Unakoti

Getting there

• By air

  Agartala is the nearest airport, about 178 km by road from Kailashahar.

• By train

  Kumarghat is the nearest railway station, 26 km from Kailashahar.

• By road

  Kailashahar has regular buses to Shillong, Silchar and all district and sub-divisional towns of Tripura.

Why devotees come here

Unakoti is an ancient Shaivite site near Kailashahar, the headquarters of Unakoti district in Tripura. Its rock cut carvings include a central Shiva head and gigantic Ganesha figures. The site takes its name from a legend about Shiva and the gods.

Legend says Shiva spent a night here on his way to Kashi, with a company of gods. Hindu tradition treats the site as a Saivite pilgrimage place that dates back to the 7th to 9th centuries, if not earlier. The site is an ancient Shaivite place, and it hosts rock carvings, figures and images of gods and goddesses.

The bas relief sculptures are dated on style to the 7th to 9th century CE, in the period of Pre-Manikya rule. Among the rock cut carvings, the central Shiva head and the gigantic Ganesha figures stand out. Three enormous images of the Nandi bull lie half-buried in the ground.

Unakoti is the prime tourist spot of Unakoti district, in the Kailashahar subdivision. The carvings are cut into the rock itself, and they show gods and goddesses as well as Shiva. The site lies about 8 km east of Kailashahar, the district headquarters, and the Unakoti Tourist Lodge is in that town.

Festivals

• Every year in AprilAshokastami Mela

  A big fair that draws thousands of pilgrims.

Tips for your visit

• Stay at the Unakoti Tourist Lodge near the Head Post Office in Kailashahar, which arranges meals on request.
• The Ashokastami Mela falls in April, and thousands of pilgrims attend it.

Questions people ask