"We have been traveling across India for years now and while we happen to explore the places which are well known, we do not miss out on the less-traveled locations in India. Neer Mahal, Tripura - The unseen beauty of North East of India is one such beautiful experience we hoped for which brought us a lot of joy and added to the uniqueness while we hunt for the unseen."
Story by - Nikita Biswas & Abhishek Dubey
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Where is Neer Mahal?
Neer Mahal, Tripura - The unseen beauty of North East of India is a beautiful palace in Melaghar which is around 57kms from the Agartala Airport also known as Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport. Tripura is one of the seven sisters of the North East and is also considered one of the unexplored parts of India. This Mahal is located in the middle of Rudrasagar Lake highlighting Hindu architectural presence.
Why do you need to visit Neer Mahal?
Neer Mahal was built by Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya Bahadur in 1938. It took them almost 8 years to finish building this Mahal as they started as early as 1930. The interesting fact about this place is that one cannot fit the entire Mahal in a single frame due to the length of it until you reach a distance of 800 meters.
Fun fact - Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya Bahadur was a part of the Manikya Dynasty which is also known to be the second-longest remaining dynasty in the world.
It is a combination of White and Red painted buildings which are divided into two large sections named Eastern and western parts. The Eastern side of the Mahal had a huge circular theater, drama, and dance room and there is also a more open-air space. On the other hand, the western side is more like an enclosed section. This is a well-maintained space with a huge terrace garden and a huge open space for you to enjoy some good time alone in peace. They have 24 rooms in this Mahal and all of them remain standing to date.
What is so unique about Neer Mahal?
Since the Mahal is built right in the middle of a lake called Rudrasagar or also popularly known as Twijilikma. One has to hire a boat to reach the Mahal. There are different types of boats available for travelers to choose from. This is segregated as Speed Boats which are usually big enough to accommodate 20 people at a time; then, there are medium speed boats which only accommodates around 7 - 9 people at a time and then comes the most exciting one which we preferred to choose, these are called "Haath" Boat which also means hand boats which requires someone to paddle you to the Mahal. It is always a safer option to take the medium or the bigger boat when the climate isn't that amazing as Tripura experiences a lot of rain on usual days. However, if you are up for some fun and want to explore the stillness of the lake, a hand boat is the perfect choice for you.
Neer Mahal, Tripura - The unseen beauty of North East of India has a lake which is a huge one for someone who has not been out there
How to reach Neer Mahal?
We took a 15 days trip to Tripura and to reach there, the best possible way is to take up a flight to Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport in Agartala, the capital of the State Tripura. There are regular flights to Agartala and we happen to get a direct flight from New Delhi to Agartala. The inward flights to Tripura are usually scheduled early as the climate there is very different and usually pouring so they do not have any late-night flights to reach Agartala.
Since we lived for a very long time in Tripura, we hired a private cab from Agartala City to Melaghar District in Tripura. The cab journey was for almost 2.5 hours as it was pouring heavily. The roads were filled with water as it was raining incessantly in Tripura. The cab ride is also one of the most beautiful journeys passing through major scenic landscapes and dense forest areas. It is almost like a fun-filled journey starting from watching the rain pour in while the cab moves past dense greenery, lakes, national preservatory, and much more.
When we went there, we had no idea how things would work out and what to really expect. The first thing we noticed was this beautiful lake Rudrasagar and the mist green grass and the aroma of the wetland. It is located in a village and gives us the feeling of rural India that you cannot happen to miss a glance off. Once we got down and approached the nodal point of the lake, we realized that we needed a boat to reach our destination. Since the bigger boats are not allowed to leave without any less than 20 people we had to wait as it was raining and we did not want to take the other boat as the water level was rising. Some sort of miracle hit the sky and the rain stopped, it was a clear sky and we finally decided to take our own hand boat. "No" we did not paddle it ourselves; it was being done by a kind-hearted man who was sweet enough to walk up to us and offered a ride.
We were skeptical about the depth of the water being high; however, the boat paddler ensured that he shall get us all safe and it won't be a big deal. The boat journey is one of the best so far as the lake was huge and you can see the entire frame of the Mahal from far off making you realize that you might not be able to catch the sight through a camera lens. It took us 35 minutes to reach the Mahal and just had 1 hour to explore the entire place. It is a mandate to finish the visit within an hour to avoid the excessive crowd around the place. We took some amazing shots and had a great time exploring all the corners of the Mahal; however, the time allocated wasn't enough for us to explore a few details. Well, we came out and the rain gods were not lagging behind. On our way back to land, it started thundering, it was scary, adventurous, and cinematic at the same time. By the time we got off the boat and reached the shore, the weather was apt for a hot cup of tea...
- Neer Mahal, Tripura - The unseen beauty of North East of India
Airfare - Can cost anything between 5000 INR to 10000 INR if booking a month prior and within India Cab Fare - 3000 INR to 5000 INR from Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport, Agartala, Tripura Boat Fare - Between 20 INR to 2000 INR depending on the boat you choose Food - You can purchase basic snacks from inside the Mahal compound at a minimum price
Here a quick video of our journey to Neer Mahal, Tripura - The unseen beauty of North East of India
Click to read more about Naggar, Himachal Pradesh
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