World Heritage Day themed "Ancient Art, Modern Challenges: Safeguarding Petroglyphs and Shaping Tourism Circuits in Ladakh"

Key facts

• India's first Petroglyph Conservation Park is being established on the banks of the Indus River in Leh, Ladakh.
• The foundation stone for the park was laid by Lt Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena on World Heritage Day.
• A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Department of Archives, Archaeology and Museums and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) for heritage preservation.
• Nearly 400 sites across Ladakh contain petroglyphs, with isolated carvings along the Indus River and Zanskar River facing significant risk.
• Some of the oldest petroglyphs in the region contain inscriptions in Sanskrit, Arabic, Chinese, and other ancient languages.
• The carvings depict early human life, including hunting scenes, animals such as ibex and snow leopards, and Buddhist symbols like stupas.
• The petroglyphs represent a continuous record of human history from the Palaeolithic Age to later historic periods.
• These carvings are found in regions including Domkhar, Dah Hanu, Alchi, Chilling, and Tangtse.