Sanchi

The Sanchi hill goes up in shelves with Stupa 2 situated on a lower shelf, Stupa 1, Stupa 3, the 5th century Gupta Temple No.17 and the 7th century temple No. 18 are on the intermediate shelf and a later monastery is on the crowning shelf. The balustrade surrounding Stupa 2, carved with iconic representations of the Buddha, was added in the late 2nd century BC under the Satavahanas.

The adjacent Gupta temple no.17 was hailed by Sir John Marshall as one of the most rationally organized structures in Indian architecture. Though small, it was a herald of all the principles which went into the engineering of an Indian temple in the early medieval period. The Buddhas in the perambulatory surrounding Stupa 1 are not contemporary with the Stupa but belong to the Gupta period in the mid-5th century AD. The monastery and the temple with the tall pillars adjacent to Stupa 1 and the temple near the monastery on the crowning shelf illustrate the evolution of the architectural form after the 5th century Gupta temple.    

Getting There

By Air: Nearest airport is at Bhopal (46 km via Diwanganj and 78 km via Raisen) which is connected with Delhi, Mumbai, Jabalpur, Gwalior and Indore.    
By Bus: Good, motorable roads connect Sanchi with Bhopal, Indore Sagar, Gwalior, Vidisha and Raisen, besides other places.    
By Rail: Sanchi lies on the Jhansi-Itarsi section of the Central railways. However, the most convenient railheads are Vidisha (10 km) & Bhopal (46 km).