Tripura is a small state in Northeast India. It is bordered by Bangladesh to the North, West and South and Indian states of Assam and Mizoram to the East. The Bengali Hindu people contribute to the ethnolinguistic majority in Tripura. Indigenous communities, known in India as scheduled tribes, comprises about 30 per cent of Tripura’s population. The Kokborok speaking Tripuri people are the major group among 19 tribes and many subtribes. Tripura lies in a geographically disadvantageous location in India, as only one major highway, the National Highway 8, connects it with the rest of the country. Five mountain ranges—Baromura, Atharamura, Longtharai, Shakhan and Jampui Hills—run north to south, with intervening valleys; Agartala, the capital, is located on a plain to the west. The state has a tropical savanna climate and receives seasonal heavy rains from the south-west monsoon. The temperature here ranges from a peaking high of 24-36 °C in the summer to 10-26 °C in the winters. Tripura is an agrarian state with more than half of the population dependent on agriculture and allied activities. Rice is the major crop of the state while Pineapple and Jackfruit top the list of horticultural products. Tripura also has considerable reserves of natural gas.
History: Although there is no evidence of lower or middle Palaeolithic settlements in Tripura, Upper Paleolithic tools made of fossil wood have been found in the Haora and Khowai valleys. The Indian epic, the Mahabharata; ancient religious texts, the Puranas; and the Edicts of Ashoka – stone pillar inscriptions of emperor Ashoka dating from the third century BCE – all mention Tripura. An ancient name of Tripura is Kirat Desh (English: “The land of Kirat”), probably referring to the Kirata Kingdoms or the more generic term Kirata. The area of modern ‘Tripura’ was ruled for several centuries by the Tripuri dynasty. It was the independent princely state of the Tripuri Kingdom under the protectorate of the British Empire which was known as Hill Tippera while the area annexed and ruled directly by British India was known as Tippera District (present Comilla District). Following the independence of India in 1947, Tippera district – the estate in the plains of British India – became a part of East Pakistan, and Hill Tippera remained under a regency council until 1949. The Maharani Regent of Tripura signed the Tripura Merger Agreement on 9 September 1949, as a result of which Tripura became a Part C state of India. It became a Union Territory, without a legislature, in November 1956 and an elected ministry was installed in July 1963.
*(All the above information are from Wikipedia.)
Transport:
Airport: The Agartala Airport is connected through flights to other major cities like Kolkata, Imphal, Delhi, Silchar, Aizwal, Guwahati, Bangalore, Chennai, Ahmedabad and Mumbai. There are emergency helicopter services to major towns like Kailashsahar, Dharmanagar, Kanchanpur and Ghandacherra.
Rail: Railways connections to Lumding Assam was established in the year 2009. The meter gauge railway tracks run through many towns within the state.
Road: Only one major road – NH 8, connects Tripura to the rest of the India. This connects Tripura to Assam while NH 8A connects town Manu in south Tripura to Aizwal.The Tripura Road Transport Corporation oversees the road communication within the state.
Local: Auto Rickshaws and Manual Rickshaws are available for local transport. Various tour operators provide vehicles on hire.
Tourist Interest:
Ujjayanta Palace: This is the formal royal palace of Tripura. This is now transformed to the State museum. Spread over an area of one sqr km, this is a beautiful monument with unique architecture.
Heritage Park: The Park is spread over an area of 12 acres. It comprises of three part – the mini Tripura located near the entrance, the central area of natural forest and a flat land cultivated with herbs, shrubs and other medicinal plants.
Benuban Bihar: Located in the Kunjaban area of northern part of Agartala, this is a Buddhist Shrine with an architecture similar to the Hindu temples.
Purbasha: This is a Handloom and Handicrafts sales Emporium have the beautiful and exquisite artworks made of bamboo, cane, cotton and silk.
Akhaura Border Check Post: See the Retreat Parade at the India-Bangladesh International Border. Read My Journey to the Check Post and Kashba Kali Temple.
Kamalasagar (Kashba) Kali Temple: This temple is built on a hilltop near to The Bangladesh border about 28 km from Agartala.
Sepahijala Wildlife Sanctuary: This is located at a distance of 25 km on the main road connecting to Udaipur. The sanctuary has a huge variety of resident birds, migratory birds, orchids and other wildlife.
Boxanagar: This is a newly excavated site of Buddhist importance. This is located 32 km from Agartala near Sonamura. This site is preserved by the ASI.
These are the main attraction within Agartala. While the other attractions are the Nazrul Kalashetra, Chaturdash Devta Temple, Jagannath bari, Sukanta Academy, Gedu Mia’s Mosque, Mariam Nagar Church and Nehru Park.
Matabari: Also known as the Tripureshwari or the Tripura Sundari Temple is located in Udaipur. According to mythology, Lord Vishnu had cut off the body of Mata Sati into 51 pieces with his ‘Sudarshana Chakra’ and all these pieces fell at different places throughout the country and these places are known as ‘Shaktipeeths’. It is said that ‘right foot’ of Mata Sati fell at Matabari. This temple is one of the 51 holiest ‘Shaktipeeths’ (Shrine of the goddess of power ) in India as per Hindu mythology.
Bhubaneshwari Temple: This Temple is situated beside the ruins of the old palace of Raja Govinda Manikya.
Ruins of the Rajbari: This is remains of the old palace of the Manikya rulers.
Gunabati Group of Temples and Mahadeb bari: These aat-chala architecture temples were built in the name of her Highness Maharani Gunabati (wife of Raja Govinda Manikya). Presently it is preserved by the ASI.
Neermahal: Neermahal meaning water palace is located within the Rudrasagar lake which is 20 km from Udaipur at a place name Melaghar. Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya built this palace as the summer residence. A Large number of migratory birds visit the place during winters. Annual boat races are held during the months of July and August.
Chobimura/ Devtamura: Deotamura is famous for its panels of rock carvings on the steep mountain wall on the bank of Gomati. There are huge carved images of Shiva, Vishnu, Kartika, Mahisasur Mardini Durga and other gods and goddesses. This is also called Chabimura. These images date back to 15th-16th centuries. This is located at a distance of 28 km from Udaipur.
These places are the main attraction in and around Udaipur. Read My Journey to Udaipur.
Unakoti: As per the myth, once Lord Shiva was going to Kasi along with one crore Gods and Goddesses including him. On the way, they thought of taking rest and shelter on this hill for the night. Before going to bed Lord Shiva strictly warned the other gods and goddesses to get up at dawn before the sun rises and leave for Varanasi.The following morning only Lord Shiva got up and nobody else woke up. In anger, Lord Shiva cursed them to become stone sculptures or images and stay there forever. Since then there have been one less than a crore stone sculptures on the hill. According to the regional people at Unakoti, there was a sculptor & potter named Kallu Kumar. The local tribals believe that it was Kallu Kumar who had carved all these images and sculptures. He was a devotee of Parvati and wanted to accompany Shiva and Parvati to their abode in Kailash Parvat. On Parvati’s persuasion, Shiva agreed to take Kallu to Kailash if he would sculpt one crore sculpture of Shiva in one night. Kallu worked as a man possessed. But as the dawn broke the number of images was still one less than a koti or crore. Shiva who was keen to get rid of this nuisance called Kallu, used this excuse to leave behind Kallu Kumar and his images at Unakoti.
This is an ancient Shaivite place of worship dating back to 7th to 9th century if not earlier. It is located 178 km northeast of Agartala, near Kailashahar.
Baramura Eco Park: This park is located at about 37 km from Agartala in Baramura Hill Rang. It is an area surrounded by sylvan green forest with a stream flowing through it.
Jampui Hills: It is located 200 km away from Agartala and is the highest hill range in the state bordering Mizoram. Jampui is famous for its charming landscape with an excellent climatic condition, green forests, beautiful orange orchard, view of rising sun.
Pilak: The site of a civilisation which flourished during 8-12 centuries of the Christian era has been a cradle of the culture of heterodox creeds and sects representing both Hinduism i.e. Shiva, Surya, Baishnabi and Buddhism i.e. Hinayana, Mahayana, Bajrayana which bear testimony to peaceful co-existence of the two cultures. The important places are Shyam Sundar Tilla, Deb Bari, Thakurani Tilla, Balir Pathar, Basudev Bari and Sagar Deba.
Mahamuni Pagoda: This is a Buddhist temple located in Manu Bankul in the southern part of Tripura in the northeastern part of Sabroom subdivision.
Dumboor: Dumboor Lake is a charming water body located in Amarpur Sub Division 120 Km. away from Agartala and 60 km to the east of Udaipur. A massive and breathtaking water body of 41 sq.km. with an unending spell of luxuriant green vegetation all around stands majestic for her exceedingly charming beauty and 48 islands in the midst of the lake. There is a Hydel Project near the lake from where River Gomati originates and this is called Tirthamukh.
The other places of attraction in Tripura are Chandrapur Mosque, Durgabari Tea Garden, Gomati Wildlife Sanctuary, Kamala Sagar Lake, Tepania Eco Park, Kalapania Eco Park, Khumulwng Eco Park, Rowa Wildlife Sanctuary and more.
Tour Planner:
This tour planner is made on the basis of the location of the destinations. One can make changes as per their interest, convenience and accessibility and duration of the trip.
Day 1: Agartala Sightseeing and the Retreat Parade at Akhaura Border Check Post.
Day 2: Start early and visit the Jampui hills. Night halt at Jampui Hills.
Day 3: Jampui Hills to Unakoti and night halt here.
Day 4: Unakoti to Baramura Eco Park and night halt at Udaipur.
Day 5: Matarbari, Ruins of Rajbari, Mahadeb bari, Bhubaneshwari Temple, Gunabati Group of temples and Neermahal. Night halt at Udaipur.
Day 6: Start early cover Chobimura and Dumboor and night halt at Udaipur.
Day 7: Start early, cover Pilak, Mahamuni and while on the return to Agartala visit the Kashba Kali Temple.
Hotels: Online booking is always preferable for discounts in tariff. The tourism department guest houses are Gitanjali Tourist Guest House in Agartala, Sagarmahal Tourist Lodge in Melaghar, Gomti and Gunabati Yatri Niwas in Udaipur, Pilak Tourist Lodge in Jolaibari, Eden Tourist Lodge at Jampui Hills, Unakoti Tourist Lodge at Unakoti and many other in different locations throughout Tripura. The other private hotels are Sonar Tori, Ginger Hotel, Central Guest House, Hotel Woodland Park, Hotel Rajdhani, Hotel City Centre, Royal Guest House and more.