Unakoti 

Unakoti is a pilgrim location for Shaiba. The existence of this place can be traced back between 7th and 9th century; there is also a possibility that it belongs before that era. One should definitely notice the spectacular carvings made of rocks, the murals with their ethereal appeal and also the sparkling waterfalls. 

The word ‘Unakoti’ stands for the meaning “one lesser than a crore”. It is believed that, there are that many numbers of carvings present here. Lord Shiva stayed at this location for just one night, when he was making a journey to Kashi. He was making the journey along with other gods and goddesses; a total of one crore in numbers. The mythological story related to this place is that, when the night got over, no one else other than Shiva woke up. As a consequence, he got angry and put a curse on the others to become stone figures. Thus, there are one crore minus one number of stone sculptures present here. In a wonderfully designed terrain, encircled with forests full of greeneries, the stone carvings are located. The surrounding makes the carvings even more appealing.

                                    TOURIST PLACES IN UNAKOTI

Rock carving and stone images: There are two kinds of images that are present in Unakoti. One type is the rock-carved forms and the other type is the stone images. Some of the main rock carvings include the Shiva head and the huge Ganesha figurines. ‘Unakotiswara Kal Bhairava’ is the name given to the central Shiva head. The altitude of the figure is 30 feet. The figure also contains a head dress having beautiful embroidery. The head dress’s height is 10 feet itself. A statue of Durga standing on top of a lion and another figure of a female are present on the either side of the central Shiva figure’s head dress. Half covered in earth, there were three huge images of Nandi Bull, which were discovered here. Other than these, there are numerous stone and rock images that can be observed in Unakoti.

Asokaastami Mela: In the month of April, a huge fair named ‘Asokaastami Mela’ takes place here. Hundreds and hundreds of pilgrims come here during this time.

                                     HOW TO REACH UNAKOTI

By air: The nearest air terminal is located in Agartala. 

By road: One can opt for buses, jeeps, taxis or private cars in order to reach this place.