The site was declared a world heritage
site in 2004. Champaner Pavagadh Archeological Park is known
for housing a number of archaeological and historic sites
that are yet to be excavated along with living cultural
heritage structures. The sites include a hill fortress of an
early Hindu capital from the 16th century in the state of
Gujarat complete with palaces, temples, residential
precincts, agricultural structures and water installations.
These structures belong to the period ranging from 8th to
14th centuries. Thousands of pilgrims flock throughout the
year to the Kalikamata Temple atop the Pavagadh Hill to pay
their homage to the Goddess. The site is quite important to
study the pre-Mughal Islamic history, as it is the only
complete city from that time that hasn't been altered later.
One can see ancient Hindu palace and temple architectural
styles, the special water retaining installations of that
time that were used to fight off the scarcity of water and
the religious, military and agricultural structures that
befit the 16th century capital of the region built by Mehmud
Begda. These structures help to fill the gaps in Indian
history and present a harmonious blend of Hindu-Muslim
architecture. The Great Mosque or the Jami Masjid is
believed to have served as the model for the mosques built
later in India and is representative of regional sultanates
that existed before Mughals came into power. The capital was
not used for long. It is place of worship for Hindus and
presents pregnant historical mysteries to the archeologists.
