Jantar Mantar of Jaipur, a famed astronomical observatory built in the early 18^th century, is now a World Heritage site.

The Jantar Mantar observatory has great religious significance. It was used by ancient Indian astronomers to understand celestial phenomenon. It basically consists of fourteen major geometric devices for measuring time, tracking star’s location as our earth orbits around the sun, predicting eclipses, ascertaining the declinations of planets and finding out their celestial altitude.

“This is India’s 28^th and Rajasthan’s 2^nd World Heritage Site (Rajasthan’s 1^st is Keoladev National Park). It is a matter of immense proud for us and for the entire country as well. The status would boost tourism in Rajasthan,” said the state Tourism Minister Ms. Bina Kak reacting to the decision taken by World Heritage Committee, UNESCO.

Jantar Mantar, an ancient observatory, was built by Maharaja Jai Singh II between the year 1727 and 1734. It is one of the seven sites in the world which have been granted World Heritage status by UNESCO, this year.

Ms. Kak said that a three-member team from Rajasthan submitted a management plan of Jantar Mantar before the UNESCO committee. “Following this, the astronomical observatory was declared as a World Heritage site. The UNESCO committee discussed over 37 sites across the world before finally declaring its results in a meeting held at Brasilia,” stated the minister.

“The state’s, particularly Jaipur’s hotel industry will benefit a lot following this World Heritage status. The government is also considering granting concessions to the hotel & tourism industry. We expect that tourist inflow, which is presently around 8 Lakh, would drastically increase during the upcoming tourist season,” she said.

For more information about Indian Heritage Sites browse http://www.indiantraveldestinations.com/