The ancient Buddhist site of Sarnath in northern India has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, becoming the 45th site in India to receive the designation.
The decision was announced on 25 July during the 48th session of UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee, being held in Busan, South Korea, from 19–29 July. The 21-member committee is responsible for determining which nominated sites meet the requirements for inclusion on the World Heritage List.
“For more than 2,500 years, Sarnath has been a place of pilgrimage and inspiration for Buddhists around the world. It is here that the Buddha delivered his first sermon, sharing teachings of compassion, wisdom, and peace that continue to resonate today. Its temples, stupas, and monasteries bear witness to centuries of faith, devotion, and shared human heritage,” said the director and representative of the UNESCO Regional Office for South Asia, Tim Curtis. (UNESCO)
Located near Varanasi in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, Sarnath is revered in the Buddhist tradition as the place where Shakyamuni Buddha delivered his first teaching after attaining enlightenment in Bodh Gaya. According to Buddhist accounts, the Buddha traveled to Sarnath and taught five ascetics who became his first disciples, an event traditionally known as the first turning of the Wheel of Dharma.
Sarnath subsequently developed into a major center of Buddhist pilgrimage, learning, and monastic life. Over successive centuries, rulers, patrons, and monastic communities constructed stupas, temples, and monasteries. Along with Bodh Gaya, Lumbini, and Kushinagar, Sarnath is traditionally regarded as one of the four principal Buddhist pilgrimage destinations associated with the life of the historical Buddha.
The newly inscribed World Heritage property consists of two main components: Chaukhandi Stupa and the Archaeological Remains of Sarnath. The latter includes Dhamek Stupa, Dharmarajika Stupa, and other archaeological relics associated with the site’s long Buddhist history. The monuments form part of the historical landscape widely identified with Deer Park, also known in Buddhist texts by such names as Isipatana, Rishipatana, and Mrigadava.
The site also contains the remains of an Ashokan pillar erected during the reign of the Mauryan emperor Ashoka in the third century BCE. The pillar’s lion capital, discovered during archaeological excavations in the early 20th century, later became the basis for the State Emblem of India.
For Buddhists, however, Sarnath’s significance extends well beyond its archaeological remains. More than two millennia after Buddhism began spreading from the region, the site has remained an active international pilgrimage destination and a symbol of the Buddha’s teachings of wisdom, compassion, and liberation.
India formally submitted its nomination dossier for the “Ancient Buddhist Site, Sarnath” during the 2025–26 nomination cycle. Union culture minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat confirmed the submission in August 2025 in a written response to the Lok Sabha. (NDTV) The country’s previous addition to the World Heritage List was the Maratha Military Landscapes of India, inscribed in 2025.
UNESCO’s World Heritage designation recognizes cultural and natural sites considered to possess “Outstanding Universal Value,” meaning that their significance extends beyond national boundaries. The World Heritage Convention was adopted in 1972, and the World Heritage List now includes more than 1,200 cultural, natural, and mixed properties around the world.
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The ancient Buddhist site of Sarnath that has been added to the World Heritage list, in photos (Associated Press)
Ancient Buddhist Site of Sarnath inscribed on UNESCO World Heritage List (UNESCO)
Sarnath is now India’s 45th UNESCO World Heritage Site (TimeOut)
Sarnath Added To UNESCO World Heritage List, 45th Site From India (NDTV)
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