Chand Baori

Travel tips you can trust

Why
Chand Baori
is special

The 3,500 crisscrossing steps of this 10th century well are arranged in a strikingly geometric architectural design. They lead downward into the open pit 13 floors. All told, there are 3,500 steps.

Chand Baori
tips & insights

Function

The four-sided square pit is shaped like an upside-down pyramid. Three sides are lined with the zigzagging steps. The fourth side is a complex of rooms (with sculpted facades) and stacked one upon another.

Layout

The cavity once served as a reservoir for rain and ground water. Today, the pit is no longer used because the reservoir level is quite low and the algae-green water is unpotable.

Two way traffic

The crisscrossing steps allowed water carriers to travel up and down simultaneously.

Name

Chand was the king who built the structure. Baori translates "step well".

Film

It was used as a shooting location for the Batman 2012 box office hit Dark Knight Rises.

Location in India

Chand Baori is in Abhaneri village, which lies about 90 kilometers (60 miles) east of Jaipur and 160 kilometers (100 miles) west of Agra.