixed. Even places like Hampi or Mahabalipuram, while rich in both culture and landscape, don’t meet UNESCO’s strict criteria for natural significance in the same way.
Mixed sites require proof that human activity and natural systems are inseparable. That’s why only four exist in India - and why they’re so important to protect.
How These Sites Are Protected
Each mixed site has a management plan that includes both environmental monitoring and cultural preservation. In Khangchendzonga, local communities have veto power over tourism projects. In the Western Ghats, forest departments work with tribal councils to manage access. At Ramappa, the Archaeological Survey of India partners with local potters to keep traditional brick-making alive.
UNESCO doesn’t fund these sites directly. It sets standards. The real work is done by state governments, NGOs, and local communities who live there. That’s why these places still feel alive - not preserved in glass cases, but lived in, prayed in, farmed in.
Are all UNESCO sites in India mixed heritage sites?
No. India has 42 UNESCO World Heritage Sites as of 2026. Only four are classified as mixed - meaning they have both cultural and natural value. The rest are either cultural (like the Taj Mahal or Jaipur’s cityscape) or natural (like the Sundarbans or Kaziranga National Park).
Can tourists visit all four mixed heritage sites easily?
Three of the four are accessible by road and have basic tourist infrastructure: Champaner-Pavagadh, Ramappa Temple, and the Western Ghats (via selected entry points). Khangchendzonga is more remote and requires permits due to its ecological sensitivity and proximity to the Nepal and Tibet borders. Travel there usually involves guided tours from Sikkim’s capital, Gangtok.
Why are mixed sites harder to protect than cultural or natural ones?
Mixed sites require balancing two very different goals: preserving ancient buildings and traditions, while also protecting fragile ecosystems and wildlife. Tourism pressure, infrastructure development, and changing land use can harm one without harming the other - but in mixed sites, damaging the environment often means losing cultural meaning too. For example, diverting a river near a sacred grove might help farmers, but it could break centuries-old rituals tied to that water source.
Is there a difference between a World Heritage Site and a mixed site?
Yes. A World Heritage Site can be cultural, natural, or mixed. Mixed sites are a special category that must meet strict criteria for both cultural and natural significance. They must demonstrate a direct, ongoing relationship between human activity and the natural environment - not just proximity. That’s why only a handful exist globally.
Are these sites at risk?
Yes. Climate change is melting glaciers in Khangchendzonga and altering rainfall patterns in the Western Ghats. Urban expansion threatens the water systems around Ramappa Temple. Tourism without regulation can degrade sacred groves and trails. UNESCO doesn’t list them as endangered, but local groups are raising alarms. Protection depends on community involvement - not just government policy.
What Comes Next
India is preparing its next nomination for a mixed site: the Eastern Himalayas’ Dzukou Valley, where Naga tribal traditions and alpine biodiversity are deeply connected. If approved, it will be the fifth. But the real story isn’t about adding more names to a list. It’s about learning from the four we already have - how culture and nature can be one thing, not two.