How Twelve Ancient Forts Across India Became A Unified UNESCO World Heritage Site

Countries & Cities · Published 29 September 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: In 2025, a network of twelve Maratha military forts earned World Heritage status. Spanning from the Sahyadri mountains to the Eastern Ghats, these structures represent a sophisticated defensive strategy developed by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Their journey to international recognition involved intense diplomatic efforts and debates over their historical integration.

The Maratha Military Landscapes consist of twelve distinct fortifications, including eleven located in Maharashtra and one in Tamil Nadu. This collection features sites such as Salher, Shivneri, Raigad, and the coastal Sindhudurg. These structures were occupied and developed between the 17th and 19th centuries, serving as the backbone of a military strategy that evolved from the reign of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj through the era of Peshwa rule.

The path to UNESCO recognition began in 2021 when the sites were added to the Tentative World Heritage List. By January 2024, the Ministry of Culture selected these twelve locations from a pool of over 390 forts in Maharashtra alone. Following a survey by a UNESCO team in October 2024, a delegation led by Ashish Shelar traveled to Paris in February 2025 to advocate for the nomination through technical and diplomatic presentations.

During the 47th session of the World Heritage Convention in July 2025, the nomination faced significant scrutiny. The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) initially recommended deferring the entry, arguing that the proposal failed to convincingly demonstrate how these geographically scattered forts functioned as a single, integrated military defense system. Despite these reservations, India successfully navigated the diplomatic process, securing support from international delegates to ensure the site's official inscription.

The inclusion of these sites highlights the diversity of Maratha engineering across the Sahyadri Range, the Deccan Plateau, the Konkan Coast, and the Eastern Ghats. While the ICOMOS critique focused on the functional cohesion of the network, the final decision reflects the global significance of these landscapes as enduring symbols of Maratha military prowess and historical development in India.

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