Shillong: Sarnath just landed on the UNESCO World Heritage list. The ancient site near Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh marks India’s 45th inscription. It covers protected monuments like the Chaukhandi, Dhamek, and Dharmarajika stupas inside the historic Deer Park. This honor skipped over Meghalaya’s limestone caves and living root bridges this year.
India remains determined to get those bridges recognized. Ambassador Vishal V. Sharma delivered the official nomination dossier for 2026-27 to UNESCO Director Lazare Assomo Eloundou in Paris. Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma expressed his optimism regarding the bid. "We are hopeful that the living-root bridges will be inscribed this year, ensuring that the indigenous communities, the true guardians of this living heritage, receive the global recognition they so richly deserve," Sangma stated.
These bridges sit across the southern slopes of the Khasi and Jaintia Hills. Indigenous people built them over centuries. They rely on principles of reciprocity and respect for Mei Ramew, or Mother Earth. Hally War, a 69-year-old farmer from Siej village near Sohra, earned a 2026 Padma Shri for his work preserving these structures. He guides aerial roots from rubber fig trees to form self-repairing crossings.
India also added new spots to its UNESCO Tentative List. These include the Meghalayan Age cave systems, which hold vital climatic data from the late Holocene epoch. The list also features the Naga Hill Ophiolite, home to rare rock formations that track an ancient oceanic crust boundary. Meghalaya now boasts over 1,700 registered underground networks. Brian D. Kharpran and his team at the Meghalaya Adventurers’ Association lead the state's modern cave exploration efforts.
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