Introduction
Important and valuable objects, places, arts, culture and natural environment that have been passed on from the previous generation, are being maintained in the present and will be presented to future generation are called heritages. These are our valuable assets. They introduce our country among others. Our heritages are our identity and pride as well.
Classification of Our National Heritages
Our national heritages are classified into three categories: religious heritages, cultural
heritages and natural heritages.
Religious Heritages: The religious places and the objects related with religious values and norms are known as religious heritages. Temples, Mosque, Gumba, Church, Gurudwara, Idols, etc are religious heritages.
Cultural Heritages: The heritages related to our culture, customs, practices, places, objects, artistic expressions and values are known as cultural heritages. Cultural heritage includes tangible and intangible heritages. Buildings, monuments, landscapes, books, works of art, and artifacts are tangible heritages whereas folklore, traditions, language, and knowledge are intangible heritages.
Natural Heritages: The elements related to biodiversity, geological structures and formations that have artistic, historical, scientific or social significance or other special value are known as natural heritages. For example: wildlife, forest, rivers, lakes, mountains, hills, etc.
Importance of Our National Heritages
They give an identity to the country. They are the valuable and outstanding religious, cultural or natural assets of the country. They help in the promotion of tourism industries as they are the major attractions for the tourists. They add glory of the country. They are the sources for religious, cultural or natural study, research and observation. Nepal is rich in cultural and natural heritages. Some of them have been listed in World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. Any important site of natural heritage or cultural heritage can be listed in World Heritage Sites by the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO. To be included in the world heritage list, sites must be of outstanding universal value and meet at least one out of ten selection criteria. Following are the national heritages of Nepal that are listed in the world heritage sites:
a. Natural Heritages
Sagarmatha National Park (listed in 1979 AD): criteria VII
Chitwan National Park (listed in 1984 AD): criteria VII, IX and X
b. Cultural Heritages
Lumbini, the Birthplace of Lord Buddha (listed in 1997 AD): criteria III and VI
Kathmandu Valley (listed in 1979 AD): criteria III, IV and VI
Here, we will discuss about our national heritages listed in the world heritage sites.
1. Sagarmatha National Park: Sagarmatha National Park was established on 19th July, 1976 AD. It is located in Solukhumbu district. It was enlisted in the World Heritage Sites in 1979 AD. Sagarmatha National Park covers 1,148 sq. km. area. Sagarmatha, the highest peak of the world is located here. Besides, Lhotse, Choyu, Nuptse, Pumori, Amadablam, etc are other major peaks located in this National Park. The major vegetations found in this park are Rhododendron (Laliguras), Pine (Dhupi), bhojpatra, etc. The birds and animals like wild yak, musk deer, red panda, snow leopard, himalayan black bear, lophophorus (Danfe), etc are found here.
2. Chitwan National Park:
It is one of the most important tourist destinations of Nepal. It is located in Chitwan district, about 120 km. south-west of Kathmandu. It covers an area of 932 sq. km. It is especially famous for one-horned rhino, which is rarely found in the world. Royal Bengal Tiger is another important wildlife found in this national park. Besides this, elephants, crocodiles,
tigers, peacocks, etc are other important wild lives and varieties of birds found here. It was enlisted in the World Heritage Sites in 1984 AD.
3. Lumbini, the Birthplace of the Lord Buddha:
Lumbini is a peerless landmark of Buddhist world. It is the birthplace of Gautam Buddha. It is known as a pilgrimage of all the people of the world who follow Buddhism. UNESCO enlisted Lumbini as the World Heritage Site in 1997 AD. The Ashoka Pillar which was built by Emperor Ashoka in 249 BC is located here. There are also the Puskarini Pond and Maya Devi Temple. In 1970 AD, 13 nations including Nepal have formed the Lumbini Development Committee and started the Lumbini Development Master Plan. Under this plan, various countries of the world have constructed monasteries, stupas, etc in Lumbini. The countries like China, Myanmar, Japan, Vietnam, South Korea, India, Thailand, France, Germany, etc have constructed many monasteries and stupas here. Libraries, museums, research centres, etc are also located here.
4. Kathmandu Valley:
Kathmandu valley was listed in the world heritage. sites in 1979 AD. It comprises seven
important monuments. A short introduction of those monuments is presented below:
a. Pashupati Area: It is a holy place of the Hindus. The Pashupati area includes the temple of Pashupati, Deupatan, Jaya Bageshori, Gaurighat, Kutumbahal, Gaushala, Pingalasthan and Sleshmantak forest. There are about 492 temples, chaityas, satals, etc. Temples are constructed in various styles. There are about one thousand Shivalingas in the Pashupati area. The PADT (Pashupati Area Development Trust) has been established to preserve and promote this area.
b. Hanumandhoka Durbar Square: It is located in the heart of Kathmandu city. The
Malla kings ruled over Kathmandu from this palace. After the conquest of the Kathmandu valley, King Prithvi Narayan Shah started to rule from here and it became the capital of unified Nepal. It is said that Pratap Malla erected the statue of Hanuman in this palace and it was named Hanumandhoka. Besides Hanumandhoka, Basantapur palace, Taleju temple, Musuem, House of Kumari, Kasthamandap, a Kettledrum, etc are the ancient heritages located here. The great earthquake of 2072 caused damage in many heritages of this area.
c. Bouddhanath Mahachaitya: Bouddhanath Mahachaitya, the biggest stupa in Nepal, lies
about 7 km. east of the capital. It is one of the oldest stupas in the country. It is believed that
this stupa was constructed in around 5th century. It is very famous for religious and cultural tourism. There are many other Buddhist monasteries in this area.
d. Patan Durbar Square: It was the palace of Malla kings during medieval Nepal. It is located in Lalitpur district. Krishna temple with 21 golden pinnacles (Gajur) is the master piece of Malla art and architecture. Besides this, there are Bhimsen temple, Bishwanath temple, Jagat Narayan temple, statue of Yog Narendra Malla, Mahabauddha, Kumbheshor Mahadev, temple of Rato Machhindranath, etc. The great earthquake of 2072 caused damage in many heritages of this area.
e. Bhaktapur Durbar Square: It was the palace of Malla kings. It is located in Bhaktapur district. Famous heritages like Pachapanna Jhyale Durbar, Nyathapole temple, a statue of King Bhupatindra Malla, museum, art gallery, golden gate, various bells, Datatraya temples, etc are the mind blowing artistic features found here.
f. Changunarayan Temple: It is the oldest temple in Kathmandu Valley. It is located
in Bhaktapur district. It was built during the time of Lichchhavi King Mandev in 5th century. The temple is built in Pagoda style. There are several high-class models of stone inscriptions, stones, wood and metallic arts. It is one of the four Narayan believed to be
in Kathmandu valley.
g. Swayambhunath Stupa: The Stupa of Swayambhunath, situated on the top of a hill in Kathmandu, is one of the most popular holy places and instantly recognizable symbol of Nepal. This temple is regarded as the symbol of religious tolerance as there is the temple of Hindu goddess Saraswati. There are other stupas and idols also. Recently, the biggest statue of Buddha has been constructed near Swayambhunath Stupa. Besides these, there are many heritages deserving to be enlisted in the world heritage sites. There should be interest and
concern from all of us for the identification, protection and promotion of such heritages.
Following are the heritages deserving to be enlisted in the world heritage sites:
Muktinath, Lo Manthang of Mustang, Bardiya National Park, Swargadwari of Pyuthan, Gosainkunda of Rasuwa, Pathivara Temple of Taplejung, Ramjanaki Temple of Janakpur, Gorkha Palace, Bindyabasini and Taal Barahi of Pokhara, Ramgram of Nawalparasi, Tilaurakot of Kapilvastu, Khokana village of Lalitpur, Bajrayogini Temple and village of Sankhu, Medieval settlement of Kirtipur, Nuwakot Palace, Sinja Valley of Jumla, Bhurti Temple of Dailekh, Resunga Area of Gulmi, Tansen, Panauti, etc.
The national heritages of Nepal which are enlisted in the World Heritage Sites by UNESCO are not only the property of Nepal; they are also the property of the whole world. So, it is the duty of government, local levels as well as common citizen to preserve and promote them. But the conditions of the World Heritages Sites are declining day by day. Due to their bad condition, UNESCO has warned to exclude some heritages of Nepal from the list of World Heritage Sites. The following measures should be taken to preserve them: Effective strategies should be made and implemented to make the heritage sites pollution free. Old, damaged and destroyed heritages should be renovated, repaired and re- constructed in their own original style. Publicity of the heritage sites should be done through various means of mass communication and government and private sectors should involve in the protection and preservation of them. The local people should be made aware about the importance of such heritages and encouraged to protect and promote the heritages. There should be strict security system in the heritages area so that the smuggling of valuable items can be prevented.
Selection criteria (I-VI: for Cultural Criteria and VII-X: for Natural Criteria)
I. “represents a masterpiece of human creative genius and cultural significance”
II. “exhibits an important interchange of human values, over a span of time, or within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts, town-planning, or landscape design”
III. “to bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilization which is living or which has disappeared”
IV. “is an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural, or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates a significant stage in human history”
V. “is an outstanding example of a traditional human settlement, land-use, or sea-use which is
representative of a culture, or human interaction with the environment especially when it has
become vulnerable under the impact of irreversible change”
VI. “is directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with ideas, or with beliefs, with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal significance”
VII. “contains superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance”
VIII. “is an outstanding example representing major stages of Earth’s history, including the record of life, significant on-going geological processes in the development of landforms, or significant geomorphic or physiographic features”
IX. “is an outstanding example representing significant on-going ecological and biological processes in the evolution and development of terrestrial, fresh water, coastal and marine ecosystems, and communities of plants and animals”
X. “contains the most important and significant natural habitats for in-situ conservation of biological diversity, including those containing threatened species of outstanding universal value from the point of view of science or conservation”
Nepalese heritages submitted on the Tentative List of World Heritage Sites
A Tentative List is an inventory of those properties which each State Party intends to consider for nomination. Nominations for the World Heritage List are only accepted if the site was previously listed on the tentative list.
1. The early medieval architectural complex of Panauti (1996)
2. Tilaurakot, the archaeological remains of ancient Shakya Kingdom (1996)
3. Cave architecture of Muktinath Valley of Mustang (1996)
4. The medieval palace complex of Gorkha (1996)
5. Ramagrama, the relic stupa of Lord Buddha (1996)
6. Khokana, the vernacular village and its mustard-oil seed industrial heritage (1996)
7. Medieval Earthern Walled City of Lo Manthang (2008)
8. Vajrayogini and early settlment of sankhu (2008)
9. Medieval Settlement of Kirtipur (2008)
10. Rishikesh Complex of Ruru Kshetra (2008)
11. Nuwakot Palace Complex (2008)
12. Ram Janaki Temple (2008)
13. The Medieval Town of Tansen (2008)
14. Sinja valley (2008)
15. Bhurti Temple Complex of Dailekh (2008)