MOST UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE VISITS IN 12 HOURS USING PUBLIC TRANSPORT

The Inspiration: In 2017, the attack on Swiss couple who were visiting Indian Heritage Sites in Fatehpur Sikri shocked all of us. This incident gave a spark that we should take up the task of proving that India is a safe place to travel, and public transport and conveniences are in fact available throughout the heritage sites. India has always been a highlight for cultural tourism which it posses. Most of the UNESCO sites in India showcase the cultural glory and historical significance.

Triumph Expeditions strongly believe in preserving the history in its true form and environment conservation and taking both to the future generation. At that the time, we came across a video made by Drew Goldberg of visiting UNESCO sites using public transport and achieving a Guinness. When we approached Guinness, they had about 150 sets of rules and regulations to follow which were very similar to our goals, yet difficult. After a very long hibernation period there came the approval to do the 7 UNESCO World Heritage Site Visits in 12 Hours. We wanted to prove that using public transport we can do it in a record-breaking time.

The Expedition was led by Triumph Expeditions in association with Transcend Adventures.

Triumph Expeditions is an Adventure Travel Establishment (Enterprise) that is unique in exploring the unexplored. Our motto is to showcase the adventure travel in its original form and discover the world that people seldom explore, not only to explore the outer world but also to explore oneself. We venture into the world of high-grade adventure activities to experience nature at its true form and to help people build a perspective that “Nature has a Soul and we will preserve it”. Triumphex

Transcend Adventures is an adventure company started by a group of mountaineers with 12 years of experience in climbing and mountaineering across various parts of the world. The company’s vision is not only to offer expeditions, teach climbing and mountaineering – but instead, aims to create stalwarts who carry forward the tradition of mountaineering. Till date, we have trained and guided 67 mountaineers to reach the highest point on the planet – Mt. Everest. Transcend Adventures holds the world record in guiding Ms. Malavath Purna, a 13-year-old tribal girl from Telangana in reaching the summit. Transadventures

Selecting the GWR participants was one of the most difficult task the Triumph Expedition undertook. There were several criteria to be met. Considering the Guinness Record criteria of using public transport, we had to select women and children to prove that women and children can travel safely and comfortably.

Teams were both from Triumph Expeditions (Coimbatore – Delhi) and Transcend Adventures (Hyderabad, Telangana). Members were selected on the basis of physical fitness and adventure experience. Kids too were taken into consideration based on their prior travel experience. Thus a team of 21 members was selected for the UNESCO12 Expedition.

The attempt on 8th July

It look us lot of time to finalize the route for the UNESCO event. As it was a team effort which comprises of women and children, we undertook a trial attempt on 6th of July.

On 8th of July, the team started its expedition at 05.20 AM from the Taj Mahal, Agra. We reached Agra Fort, Agra and from there we traveled to Fatehpur Sikhri. Using a local bus the team then traveled to Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur. At 09:25 AM we took the Jan Shatabdi train to New Delhi. At New Delhi, the first UNESCO site which we have visited was Humayun’s Tomb and then we traveled to Red Fort and finally finished our expedition at Qutub Minar.

It took us 11:33:18 to visit all the seven UNESCO world heritage sites with the distance of 274 km using only the public transport. The team finished the expedition by 4:53 PM at Qutub Minar. During the expedition, the team travelled in electric vehicle, metered taxi, government bus, auto rickshaws, train, metro train and walked for more than 5 km.

We had the guidelines to get two witness signatures at each UNESCO world heritage sites and then a consolidated witness at final UNESCO site. We were glad to find tourist guides and site in charges extending their support in accomplishing the mission, Mr. Anil Oraw, Regional director of Incredible India (Ministry of Tourism, India) consolidated and gave evidence in the successful completion of the mission.

We thank UNESCO in giving the status of the World Heritage Site to these monuments and our Government of India for maintaining these sites very well.