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| Neermahal |
Day three in Tripura was a long day; we covered three places and traveled a distance of 151 km. We started very early in the morning. Our first stop was Sepahijala Wildlife Sanctuary, well-known for its famous spectacled langur. Sepahiijala is well-know for migratory birds. The zoo is where we saw the spectacled langur among other animals.
Our next stop was Boxanagar, a lesser known Buddhist site, around 22 km from Sepahijala. This site was excavated around 2003-2004. The well-preserved stupas date back to the 10th Century.
From Boxanagar, we set off to Melaghar which houses the beautiful former Royal palace of Tripura, Neermahal. Neermahal is around 31 km from Boxanagar. We covered this distance in approximately one and a half hours. Built by King Bir Bikram Kishore Debbarman, the construction of the palace started in 1930 and it took 8 years to complete the construction. What makes this place special is the location... it is right in the middle of the Rudrasagar Lake. Also known as Lake palace, the only way to reach the palace is by a boat. We enjoyed our short boat ride. The inside of the palace is now completely bare.Would have been nice to see this palace in its grandeur!
It started to get dark by the time we completed touring Neermahal. We headed towards Belonia which is extreme South of Tripura, that is where we were going to halt at night. It took us around 2 and half hours to reach our guest house in Belonia. The guest house was a pleasant surprise. Well-maintained and spacious, it was what we needed at the end of a long day.
Here are some pictures of day three, photos are courtesy Soma Jha.
