Indian Unesco cards

I've traded again with Nagi from India. He wanted 2 of my cards and in return i chose these 2 from his unesco offer list. The 1st card is from Munnar, a hill station on the Western Ghats, added to the World Heritage List this year and new to my collection and the 2nd shows the Brihadeeswarar Temple,  part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Great Living Chola Temples". I already had a card from this 2nd site.

Photo by V B Anand

The Western Ghats or the Sahyādri constitute a mountain range along the western side of India. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the eight hottest hotspots of biological diversity in the world.

These hills cover 160,000 km2 (62,000 sq mi) and form the catchment area for complex riverine drainage systems that drain almost 40% of India. The Western Ghats block rainfall to the Deccan Plateau. The average elevation is around 1,200 m (3,900 ft).

The area is one of the world’s ten "Hottest biodiversity hotspots" and has over 5000 species of flowering plants, 139 mammal species, 508 bird species and 179 amphibian species; it is likely that many undiscovered species live in the Western Ghats. At least 325 globally threatened species occur in the Western Ghats. - in: wikipedia

Photo by V B Anand

The Brihadeeswarar Temple at Thanjavur in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva and a brilliant example of the major heights achieved by Cholas in Tamil architecture. It is a tribute and a reflection of the power of its patron Raja Raja Chola I. It remains India's largest temple and is one of the greatest glories of Indian architecture.

The entire temple structure is made out of hard granite stones, a material sparsely available in Thanjavur area where the temple is. Built in 1010 AD by Raja Raja Chola in Thanjavur, Brihadeeswarar Temple, also popularly known as the ‘Big Temple', turned 1000 years old in 2010. - in: wikipedia