Tripura · 6 destinations & hidden spots
Built over nine years by British firm Martin & Burn for Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya, Neermahal is one of only two water palaces in all of India (alongside Jal Mahal in Jaipur). Featuring 24 ornate rooms, curved minarets, bridges, and inner water courtyards, it is accessed by motorboats across the lake.
Fed by three perennial hill streams, Rudrasagar Lake is a designated Ramsar site of international importance spanning over 240 hectares. In addition to cradling Neermahal, the lake provides critical wintering grounds for ferruginous pochards, river terns, and endangered three-striped roofed turtles.
Hidden Gem
Unearthed in 1997 along the Sonamura border, the Boxanagar archaeological site reveals a flourishing 6th-to-8th-century Mahayana Buddhist monastic complex. Excavations by the ASI exposed a large brick stupa, chaitya griha (prayer hall), and bronze Buddha idols.
Melaghar is the bustling cultural base camp on the shores of Rudrasagar. During the annual September boat racing carnival, sleek wooden snake-boats decorated with festive garlands compete across the waters while local artisans sell traditional cane and bamboo handicrafts.
Hidden Gem
Commissioned in the late 15th century by Maharaja Dhanya Manikya, Kasba Kali Bari houses an ancient Mahishasuramardini stone idol. Perched on a gentle hillock above Kamalasagar lake, the temple borders Bangladesh, where barbed wire fences run directly along the water's edge.
Hidden Gem
Excavated by Maharaja Dhanya Manikya to celebrate his queen Kamala Devi, this historic water body features gentle grassy embankments popular for sunset picnics. Visitors can clearly observe passenger trains and paddy fields across the border in neighboring Comilla, Bangladesh.
