1/16 Sikkim's Khangchendzonga National Park, Chandigarh's Capitol Complex and the ruins of Nalanda Mahavira in Bihar were included in the UNSCO World Heritage Sites list.

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2/16 Nalanda University (also known as Nalanda International University) is located in Rajgir, near Nalanda, Bihar, India. The University began its first academic session on September 1, 2014 with 15 students including five women.

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3/16 Nalandra University, initially set up in temporary facilities in Rajgir, is getting a modern campus that is expected to be finished by 2020.

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4/16 According to available reports, Nalanda University was destroyed three times. This photo of Sariputra Stupa (Temple Site No.3), Nalanda Mahavihara, Bihar, India.

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5/16 Palace of Assembly is a legislative assembly designed by noted architect Le Corbusier and located in Chandigarh, India.

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6/16 It is part of The Capitol Complex comprises three buildings -- Legislative Assembly, Secretariat and High Court.

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7/16 Designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2016. The Chandigarh administration had been trying to get the tag for almost a decade.

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8/16 Khangchendzonga National Park also Kanchenjunga Biosphere Reserve is a National Park and a Biosphere reserve located in Sikkim, India.

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9/16 Khangchendzonga National Park houses Mt. Khangchendzonga, the world's third-highest peak at a height of 8,586m, towers above the city of Gangtok, the capital of the northeastern Indian state of Sikkim.

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10/16 Khangchendzonga National Park covers almost 25% of the state of Sikkim.

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11/16 Mahabodhi Temple was included as UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2002. Here it is illuminated with lights on the occasion of the 31st Kagyu Monlam for World Peace in Bodhgaya on 8 January, 2014.

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12/16 It took three Delhi Sultanate rulers -- Qutub ud din Aibak, Iltutmish and Firoz Shah Tughlaq -- to complete the Qutub Minar we see today. It's the world's tallest brick minaret at 72.5 meters (237.8 feet).

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13/16 Humanyun's Tomb served as the blueprint for Taj Mahal, albeit with marble and red-sanstone. The tomb was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993.

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14/16 The Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka are in the foothills of the Vindhyan Mountains on the southern edge of the central Indian plateau. The shelters were designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2003.

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15/16 The bodies of ruler and architect Shah Jahan and wife Mumtaz Mahal lie below Taj Mahal, with their faces turned right towards Mecca. Unesco India Date of Inscription: 1983.

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16/16 It was difficult for the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway's toy trains to scale the mountains' heights so they move forwards, slowly reverse and then move up again. It became a UNESCO Heritage site in 1999.

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India's UNESCO hat-trick: Nalanda University, Khangchendzonga and Capitol Complex

Catch Team @CatchNews | Updated on: 18 July 2016, 20:47 IST

Bihar, Sikkim and Chandigarh have a reason to smile. At the 40th session of the World Heritage Committee, currently underway in Istanbul, Sikkim\'s Khangchendzonga National Park, Chandigarh\'s Capitol Complex and the archaeological site of Nalanda Mahavihara (Nalanda University) in Bihar.

To add to the celebrations from India, this is the first time that a country has gotten three sites inscribed in the World Heritage at a single session. In total, India now had 35 sites. These include:

1. Cultural properties: 27

2. Natural sites: 7

3. Mixed site: 1

The mixed site is the Khangchendzonga National Park, which is home to the third highest peak in the world, MOunt Khangchendzonga. It fulfilled the nomination criteria under the natural and cultureal heritages reported The Hindu.

"The Capitol Complex is part of the group of 17 sites - across seven countries (France, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, Argentina, Japan and India) - designed by Franco-Swiss architect Le Corbusier which were included in the list by the Paris-based body", reported PTI.

UNESCO world heritage site Bihar Sikkim Chandigarh Vikas Kumar Sahil Bhalla

Catch Team