Sacred Forests or Groves

WHS that contain forests or groves with great religious importance to a particular culture.

World Heritage Sites connected to 'Sacred Forests or Groves':

  • Ancient Kyoto Kamigamo Shrine and the Shimogamo Shrine
  • Ancient Nara Kasugayama Primeval Forest: ".. a sacred forest where no hunting or tree-felling has been permitted since 841." (AB)
  • Bahá’i Holy Places Ridwan Garden is an imitation of Paradise
  • Gusuku Sites "The Seifa-utaki ... consists of a triangular cavern formed by gigantic rocks, and contains a sacred grove with rare, indigenous trees like the Kubanoki (a kind of palm) and the yabunikkei or Cinnamomum japonicum (a form of wild cinnamon). Direct access to the grove is forbidden." (Wiki)
  • Mijikenda Kaya Forests
  • Osun-Osogbo
  • Qadisha Valley "The ancient text known as the Epic of Gilgamesh, found in central Mesopotamia, makes reference to this forest and describes the Cedars of Lebanon as sacred trees." (AB)
  • Rome A sacred grove behind the House of the Vestal Virgins on the edge of the Roman Forum lingered until its last vestiges were burnt in the Great Fire of Rome in 64 CE.