Every great civilisation has contributed something special to the pantheon of world architecture. Egypt gave the world pyramids, Greece provided Corinthian columns, and India provided the stepwell, elevating the humble act of collecting water into an extravagant piece of public theatre.
Known variously as baoris, baolis and vav, stepwells were designed to fill and empty with the changing seasons, allowing access to the water via a series of cascading terraces, no matter how high or low the water level. Reflecting the importance of water in the monsoon-dependent country, most stepwells were lavishly ornamented and decked out with niches and pavilions where people could swim, bathe, perform religious rituals, and enjoy the natural cooling effect of a stored body of water.
Today, stepwells – whether abandoned or in use – can be found scattered across India, with the highest concentration in the north of the country, often far from the mainstream tourist trail. Here’s our pick of seven of the most spectacular, with details on how to visit them.
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1. Chand Baori, Abhaneri, Rajasthan
Perhaps the most striking of all India’s stepwells, Chand Baori has 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 – albeit one that’s 13-storeys deep and 35m across from side to side.
from
via Lonely Planet India
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