Spectacular Chand Baori Stepwell Of India That Resembles Reversed Pyramid

A. Sutherland - AncientPages.com - Dedicated to Harshat Mata, goddess of joy and happiness, Chand Baori in India is one of the world's largest and most beautiful stepwells.

Panorama of Chand Baori. Image credit: Chainwit. - CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED

Chand Baori is a truly spectacular site. It looks almost like an ancient reversed pyramid. It is a true engineering marvel!

Due to the lack of water, many beautiful and functional stepwells exist in India. However, Chand Baori is an exceptional construction in many ways.
The four-sided Chand Baori is 13 stories tall, 100 feet deep, and lined with 3,500 steps arranged in a spectacular zig-zag pattern.

It is located opposite the Harshat Mata temple (dedicated to the goddess of happiness and joy). It was built in the ninth century, and it consists of 3,500 narrow steps, 13 floors, and is about 30 m deep.
The stepwell was built over a thousand years ago in the Abhaneri village of Rajasthan. Built by King Chanda of the Nikumbha Dynasty, it provided the surrounding areas with a dependable water source for centuries before modern water delivery systems were introduced.

Despite the open architecture, the temperatures at the bottom of the well are consistently five to six degrees below the temperatures on the surface.
During the monsoon season, the well has been known to fill almost to the top.

Chand Baori (stepwell), Abhaneri, Rajasthan, India. Image credit: Doron  - CC BY-SA 3.0

This historical monument ranked alongside the Taj Mahal, reveals a maze of symmetrical steps that appear to form a never-ending path deep underground.

The Baori has a precise geometrical pattern, which is hard to find in this age. The steps form a magical maze, and the consequent play of light and shadow on the structure gives it a captivating look.
It has an enclosed rectangular courtyard structure. Upon entering, you reach a jharokha (windows).

Descending the stairs on the left, you can see the cavernous Baori narrowing towards the bottom, criss-crossed with double flights of steps on three sides to reach the water surface below.

View into the water basin at the bottom of the Chand Baori. Image credit: Vetra - CC BY-SA 3.0

The stairs encircle the water on the three sides. In contrast, the fourth side boasts a three-story high pavilion with beautifully carved jharokhas (an overhanging enclosed balcony), pillars-supported galleries, and two projecting balconies enshrining beautiful sculptures.
A closer look at the well's design reveals ancient Hindu mythology picture stories.

Legend has it that the spirits built this well in one night, and it has so many steps that it is impossible to retrieve the coin that was previously thrown into the well.

Chand Baori was featured in The Fall and made a small appearance in Christopher Nolan's blockbuster The Dark Knight Rises.
Today, the construction is no longer used as a well, but its exquisite geometry attracts local and international visitors alike. It is one of many gorgeous and worth-seeing ancient structures in India.
The well is now a treasure managed by the Archeological Survey of India.

Written by – A. Sutherland  - AncientPages.com Senior Staff Writer

Updated on Nov 25, 2023

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