Taking a trip from our hometown to Tripura during the height of summer at the end of March would not be what many people call “sound” travelling plans. But my friends and I had our reasons – the main one being that it was the only time we could all get a free block of time in our schedules to make this trip. Plus, Tripura was much cooler than where we’d come from. So win-win!

Taking in the “Wild” Sights of Tripura

Our homestay was a very comfortable one and with a friendly host, the trip started on a great note. Taking a day to just relax in our homestay, we spent the next day exploring the Sipahijala Wildlife Sanctuary. It’s a beautiful place, with entrants being able to view animal species varying from the Spectacled Leaf Monkey (which is pretty famous here) and the clouded Leopard, among many other powerful and beautiful creatures. The organization of the sanctuary is more like a zoo than a sprawling reserve though, so we could just walk through the place and view the animals as we made our way through, without needing a guide or a safari-type ride. We returned happily exhausted at the end of the day.

The Thrice Transformed Palace

Our next stop was the Ujjayanta Palace, which, according to history, had already undergone three stages of transformation till now – from the Tripura Royal Palace to the Tripura Legislative Assembly, and, finally, to the Tripura State Museum. The museum (which is the palace structure’s current designation) covers a whopping 800 or so acres of land and is absolutely breathtaking to behold! Even better, it is situated right at the heart of the city, so it was really easy to find a transport avenue to the place.

Wandering through the halls of the Ujjayanta Palace and taking in the exhibit, the experience had the ability to literally take us back in time, making us conscious that we were on once “royal” property. The halls whispered with unknown memories from the past, displaying its exhibits like the treasures they were, and we thoroughly enjoyed the subliminally hushed atmosphere and experience.

Rounding off with the Famous Tripura Sundari Temple

We took a cab to the Tripura Sundari Temple, which was painted a dazzling red and is an awe-inspiring sight to behold. Well, it is commonly believed that Tripura derives is name from the deity of this temple, “Tripura Sundari.” Natural green ambience surrounds and highlights the temple and adds to the incredibly serene aura of the place. There is even a man-made tank of fish, where the temple-goers can feed the fishes.

After visiting the temple, our little group mostly spent the tail end of our trip taking in the sights, shopping in the city for this place is famous for its decorative handicrafts and nit to forget the exquisite tribal jewelry, and exploring the local street food. All in all, our trip to Tripura was a great one with the perfect mix of all the ingredients that one looks forward to while holidaying.