*Harappan city of Dholavira in Gujarat declared World Heritage site by UNESCO

*Harappan city of Dholavira in Gujarat declared World Heritage site by UNESCO

This is the second Indian site to be included in the world heritage list during the 44th session of UNESCO's World Heritage Committee, after Telangana's Ramappa Temple.*

Dholavira, a Harappan-era city in Gujarat, has been conferred the tag of UNESCO World Heritage Site, the organisation said on Tuesday. This is the second site to be included in the world heritage list this month after the Ramappa Temple at Palampet in Telangana's Warangal.

Gujarat now has four world heritage sites — Dholavira, Champaner near Pavagadh, Rani ki Vav in Patan and the historic city of Ahmedabad.

It is a must visit, especially for those interested in history, culture and archaeology.

The site has been on UNESCO's tentative list since 2014. Dholavira, a Harappan city, is one of the very few well preserved urban settlements in South Asia dating from the 3rd to mid-2nd millennium BCE. Dholavira is an exceptional example of a proto-historic Bronze Age urban settlement pertaining to the Harappan Civilization and bears evidence of a multi-cultural and stratified society during the 3rd and 2nd millennia BCE.

It also said that its earliest evidence can be traced back to 3000 BCE during the early Harappan phase of the Harappan Civilization. This city flourished for nearly 1,500 years, representing a long continuous habitation. The excavated remains clearly indicate the origin of the settlement, its growth, zenith and the subsequent decline in the form of continuous changes in the configuration of the city, architectural elements and various other attributes.

Background: Dholavira, known locally as Kotada (which means large fort), sprawls over 100 hectares of semi-arid land at the north-west corner of the island of Khadir, one of the islands in the Great Rann of Kutch that remain above the flood-plains in months when the rest of the desert is submerged by the monsoon. Dholavira has two seasonal nallahs, or streams: Mansar in the north, and Manhar in the south. The journey to Dholavira itself is beautiful, taking you through the saline desert plains of the Great Rann, where you can spot wildlife such as chinkara gazelle, nilgai (blue bull, the largest antelope in Asia), flamingos and other bird life.

How to get there

By Road

By Road

Ahmedabad is 335 ilometers from bhuj approx. driving time is 7 hours . Dholavira is 250 km from Bhuj and is reached via Bhachau and Rapar. A bus leaves from Bhuj at 14:00 and arrives at Dholavira at 20:30. It leaves at 05:00 the next morning and returns to Bhuj by 11:30. It is also possible to rent a vehicle.

By Train

By Train

Bhuj is the closest rail node to Dholavira,

By Air

By Air

The Rudra Mata airport at Bhuj is a small but busy node that connects Mumbai to Bhuj. The nearest airport is Bhuj. Bear in mind that an on-site guest house allows the possibility of a more leisurely experience, rather than a day trip.

Source: Internet

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