List of World Heritage Sites in Nepal

Sagarmatha National Park

Chitwan National Park

Kathmandu Valley

Lumbini

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Location of World Heritage Sites in Nepal

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designates World Heritage Sites of outstanding universal value to cultural or natural heritage which have been nominated by countries which are signatories to the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, established in 1972.^[1] Cultural heritage consists of monuments (such as architectural works, monumental sculptures, or inscriptions), groups of buildings, and sites (including archaeological sites). Natural features (consisting of physical and biological formations), geological and physiographical formations (including habitats of threatened species of animals and plants), and natural sites which are important from the point of view of science, conservation or natural beauty, are defined as natural heritage.^[2] Nepal ratified the convention on 20 June 1978, making its historical sites eligible for inclusion on the list.^[3]

Four sites in Nepal were on the list in 2023, with a further fifteen on the tentative list, of sites that may be considered for future submission.^[4] The first sites in Nepal to be added to the list were the Sagarmatha National Park and the Kathmandu Valley, added in 1979. Due to the partial or substantial loss of the traditional elements of six out of seven monument zones and resulting general loss of authenticity and integrity of the whole property, Kathmandu Valley was also added to the List of World Heritage in Danger between 2003 and 2007. Chitwan National Park was listed in 1984, and Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha according to Buddhist tradition, was added in 1997. The National Parks are natural sites, and the other two are cultural.