Location
- Gujarat
Best Time To Visit - October to June
47 Kilometres north-east of Vadodara in Gujarat, lies the UNESCO World
Heritage Site of Champaner Pavagadh Archaeological Park. The landscape
includes prehistoric sites, a hill fortress of an early Hindu capital and
remains of the 16th century capital of the state of Gujarat. Apart from
this, the site also includes fortifications, palaces, religious buildings,
residential precincts, agricultural structures and water installations
belonging to 8th to 14th centuries. The architecture here showcases a
perfect blend of Hindu and Muslim architectural styles.
The Site in Detail
The Champaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park is a superb example of a very
short living capital. It is a place of worship and continuous pilgrimage for
followers of Hinduism. The unique cultural landscape of the place has been
under threat of massive and rapid change brought about by the mushrooming of
roadside development catering to the pilgrim traffic and continuous
environmental pollution.
The various ancient Hindu temples and other architectures represent
cultures that have disappeared. The structures present a fine amalgamation
of Hindu-Muslim architecture, specially the Great Mosque (Jami Masjid),
which was a model for later mosque architecture in India.
The Kalimata Temple on the top of the Pavagadh Hill is considered to be an
important shrine. This shrine attracts a large number of tourists to itself
throughout the year. The site is the only complete and unchanged Islamic
pre-Mughal city.
Feather to the Cap
Champaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park was inscribed on the World Heritage
List of UNESCO as a cultural heritage at the 28th Session of the World
Heritage Committee, scheduled from June 28 to July 7 in Suzhou of east
China's Jiangsu Province in the year 2004.
