October 6, 2024

My fascination with Indian stepwells

My fascination with stepwells started when I first heard about Agrasen ki baoli a few years ago – an ancient stepwell hiding in plain sight in the heart of modern New Delhi. I finally got a chance to see it two years ago; we were living in Gurgaon then.

It was an unusually balmy winter Sunday morning, and my husband and I decided to make the best use of it by heading to Connaught Place for a south Indian breakfast at Saravana Bhavan, followed by a leisurely stroll around the neighbourhood.

I suddenly remembered that the baoli was supposed to somewhere in the area, so why not make a visit? It was tucked away in a small lane, with the wall in front of it decorated with an exquisite Ganesha mural.

Unfortunately, the site was undergoing restoration work when we visited, so thanks to the scaffoldings everywhere, I could not take any photos. But during a recent trip to my alma mater in Ahmedabad last winter, I squeezed in a quick trip to Patan – rightly considered the queen of stepwells in India, fittingly built by a queen – stopping at Adalaj and Modhera on the way.

Here is a photoessay on a few of these stepwells – but before that, do read my story in BBC Travel on these ancient engineering marvels.

The kalyani at Hampi

A classic temple tank at Modhera

The steps of the tank at Modhera

The dramatic vav at Adalaj

Multiple levels of the Patan stepwell

Peering down into the well

The exquisite carvings at Patan’s Rani ki Vav

5 thoughts on “My fascination with Indian stepwells

  1. Have you seen the Chand baori at Abhaneri village near Jaipur ? Its awesome.
    Its goes 13 storeys down, and its said to be the deepest stepwell in India.

    Chitra Shastry

    1. Hi Chitra, thanks for dropping by! No, I haven’t seen the Abhaneri stepwell, unfortunately, although I have visited Jaipur a number of times. This is definitely on my list for my next trip!

  2. Do take a look at Stepwell Atlas, our collaborative map of over 1100 stepwells (with accurate GPS coordinates, pictures and links). Anyone can edit or add stepwells to the map – do let us know if you find any stepwells not currently included.

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