By exploring the monuments of Tripura one can gather ample information about the state itself. These monuments are the witness of the royal past of Tripura. The former Maharajas of this state had built wonderful monuments in different cities which provide a glimpse of the history of the princely states to thousands of tourists. The major historical monuments are Ujjayanta Palace, Malancha Niwas, Neermahal and Kunjaban Palace. Apart from the historical monuments Tripura is dotted with lots of religious monuments. The most noteworthy of them are Fourteen Goddess Temple at Old Agartala, Mata Tripureshwari temple at Udaipur, Benuban Vihar at Agartala, Bhuveneshwari Temple at Udaipur and many others.
Tripura is the only Hindu tribal princely state in India fringed by majestic hills of northeast. It is famous for its exotic beauty that wakes up with sprinkles of Vedanta in the morning and listen the azaan from its neighboring country Bangladesh which is only 5 kms away from its capital city.
Some of the popular historical monuments in Tripura
The major monuments of Tripura are located in its capital city Agartala. It is embellished with heritage monuments of the Maharajas and British Empire of bygone era with a wonderful architectural style. The presence of colonial brick bungalows bounded by bougainvillea hedges, the palaces, mansions, and ancient monuments of different religions makes the city attractive. Apart from that the state has few other remarkable symbols from the history that are described below.
Ujjayanta Palace
One of the major historical monuments of the city is the magical Ujjayanta Palace, constructed in 1901 by the ruling king of that period. It resembles to the Victoria Memorial of Kolkata and has an amazing feature of four-storeyed tower or shikhara of the 19th century. This palace has been converted to State Assembly.
Tripurasundari Temple
It is a Hindu temple of Goddess Tripura Sundari, better known locally as Devi Tripureshwari. The temple is considered to be one of the 51 Shakti Peethas. The temple is situated in the ancient city of Udaipur. Popularly known as Matabari, the shrine is set upon a small hillock, since the shape of a hillock that resembles the hump of a tortoise (Kurma), the temple is also known as Kurma Peetha. It was built by Maharaja of Tripura Dhanya Manikya in 1501 AD in Bengali Ek-ratna style architecture.
Maharaja Bir Bikram College
Another famous historical monument is the Maharaja Bir Bikram College which was constructed by Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya Debbarma. It is another great example of monument of Tripura constructed in the old architectural tradition.
Neermahal Water Palace
Neermahal literally means Water Palace. The place is a picturesque fairytale Royal mansion located in the middle of the Rudrasagar Lake which is 53 km South of Agartala. Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya built the palace in 1930 A.D as his summer residence being inspired by Mughal Style of Architecture.
Bhubaneswari Temple
Bhubaneswari Temple is located on the eastern fringe of Udaipur town by the bank of river Gomati. Bhubaneswari Temple is now under the control and supervision of the Archaeological Survey of India. Maharaja Govinda Manikya (1660-1676) built the Temple.
Rock reliefs of Unakoti Tirtha
Unakoti, literally means one less a koti in Bengali, hosts an ancient Shaivite place of worship with huge rock reliefs celebrating Shiva. It is Shiva pilgrimage and dates back to unknown era. The ruins comprise of several rock-carved figures and stone images.
Gunavati Group of Temples
A group of three brick built temples lies adjacent to each other at the ancient capital of Tripura at "Udaipur". The northern temple bears an inscription which narrates that the temple was built by queen Gunavati, wife of Govinda Manikya (CE 1668-69), in saka 1590, corresponding to 1668 CE. The square temple is attached to a small mukhamandapa. Other two temples are also similar in plan and architectural features.
Devtamura
Devtamura or Debtamura is a hill range in South Tripura district of Tripura, India. It is known for an archaeological site of rock sculptures.
Gedu Miar Maszid
Gedu Mia Masjid is the largest and oldest mosque in Tripura. The Mosque is beautifully constructed with a stone that looks like a jewel and it is worth visiting as its architecture is well implemented.
Malancha Niwas
Malancha Niwas is the house where Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore had stayed during his visit to Agartala in 1919. It is situated on a hillock and was originally a kaccha house where Tagore stayed.
Kunjaban Palace
Constructed by Maharaja Birendra Kishore Manikya in 1917, the Kunjaban Palace was located on a hillock just about 1 km from the Ujjayanta Palace. Formerly known as Pushbanta Palace, this has been home to several illustrious patrons of fine arts. This is currently the official residence of the Governor of Tripura.