{"id":713,"date":"2019-11-25T10:05:57","date_gmt":"2019-11-25T10:05:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vookbook.com\/blog\/?p=713"},"modified":"2019-11-25T10:05:57","modified_gmt":"2019-11-25T10:05:57","slug":"stepwells-in-india-and-how-to-visit-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vookbook.com\/blog\/stepwells-in-india-and-how-to-visit-them\/","title":{"rendered":"Stepwells in India and How to Visit Them"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every great civilisation has contributed something special to the pantheon of world architecture.\u00a0Egypt\u00a0gave the world pyramids,\u00a0Greece\u00a0provided Corinthian columns, and\u00a0India<\/a>\u00a0provided the stepwell, elevating the humble act of collecting water into an extravagant piece of public theatre.<\/p>\n

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Today, stepwells \u2013 whether abandoned or in use \u2013 can be found scattered across India, with the highest concentration\u00a0in the north of the country, often far from the mainstream tourist trail. Here\u2019s our pick of seven of the most spectacular, with details on how to visit them yourself.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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1. Chand Baori, Abhaneri, Rajasthan<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Perhaps the most striking of all India’s stepwells,\u00a0Chand Baori\u00a0has featured as the setting for a string of Bollywood song and dance numbers. Some 3500 steps topple down the sides of the enormous central tank, arranged in an intricate criss-cross pattern that recalls the facets of a cut diamond \u2013 albeit one that\u2019s 13-storeys\u00a0deep and 35m across from side to side.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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There’s a hint of M C Escher about the latticework of interlinked stairways, giving the baori a sense of impossible geometry. The lower tiers were constructed by the Hindu king Raja Chanda in the 9th century, but the Mughals embellished the upper levels with pavilions and arcades in the 18th century, making the monument look more Islamic than Hindu. If it looks a little familiar, the stepwell had a cameo in the 2012 Batman flick The Dark Knight Rises.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Getting there:<\/strong>\u00a0Reaching Abhaneri by public transport involves a 95km bus, shared-taxi and minibus ride from\u00a0Jaipur<\/a>, with changes at Sikandra and Gular; it\u2019s easier to charter a taxi in Jaipur for a day trip. For accommodation, Jaipur\u2019s pocket-friendly\u00a0Hotel Pearl Palace\u00a0is a long-standing traveller favourite, while visitors with bottomless budgets favour the Taj Hotels-run\u00a0Rambagh Palace\u00a0\u2013 former pad of Maharaja Man Singh II.<\/p>\n

2. Rani-ki-Vav, Patan, Gujarat<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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The grand-daddy of Indian stepwells,\u00a0Rani-ki-Vav\u00a0is one of the few surviving relics from the once-powerful Chaulukya\u00a0kingdom, which ruled large areas of\u00a0Gujarat\u00a0and\u00a0Rajasthan\u00a0in the 11th century. Dropping vertiginously into the ground in a series of carving-covered tiers, this monumental stepwell was constructed on the orders of Udayamati, wife of the Chaulukya king Bhimdev I.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The remarkable state of preservation of Rani-ki-Vav is actually the result of a natural disaster \u2013 the monument was filled with silt in the 13th century and only re-exposed in the 1940s. Today, the stepwell is UNESCO-listed, both for its super-sized superstructure, and for the intricacy and elegance of the carvings of Vishnu and other deities that cover every spare inch of exposed stone.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Getting there:<\/strong>\u00a0Patan is around 130km northwest of\u00a0Ahmedabad, and makes for an easy three-hour trip by chartered taxi, or by bus from Ahmedabad’s ST Bus Station. The best place to stay in Patan is the inviting\u00a0Apple Residency, with tidy, modern rooms and plasma TVs.<\/p>\n

3. Agrasen Ki Baoli, Delhi<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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This oft-missed\u00a0Delhi\u00a0landmark opens up unexpectedly in the middle of a New Delhi street, just minutes from the mercantile chaos of Connaught Place. The\u00a0stepwell\u00a0cuts a 60m-long slice through the earth below the Indian capital, faced with niches set under Islamic arches, accessed via a single sweeping stairway. The structure seen today was most likely constructed during the Tughlaq period in the 14th century, when Delhi was ruled by a dynasty of Turkic sultans. It’s said to be haunted \u2013 usually by the same people who warn of\u00a0jinns<\/em>\u00a0(Islamic spirits) stalking the ruins of\u00a0Tughlaqabad\u00a0and\u00a0Feroz Shah Kotla. Today, the baoli is a favoured selfie spot thanks to a starring role in the 2015 Aamir Khan blockbuster PK.<\/p>\n

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Getting there:<\/strong>\u00a0The baoli is right in the heart of New Delhi, opening up some of the capital\u2019s most appealing accommodation. The pricey but charming\u00a0Haveli Dharampura\u00a0serves up Mughal elegance in the alleys of the old city, while\u00a0Amax Inn\u00a0keeps backpackers happy in the backlanes of Paharganj.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Every great civilisation has contributed something special to the pantheon of world architecture.\u00a0Egypt\u00a0gave the world pyramids,\u00a0Greece\u00a0provided Corinthian columns, and\u00a0India\u00a0provided the stepwell, elevating the humble act of collecting water into an extravagant piece of public theatre. Today, stepwells \u2013 whether abandoned or in use \u2013 can be found scattered across India, with the highest concentration\u00a0in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":714,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-713","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-asia"],"yoast_head":"\nStepwells in India and How to Visit Them - VookBook Blog | Travel everywhere<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"India\u00a0provided the civilisation the stepwell, elevating the humble act of collecting water into an extravagant piece of public theatre.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/vookbook.com\/blog\/stepwells-in-india-and-how-to-visit-them\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Stepwells in India and How to Visit Them - 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