UNESCO Tentative List Adds Sirpur, Andaman Volcanoes, Baratang

Three Indian sites have been added to India’s Tentative List for UNESCO World Heritage status: the Sirpur Cultural and Archaeological Landscape in Chhattisgarh, the Andaman Subduction Volcanoes (Barren Island and Narcondam), and the Karst-mud-volcano Complex of Baratang. India’s Permanent Delegation to UNESCO announced the additions on 20 October, and Chhattisgarh officials confirmed the Sirpur entry on 21 October, according to PTI and ANI reports.

Three Sites, Three Kinds of Heritage

Sirpur, in Mahasamund district about 75 km from Raipur, is a cultural entry. Known as Shripur, it was the capital of South Kosala between the 5th and 12th centuries. Its core zone includes the Lakshmana Temple, built of brick around the 7th century and described as one of India’s earliest and best-preserved brick temples, along with Buddhist viharas and a royal palace complex.

The two Andaman entries are natural sites. Barren Island has a caldera about 2 km wide and was declared a geoheritage site by the Geological Survey of India in 2025. Baratang’s mud volcanoes, which throw out cool mud, water and gas rather than magma, erupted in 2025 after nearly 20 years of quiet.

Narcondam Was Already Listed in 2014

UNESCO’s own records show a separate Narcondam Island entry submitted on 15 April 2014, which cites the island’s endemic Narcondam hornbill. The new Andaman entry treats Narcondam and Barren Island together as the only Quaternary subduction volcanoes in the inner volcanic arc of the Burma-Andaman-Java system. In July 2025 the Andaman and Nicobar administration told PTI it wanted four natural landmarks put forward, including Barren Island, Narcondam and the Baratang mud volcanoes.

Sirpur’s proposal was formally submitted by India’s mission on 28 September, according to PTI. The Chinese traveller Xuanzang, who visited in the 7th century, reported about 100 Buddhist monasteries there.

Sirpur Dossier Comes Next

A place on the Tentative List does not make a site a World Heritage Site. The Indian mission said the listing is a prerequisite before a full nomination can be made. For Sirpur, officials of the Sirpur Special Area Development Authority said a nomination dossier will now be prepared with the Archaeological Survey of India. No date has been announced for any of the three nominations.

Related reading on IPB: two blind fish species found in Assam wells, the Andaman Islands’ weather outlook, and more in Positive News.

Source: UNESCO World Heritage Centre, India page. Also based on reporting by ThePrint (PTI), Asianet Newsable (ANI), ETV Bharat and The Week (PTI).

Image: indiacinehub.gov.in (Baratang Island), via Asianet Newsable.