Seven new natural heritage sites from across the country have been included in UNESCO’s Tentative List of World Heritage Sites, increasing India’s count on the Tentative List from 62 to 69 properties. The Ministry of Culture informed that with this inclusion, India now has 49 cultural, 17 natural, and 3 mixed heritage properties.

The newly added sites include Deccan Traps at Panchgani and Mahabaleshwar, Maharashtra; Karnataka’s Geological Heritage of St. Mary’s Island Cluster, Meghalayan Age Caves, Naga Hill Ophiolite, Andhra Pradesh’s Erra Matti Dibbalu, Tirumala hills and Kerala’s Varkala Cliffs.