Rani ki Vav is a
stepwell situated in the town of
Patan in
Gujarat, India. It is located on the banks of the
Saraswati River. Its construction is attributed to Udayamati, the spouse of the 11th-century
Chaulukya king
Bhima I. Silted over, it was rediscovered in the 1940s and restored in the 1980s by the
Archaeological Survey of India. It has been listed as one of the UNESCO
World Heritage Sites in India since 2014. One of the largest examples of its kind, this stepwell is designed as an inverted temple highlighting the sanctity of water. It is divided into seven levels of stairs with sculptural panels. These panels have more than five hundred principal sculptures and more than one thousand minor ones that combine religious and symbolic imagery.
Photograph credit: Snehrashmi