Neer Mahal

NeerMahal is a palace on water. The word ‘Neer’ in Sanskrit and Bengali means water whereas ‘Mahal’ means Palace, the water palace is located in the middle of Rudra Sagar Lake at a place named Melaghar, 55 Kilometers from Agartala. The palace was built by Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya Bahadur, who was the king of Tripura. Work on the palace started in 1930 and was completed in 1938.  The Mahal is also known as the ‘Lake Palace of Tripura’. NeerMahal was constructed for the summer residence of the Royal Family.

The Palace is divided into two parts - east and west. The western side of the palace was made for the leisure of the Royal Family and it's known as the AndarMahal, the eastern side is an open-air theatre, where dance and other cultural events were organized for the enjoyment of the Royal Family. The palace has a total of 24 Rooms.

In India, there are only two Water Palaces, one is at Jaipur in Rajasthan known as ‘Jal Mahal’ and the other is at Tripura’s, Neer Mahal. So, as it is a unique identity the Jal Mahal is a well-known tourist palace in Tripura. Since the palace is surrounded by the Rudra Sagar waterbody, a boat is the only mode of transport to enter here. Even at the time of the Maharajas, the palace used to be visited on a hand-powered boat from Rajghat. Twice every year a popular festival named ‘NeerMahal Water Festival’ is organised here in August and December. The festival is held for 3 days and many cultural programs and events are organized. A Boat Race is organized in the Rudra Sagar Lake as part of the festival. Different types of boats take part in the race and many people come here to watch the race.

How to Reach

Melaghar is a little over an hour's drive from Agartala. The Rudra Sagar Lake and Neermahal can be visited as a sightseeing tour from Agartala or you may stay at the accommodation available near the lake. In either case, the mode of transport to reach here is the same as that for Agartala