Getting There

Goa’s airport, Dabolim, is 29kms south of Panjim (Panaji) on the coast near Vasco de Gama. Most of India’s domestic airlines operate here, and several direct charter companies fly into Goa from the UK and Europe between the months of October to April. Otherwise several daily domestic flights link Goa to many of India’s major cities including Bangalore, Cochin, and Mumbai.

The best time to visit Goa is during the dry, relatively cool winter months between mid-November and the end of March. Goa is always warm, but its coastal position means it never suffers the sort of unbearably heat you experience elsewhere in India. From April onwards, temperature and humidity rise sharply, and during the monsoon months of July through to September, the coastline is battered with consistent torrential storms.

Historical Background

In the past, Goa’s geographical inaccessibility by land has kept it out of the mainstream of Indian history; on the other hand, its control of the seas and the lucrative spice trade has made it a much coveted prize for rival colonial powers. Until a century before the arrival of the Portuguese, the state belonged to the Hindustani kingdom of Kadamba for over a thousand years. Goa fell to the Muslims for the first time in the early 14th century, only for invaders to be continually forced out and replaced.

Blessed with natural harbours and wide rivers, Goa was identified as the ideal base for the seafaring Portuguese, who arrived in 1510 aiming to control the spice route from the east; Jesuit missionaries led by St Francis Xavier arrived by the middle of the 16th century. Initial mutual hostility towards Muslims encouraged links between the Portuguese-run Old Goa and the Hindu Kingdom of Vijayanagar, based in Hampi. However with the advent of the Inquisition, laws were introduced censoring literature and banning any faith other than Catholicism. Hindu temples were destroyed and converted Hindus adopted Portuguese names such as de Silva and Correa, which remain common in the region today. Thereafter, the Portuguese colony’s trade monopoly was gradually broken down by European rivals, and there was even a brief occupation by the British during Europe’s Napoleonic Wars. However, it was not until 1961 that the Portuguese were ejected from the subcontinent by the Indian government, bringing an end to 450 years of rule.

At the start of the twenty-first century, Goa’s rural economy depends on rice as the main food crop; cash crops being dominated by coconut, cashew and areca. Forests still support the growth of mangos, pineapples and bananas for trade. Iron ore and bauxite have been two of the state’s major exports, and both domestic and international tourism remains one of the state’s biggest earners.

Sights

Old Goa & Panaji (Panjim)
Panaji is the slow-paced, friendly capital of Goa. With a definite Portuguese air, Panaji sits at the mouth of the Mandovi River. The city is dotted with dazzling, white-washed colonial baroque churches that serve its substantial Roman Catholic population. The road to Old Goa rises over a hill to give you a first glimpse of the over-grown city with St. Augustine’s soaring tower. Head for the centre where the big group of churches stand. See the casket that retains the body of St. Francis Xavier in the Basilica of Bom Jesus, and cross the square the grand Dominican Cathedral of St. Catherine.

Margao and Around
Goa’s second largest town is a good place to feel the influence of 450 years of Portuguese rule as it forms the heartland of old conquests. As you approach Margao from the surrounding countryside, you notice the whitewashed baroque facades of colonial catholic churches standing beside the paddy fields and rivers. For a breathtaking view over Margao and the Arabian Sea go up to Mount Church, then stroll down into town where markets are the hub of trading fish and farming produce of Southern Goa. Perhaps visit the old stately houses of the Aquerim district and gain a sense for Goa’s spectacular colonial past.

Ponda’s Temples
When Portuguese missionary zeal sparked the publication of an edict to destroy Hindu temples in 1540, some Hindu priests fled with the temple deity to the forested hills around Ponda, outside the Portuguese territories. While more than 550 temples were destroyed, many Hindu’s continued to worship in secret. Today, about 50 of Goa’s temples have deities who are, in effect long-term refugees, still situated outside Ponda. Goa’s temples have a style all their own. The laterite walls are usually plastered and painted and there are often domed central roofs, and tall deepastambhas (lamp towers). Inside you may find Greek-inspired columns and grand chandeliers. See the spectacular Sri Mangesh temple at Priol.

Goa’s Beaches
Early morning Indian sun, bare feet on firm sand, fisherman going out to sea and infinite stretches of sand beneath a canopy of blue sky awaits you. Each beach is named after the fishing village nestling into the coconut palms behind it. And each beach has its own character, from isolated Agonda to the sociable Baga, or the almost private coves of Vainguinim. The sand is dark, clean and fine. Discover your favourite.

Accommodation

Leela Kempinski, Cavelossim
The Leela Kempinski is part of a successful chain throughout India that was previously associated with Four Seasons. The magnificent entrance to the hotel, with its gold leaf painted dome and traditional welcome, gives you an immediate realisation that you are staying at one of the most beautiful hotels in India; with customer care there reassures you that it will be a comfortable, relaxing stay. The entrance and lobby area has been designed in the style of 13th century Vijayanagara empire (Hampi) architecture giving a temple-like feel of holiness and serenity.

Taj Holiday Village, Calangute
The resort is obviously coloured by Goa’s Portuguese past, and evokes the warm, relaxed, easy-going natural charm of a Goan village. The place combines a modern elegance and with heritage Goan-Portuguese architecture, which makes for a stunning hamlet fringing the beach.

Aguada Anchorage, Sinquerim
A scenic drive along India’s most famous coastal vacation destination takes you to this Goan hamlet - Clark’s exotica Aguada anchorage. Gorgeous Goan styled architecture set in lush tropical greenery with tidy terraced gardens, tree lined avenues, ponds and fresh water pools.

Food & Drink

The large seasonal expat community has influenced regional kitchens towards an impressively cosmopolitan food scene. More locally traditional foods on the other hand draw inspiration from the Portuguese palate, to combine with the state’s bounty in fresh fish and fruit. Unlike wider India, the Christian influence dictates that beef is very much on the menu here. Dishes are classically based on rice, coconut, cashew nuts, pork, beef, and a wide variety of seafood. Goan food is often hot, making use of the locally grown small bird’s-eye chillies.

Commercially produced alcohol, including wine, is readily available and inexpensive throughout Goa. Kings and Kingfisher are the beer brands of choice here. If you wish to grasp something with a more local flavour, ask for feni firewater mixed with a soda or lime juice. This is the fermented juice of cashew apples, or from a coconut-palm toddy (palm feni), and packs an invigorating punch!

Shopping

Goa and shopping combine to assume the form of a flea market. The most famous of Goa’s flea markets is found off the Anjuna beach, originally an important Arab trading post in the 10th and 12th centuries, and turns out religiously every Wednesday evening, running until the sun disappears. The market is a brilliant hullabaloo of 2000 stalls hawking everything from Gujarati wooden printing blocks to Bhutanese silver. Goa is known for its extensive selection of beautiful alternative jewellery which is worth looking out for. The market’s trade here is so lucrative by sub continental standards that for six months a year several thousand Rajasthani, Gujaratis, Karnatakans and Tibetans decamp from their home states to tout their wares.

Alternatively, there is also Ingo’s Night Bazaar on Arpora Hill which represents a more sanitized and less headlong version of the flea. It is perhaps a less intense alternative, running from mid-afternoon until midnight. Despite being a less decorated event, there is no shortage of eye-catching and entertaining stalls to wander through in the evening glow. There’s even no need to shop at all – the market is just as much a social event with live music and wide variety of eating options for your evening out.

Events & Activities

Goa has long been renowned as a party place. If perhaps the evening mood takes you, you can easily search out an open-air dance party on the beach. Especially prominent over the peak Christmas and New Year period, unadvertised parties are organised in various locations, such as Disco Valley at Vagator and Bamboo Forest in Anjuna. Mainly concocted by international DJ’s, Goan rave parties are punctuated by their very own brand of ‘Goan Trance’ music. In fact, the first music to run through the speakers of the Goan coastline in the 60’s was that of Rock and Reggae genres. The 80’s marked a change in popular taste towards elecronica, and this psychedelic-meets-machine drum sound still defines Goa’s sound today. Goa’s nightlife also offers many permanent nightclubs and bar options that will entertain you with music and a good cocktail.

Goa also knows how to throw a festival. Not all of the events are on set dates, so it is a matter of asking around when you arrive. Here festivals tend to assume a Mediterranean-style riot of merry-making, marked by feasting, colourful possessions and decorated street floats. The Festa dos Reis is set on 6th January however, and marks epiphany celebrations that include a procession of young boys decked out as the Three Kings that leads to the Franciscan chapel of Reis Margos, near Panjim and the north bank of the Mandovi. Carnival commemorates the Roman Catholics’ lead up to Lent through February and March. Centered on Panjim, these festivities typically involve a public circus-type parade complimented by a feni-induced street party. Goans will often dress up or masquerade during the celebrations, which mark an overturning of daily life. Come the fifth Monday of Lent in March time, the All Saints festival sees 26 effigies of saints, martyrs, popes, kings, queens and cardinals are paraded around the village of Velha Goa. This is to name but a few. See the fairs, drums, dress and dance as Goa retains its very own heritage.