Indonesia World Heritage Sites - Designated by UNESCO

Indonesia World Heritage Sites – Designated by UNESCO

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July 24, 2018

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UNESCO has designated 8 Indonesia World Heritage Sites, there are 4 cultural,4 natural. Properties inscribed on the World Heritage List are:

Indonesia World Heritage Sites : Cultural

Borobudur Temple Compounds:

This famous Buddhist temple, dating from the 8th and 9th centuries, is located in central Java. The monument consists of six square platforms topped by three circular platforms, and is elegantly decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues. A main dome, located at the center of the top platform, is surrounded by 72 Buddha statues seated inside a perforated stupa. The temple’s design in Gupta architecture reflects India’s influence on the region, yet there are enough indigenous scenes and elements incorporated to make Borobudur uniquely Indonesian. The monument was restored with UNESCO’s help in the 1970s. Borobudur is a single most visited tourist attraction of Indonesia.

Cultural Landscape of Bali Province:

the Subak System as a Manifestation of the Tri Hita Karana Philosophy: The cultural landscape of Bali consists of five rice terraces and their water temples. The temples are the focus of a cooperative water management system of canals and dams, known as subak, that dates back to the 9th century. Included in the landscape is the 18th-century Royal Water Temple of Pura Taman Ayun. The subak reflects the philosophical concept of Tri Hita Karana, which brings together the realms of the spirit, the human world and nature. This philosophy was born of the cultural exchange between Bali and India over the past 2,000 years and has shaped the landscape of Bali. The subak system of democratic and egalitarian farming practices has enabled the Balinese to become the most prolific rice growers in the archipelago.

Prambanan Temple Compounds:

Built in the 10th century, this is the largest temple compound dedicated to Shiva in Indonesia. Rising above the centre of the last of these concentric squares are three temples decorated with reliefs illustrating the epic of the Ramayana, dedicated to the three great Hindu divinities (Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma) and three temples dedicated to the animals who serve them.

Sangiran Early Man Site:

Excavations here from 1936 to 1941 led to the discovery of the first human fossil at this site. Later,50 fossils of Meganthropus palaeo and Pithecanthropus erectus/Homo erectus were found – half of all the world’s known hominid fossils. Inhabited for the past one and a half million years, Sangiran is one of the key sites for the understanding of human evolution.

Indonesia World Heritage Sites : Natural

Komodo National Park:

These volcanic islands are inhabited by a population of around 5,700 giant lizards, whose appearance and aggressive behavior have led to them being called ‘Komodo dragons’. They exist nowhere else in the world and are of great interest to scientists studying the theory of evolution.

Lorentz National Park:

Lorentz National Park is the largest protected area in South-East Asia. It is the only protected area in the world to incorporate a continuous, intact transect from snowcap to tropical marine environment, including extensive lowland wetlands. Located at the meeting-point of two colliding continental plates, the area has a complex geology with ongoing mountain formation as well as major sculpting by glaciations. The area also contains fossil sites which provide evidence of the evolution of life on New Guinea, a high level of endemism and the highest level of biodiversity in the region.

Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra:

The 2.5 million hectare Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra site comprises three national parks. The site holds the greatest potential for long-term conservation of the distinctive and diverse biota of Sumatra, including many endangered species. The protected area is home to an estimated 10,000 plant species, including 17 endemic genera; more than 200 mammal species; and some 580 bird species of which 465 are resident and 21 are endemic. The site also provides biogeographic evidence of the evolution of the island.

Ujung Kulon National Park:

This national park, located in the extreme south-western tip of Java on the Sunda shelf, includes the Ujung Kulon peninsula and several offshore islands and encompasses the natural reserve of Krakatoa. In addition to its natural beauty and geological interest – particularly for the study of inland volcanoes – it contains the largest remaining area of lowland rain forests in the Java plain. Several species of endangered plants and animals can be found there, the Javan rhinoceros being the most seriously under threat.