Rani ki Vav, Patan

A stepwell is a temple turned upside down, and Rani ki Vav is the most elaborate of them. Built at Patan in the eleventh century in memory of a king, it descends seven levels of stairs and landings towards the water table, the side walls stacked with hundreds of carved figures: avatars of Vishnu, attendants, apsaras adjusting an ornament or looking into a mirror. Silt from a shifting river buried the whole structure for centuries, which is exactly why the sculpture is so crisp, and it was cleared and excavated only in modern times. There is little water at the bottom now and the deepest flights are fenced, so you look down into it rather than walk all the way in.

What you actually see

• The sculpted side walls - tiered panels of deities and attendant figures running the depth of the well.
• The seven levels - stairs and landings stepping down towards the old water table.
• The apsara figures - small standing sculptures caught in everyday gestures, unusually well preserved.
• The pillared galleries - carved brackets and columns bridging the width at each landing.

When to go

November to February is dry and cool enough to stand in an open pit for an hour; from March the Gujarat plains heat up fast and there is no shade inside the well. Midday sun reaches furthest down the walls and lights the lower sculpture, but early morning is better for the upper tiers and for having the place close to empty.

Honest expectations

Access below the upper landings is restricted, so the lowest and most photographed levels are seen from above rather than entered. Patan is a long drive from anywhere with a hotel worth the name, and there is not much else in town beyond the weavers' workshops. Signage is thin, and without a guide the sculpture programme is hard to read.

Nearby

Patan's patola weaving workshops are in town, and the Modhera sun temple is about an hour away.