Unakoti

Unakoti hill, literally meaning, one less a kuti in Bengali, hosts an ancient Shaivite place of worship with huge rock-cut images and stone idols of Lord Shiva. It is the prime tourist spot of Unakoti Tripura District in the Kailashahar Subdivision in the North-eastern Indian state of Tripura.

It is Shaiba pilgrimage and dates back to 7th – 9th centuries if not earlier. The marvelous rock carvings, murals with their primitive beauty, waterfalls are not to be missed. The images found at Unakoti are of two types: namely rock-carved figures and stone images. Among the rock cut carvings, the central Shiva head and gigantic Ganesha figures deserve special mention. The central Shiva head known as Unakotiswara Kal Bhairava is about 30 feet high including an embroidered head-dress which itself is 10 feet high.

On each side of the head-dress of the central Shiva, there are two full size female figures - one of Durga standing on a lion and another female figure on the other side. In addition three enormous images of Nandi Bull are found half buried in the ground. There are various other stone as well as rock cut images at Unakoti.

Every year a big fair popularly known as Ashokastami Mela is held in the month of April which is visited by thousands of pilgrims. Another smaller festival takes place in January.

Getting There

Unakoti lies 178 km to the northeast from Agartala which has the closest airport, 8 km to the east from Kailashahar, district headquarters of North Tripura District, 148 km to the south-east from Silchar. The nearest railway station is about 20 km away at Kumarghat on the Lumding-Agartala line.

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