Patan Rani ki Vav Patola Double Ikat Cotton Gujarat Heritage

Patan district in north Gujarat is home to two of India's most extraordinary heritage items: the Rani ki Vav (Queen's stepwell, 11th century, UNESCO World Heritage) — a seven-storey stepwell with 500+ principal sculptures of Vishnu, apsaras, and Shiva in exquisite Solanki-era carving; and the Patola double ikat silk sari — considered the most labour-intensive textile in the world where both warp and weft threads are individually resist-dyed before weaving to create perfectly aligned geometric patterns. Patola is made exclusively by the Salvi family of Patan (3-5 surviving master weavers) and each double ikat sari takes 6-12 months to complete, commanding prices of Rs 1-20 lakh. Patan was capital of the Solanki dynasty (942-1244 CE) whose architectural and artistic achievements include Modhera Sun Temple and Rani ki Vav.