List of World Heritage Sites in West Bengal

Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (1999), Darjeeling, West Bengal

Period: 19th and early 20th century

Unesco Data: 944ter; 1999,2005,2008; (i)(iii)(iv)

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, nicknamed the "Toy Train", is a 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge railway from New Jalpaiguri to Darjeeling in West Bengal, run by the Indian Railways.

It was built between 1879 and 1881 and is about 86 kilometres (53 mi) long. The elevation level is from about 100 metres (328 ft) at New Jalpaiguri to about 2,200 metres (7,218 ft) at Darjeeling. Four modern diesel locomotives handle most of the scheduled services: however the daily Kurseong-Darjeeling return service and the daily tourist trains from Darjeeling to Ghum (India's highest railway station) are handled by vintage British-built B Class steam locomotives.Since 1999 the train has been a World Heritage Site as listed by UNESCO. In 2005, UNESCO added the Nilgiri Mountain Railway as an extension to the original designation. In 2008 the 96-kilometre (60 mi), 2.5-foot (760 mm) gauge Kalka–Shimla Railway, opened in 1903, was also added. Shri Subrato Nath was appointed as first full time Director-cum-Site Manager of Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) in 2007. The Headquarters of the DHR was also re-established at Elysia Place, Kurseong. Since then, there is a full time Director to look after the railway as a World Heritage Site.

Sundarbans National Park, West Bengal, India

Period: 1939 and 1982

Unesco Data: 452; 1987 ; (ix) and (x)

The Sundarbans National Park, the largest estuarine mangrove forest in the world is a National Park, Tiger Reserve, UNESCO World Heritage Site and a Biosphere Reserve located in the Sundarbans Ganges river delta bordering the Bay of Bengal, in West Bengal. It is also on the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves. The Sundarbans as a whole encompasses 10,000 km2 (3,900 sq mi) of land and water, about 5,980 km2 (2,310 sq mi) in India and the balance is in Bangladesh. It is integral to the world's largest delta of 80,000 km2 formed from sediments deposited by the three great rivers, the Ganges, the Brahmaputra and the Meghna, which confluence in the Bengal Basin. The entire basin is traversed by a complex network of interconnecting waterways. Tidal waves as high 75 m are a regular feature here.

Though, the history of protection in the area of Indian part of the Sundarbans dates back to 1878, it was declared as the core area of Sundarbans Tiger Reserve in 1973 and a wildlife sanctuary in 1977 of 133,000-hectare core area within the 258,500 hectares (639,000 acres) Sundarbans Tiger Reserve. On May 4, 1984 it was declared a National Park. It was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1987 as a natural property under category (ix) and (x). This region is densely covered by mangrove forests, and is one of the largest reserves for the Bengal tiger. It is also home to a variety of bird, reptile and invertebrate species, including the salt-water crocodile Amrinder

Tentative list

Temples at Bishnupur, West Bengal, India - West Bengal is famous for its terracotta temples and the balucheri sarees .

Neora Valley National Park, Darjeeling District, West Bengal, India - This is one of the richest biological zones in the entire Northeast situated in the Kalimpong subdivision under Darjeeling District in West Bengal

Shantiniketan, West Bengal, India - Santiniketan made famous by Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore, whose vision became the present university town Visva-Bharati University