Agra
Price $79
Min age 0
Rating 4.70 / 5 [17 ratings]
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Abhaneri, Rajasthan, India
Credit Shutterstock.com/suronin
Constructed by King Chanda in the 8th or 9th century, this baori, or ‘step well’, is a superb example of medieval engineering designed to ‘harvest’ water.
With around 3,500 steps, and thirteen ‘floors’ with decoratively carved balconies, the well’s geometry is both beautiful and functional – users could access water easily as levels fell with the approach of summer and even seek relief from the sun and heat.
Once fairly common across Rajasthan and Gujarat (though rarely as elaborate), many ancient step wells have fallen into disrepair – if not obscurity – and few remain in use today.
Though unused, Abhaneri (also known as Chand Baori) remains in particularly good condition and is one of the best examples of a step well in the whole of India; a bewitching combination of awe-inspiring architecture and medieval ingenuity.
95km east of Jaipur and 150km west of Agra, Abhaneri lies about 10km north of National Highway 21, the main road linking those two cities.
Most visitors pause here en route to Jaipur or Agra and many will have their own transport (typically a tour bus or chaffeured car). Public buses stop here too and there’s always onward local transport – a shared ‘jeep taxi’ or auto-rickshaw or village bus – for the last stage though it will be rather more earthy than comfortable.
The site is open all year round, seven days a week.
It’s best visited between September and April when temperatures are manageable.
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