Incredible Treasures

Incredible Treasures: UNESCO World Heritage Sites of India is a large-scale visual and editorial documentation of India’s extraordinary cultural and natural heritage. Created as a UNESCO and Mapin Publishing co-publication, the project brought together India’s 38 UNESCO World Heritage Sites as they stood in 2021, presenting them within a single visual and historical narrative. From the prehistoric rock shelters of Bhimbetka and the Buddhist caves of Ajanta and Ellora to the Taj Mahal, Hampi, Khajuraho, historic cities, colonial architecture, mountain railways, national parks and Himalayan landscapes, the publication moves across centuries of architecture, belief, ecology and human intervention. Rohit Chawla served as Photo Editor and contributed to the photographic character of the publication, helping create a cohesive visual language across an exceptionally diverse range of monuments, landscapes and natural environments. Edited by heritage specialist Shikha Jain and the late Vinay Sheel Oberoi, the project combines photography with accessible scholarship by architects, conservationists, ecologists and heritage specialists. Published in 2021, Incredible Treasures functions not simply as a guide to individual sites but as a visual archive of India’s layered history, biodiversity and extraordinary cultural pluralism.