Adalaj Stepwell

This deep, ornately carved step-well on Ahmedabad's outskirts descends five storeys underground to reach cool water once vital in the arid region. Built in the late 15th century, it combines Hindu and Islamic decorative traditions across its pillared platforms, niches and sculpted panels. Shafts of light filter down the octagonal well, and the temperature drops noticeably as visitors descend the sculpted steps. Legends of the queen who commissioned it and the sultan who coveted her add romance to a masterpiece of medieval water architecture.