India: Rani Ki Vav Stepwell
Rani Ki Vav Stepwell in the town of Patan, about 150km north from Ahmedabad on a day trip…. Wow! Totally stunning and surreal! The seven story deep stepwell was built in 11th century by Queen Rani as a memorial for her husband King Bhima I. And it’s truly an inverted temple the likes of which do not exist in the world – with over 500 big sculptures and over 1500 minor ones and elaborate carvings. Most of the sculptures are of sexy buxom goddesses (proving once and for all that gods possessed the power of breast augmentation surgery in the 11th century). The sculptures adorn each level of the stepwell and then line up the shaft of the 30m-deep final well. Sometime in the 12-13th century, the nearby river completely flooded the stepwell and buried it under silt until….. 1986 when it was discovered and excavated. All the sculptures and carvings, nearly 1000 years old, were preserved miraculously in absolutely stunning condition. As you descend down into the depth of the sunset-lit well level by level, your jaw drops in awe at the beauty and scale of this amazing treasure. This definitely goes into top-3 attractions I have seen so far in India, probably beating Taj Mahal.
