Cultural and heritage site development project Unakoti, Tripura

Abstract

India ranks third among countries with the fastest growing tourism industries over the next decade. Every year more than 6 million people visit India, out of which only a mere 18 thousand people visit Unakoti. Nestled amongst the pristine hills of North Tripura, dots one less than a crore marvelous rock-cut relief sculptures of Shiva, his consort, and his followers yet to be appreciated by many. Unrecorded in history, a mystery surrounds Unakoti and that definitely fascinates visitors. With changing time and globalization, more and more people are being attracted towards the west for travel and tourism purposes while neglecting India’s rich cultural and archeological heritage sites. The main reasons behind such practices are lack of awareness about the site, inaccessibility, lack of proper facilities and services for comfort and convenience of the tourists, etc. The importance of Unakoti’s rich culture and heritage lies in the ancient sculptures on the mountainside cut in rocks as well as the scenic beauty of the deep forests and the views of the landscape. Also, Tripura has an abundant resource of bamboo. Bamboo handicrafts of Agartala are intricate and self consciously decorated. The study of responsible cultural tourism, Unakoti’s sculptures, local customs, and knowledge construction techniques of the local people will form a base structure for thesis project. Design of appropriate infrastructures to not only facilitate the tourist but also create awareness about the site the cultural heritage of Tripura is the main idea behind the project.. Blending local architecture with modern technology will be helpful in development of plans, clusters, and site planning and design process.