Tour to Unakoti

Unakoti, meaning one less than a crore, is an ancient hilly place of pilgrimage. It is situated about 10 kms from Kailasahar, district Head Quarters of North Tripura and 175 kms from Agartala. Tripura has beautiful rock cut carvings and one of the places that houses innumerable beautiful rock images is Unakoti. According to mythological legends Lord Shiva on the way to Kashi with one crore gods and goddesses including himself took shelter at this location. Shiva had asked his entourage to be awake before sunrise the next morning to resume the journey but when he found none of them awake at the right time he turned them into stones and resumed his pilgrimage. These stone images are marvelous rock carvings among beautiful green vegetation. It has murals of primitive beauty and strewn with waterfalls. The central Shiva head and gigantic Ganesha figures are the most beautiful rock cut carvings.

The rock cut carvings are huge in size and are done in vertical walls exposed to the open atmosphere. Unakoti is one of the most beautiful tourist spots of Tripura. You will enjoy the picturesque hills that are at the backdrop of these innumerable stone carvings. The rich luxuriant vegetation adds to the beauty of the holy shrines. Unakoti ahs been established as the Shaiva pilgrimage because of its archeological findings that dates back to 8th-9th centuries. It is the biggest 'bas relief' in India. Rock-carved figures and stone images are of two types of image carvings found in Unakoti. The central Shiva head and gigantic Ganesha figure, the rock cut carvings draws great attention. Known as the Unakotiswara Kal Bhairava's, the central Shiva head is about 30 feet high. It also has an elaborate headdress that is 10 feet high. There are two full size female figures, Durga standing on a lion and another female figure on the other side of the headdress of the Central Shiva. Three huge images of Nandi Bull are half buried in the ground.

Tripura has beautiful rock cut carvings and one of the places that houses innumerable beautiful rock images is Unakoti. Log on to northeastindia.com to know about the Unakoti.