Stepwells are fascinating pieces of architecture that dot the Indian landscape in great density and mystery. Built from the year 200 all the way through the 1800’s, they were a way to store precious water in arid regions while also providing cooling public spaces. Many of the wells are undeniably magnificent: the ground opens to reveal dozens of symmetrical stone staircases amidst intricate arches, domes, and carvings. The variety of names by which they’re called indicates their diversity: Baoli or Baori a widespread term, Kund to refer to more open structures, Vav in Gujarat, Talaab a more Urdu-origin word that I have seen in Muslim neighborhoods.
The delight of finding a stepwell is hard to describe. You have to skulk through a neighborhood, walled in by dense residential spaces, growled at by street dogs, wafted by the scent of incense protecting vegetable carts, stared at by inquisitive locals and perhaps asked where you could possibly think you’re going, in short thrust yourself into the middle of the sensory overload that is modern urban India- and then find it, and descend into a calm, cool, shadowy world of past centuries, preserved by the beauty and scale of ancient architecture from modern encroachment, a literal portal into history invisible from the other side of the street. Then you will know the magic of stepwells.
The best way I’ve found to interact with these ancient wonders is to jump into them. The act of the jump injects adventure, of course, but it also ties the present to the past in a rush of motion, allowing the urban cliff-diver to live a piece of India’s history. The search for the well teaches the searcher a lot about the neighborhood, giving a purpose to urban exploration. And this is an utterly unique bit of adventure that you cannot have anywhere else in the world, that no tour company can set up for you, and that will leave you with an adrenaline rush that rivals anything else you can do in India (or anywhere).
Sadly, you can only jump into some stepwells. To be suitable for a jump, a stepwell must satisfy the 5 Rules of Stepwell Jumping:
Deep enough: Must have water in it, and the water must be deep enough to cushion the plunge, given how far you fall through the air. See the next section for more analysis on how deep it has to be. Neemrana Baori, a 9-story beast, would be an extremely epic jump but it has little to no water as of 2020.
Steep enough: The well must have a vertical or near-vertical side so that you can clear the stones while in the air. Kerala’s biggest and best stepwell is an example of one that may or may not be steep enough.
High enough: Some part of the well must have at least 3 metres of clearance between the water and the well’s walls. Two awesome Jodhpur stepwells- Mahila Bagh Ka Jhalra and Kriya Ka Jhalra- have too high a water level to allow for a meaningful jump as of 2020.
Clean enough: The water must be sufficiently free of muck, algae, and trash. This rule has more of a gray area than others; many wells have some level of debris or murkiness in the water, and it’s up to personal preference. Nizamuddin Baoli is one that probably meets all other requirements but is on the line with this one- it was cleaned in but has gotten dirtier since.
Accessible: Jumping must be allowed, or at least not monitored closely. Some stepwells are associated with religious sites, and it is important to understand if jumping would be offensive in such cases. Also, some stepwells have simply been built around fully due to urban development, and cannot be publicly accessed. You might be able to talk your way into some of these. The Satyanarayan Ji ki baori is one that I was not able to find in Jodhpur as it seemed closed off behind private buildings on all sides- but I might not have looked hard enough.
So, out of the thousands of Baolis in India, how do you track down ones that might be jumpable? Follow the Stepwell Jumping Process:
Start with the amazing gift to humanity that is the Stepwell Atlas (stepwells.org), which provides a GPS point for every stepwell in the country, and a picture for most of them.
Scout pictures to identify stepwells that look like they might satisfy the 5 Rules. Pick one.
Make your way to the GPS point. They are often hard to find because you need to get right to them to see them; asking locals where the Baoli is can help.
Once you’ve found it, check it out and if it seems to satisfy the 5 Rules, use the stairways to access the water, slip in, swim to your likely landing spot and make sure it’s deep enough (at least 8 feet of water for a 10-foot jump; at least 10 feet for a 15 foot jump; deeper than that for a higher jump- 16 feet of water is theoretically enough for any height of jump).
If possible, ask someone if it’s OK to swim. Local kids often swim, so it usually is (unless a sign says otherwise). If you can’t find anyone, try to make your best judgment. If all seems fine- jump away (and set up a phone with video rolling, to capture for posterity)!
And finally, some tips to ensure great success:
Local kids are awesome to bring on board to these missions. For one, they may swim in their neighborhood wells and be able to tell you about depth and water quality. They will also be very excited about the absurdity of some stranger wanting to jump in the well. Finally, you can train them to shoot the video in exchange for a small salary that will absolutely delight them.
It’s best to keep a relatively low profile and be in and out quickly. In many or even most cases, my impression is that wells are not held in reverence- people use them actively as part of life, by swimming in them, tossing trash into them, building business opportunities around them, and more. To me, this means safely jumping into them is basically fine. However, you never know when you’ll meet someone who has a different opinion- either with the goal of opportunistically taking issue with the actions of a stranger to extract money or wield power, or with a genuine desire to prohibit hijinks in their neighborhood, or just out of worry that you’ll hurt yourself. So keep a low profile, don’t advertise too much or jump too many times.
Above All, The Most Important Rule: Always swim first before you jump. Always carefully check depth. Don’t ever jump into any water you haven’t checked yourself- this principle is on the level of always treating guns as loaded, telling people where you’re headed before a risky wilderness trip, not believing young men in Indian tourist traps who call you “my friend,” and other such inviolable laws of life.