Ujjayanta Palace is one of the main attractions of Agartala city. This is a former royal palace, used as state legislative assembly of Tripura till 2011 and now converted into Tripura State Museum. The palace is spread over 28 hectares of land and has gardens, artificial ponds, musical fountain, temples and is built in the Indo-Saracenic architectural style. Its white facade looks bewitching in the daytime and basked in the glow of floodlights at night, it looks even more enchanting. The Tripura Tourism Department conducts guided tour of the palace.
Ujjayanta Palace stands on the banks of a small lake surrounded by Mughal gardens. It showcases the lifestyle, arts, culture, tradition and utility crafts of communities residing in northeast India. The name was given by Rabindra Nath Tagore. The two-storied high building has three domes, each measuring 86 feet high. The interior of the house have beautiful tiles floor, carved wooden ceilings and doors. The palace and its surroundings covered an area of 1 sq. km. and housed many temples.
The palace is a great place of tourist attraction as it gives out the feel of both aristocracy of Tripura history along with the modern glamour of Tripura. The name Ujjayanta Palace was coined by the great poet and 1st among Asian Nobel awardees, Rabindranath Tagore.
According to history, the princely state of Tripura has been under the rule of Manikya dynasty for as early as 1400 CE. The first palace of the modern day royalty was built about 10 KM away from Agartala in the year 1862 by Maharaja Maha Manikya. The palace was left devastated in Assam earthquake of 1897 and the new palace of Agartala was built by Maharaja Radha Kishore Manikya in the year 1901 with the construction of Martin & Burns Company. The Palace is a great big fort built by admixing Hindu, Arabic and Gothic architectural styles. The Palace is encompassed by Mughal gardens and the buildings of the palaces alone with courtyard and balconies make a visit worthwhile. The tourist will get the taste of euphorial Tripura history and culture to the fullest visiting this Ujjayanta Palace of Agartala, Tripura.
