Capital
:
Panaji
Language : Konkani, Marathi, English, Hindi
Area : 3,800 sq km
Tourist season : October to March
Climate : Coastal
Population : 1.3 million
Religion : 70% Hindus, 30% Christians
Coast : 97 km
Attractions
Panaji
Most visitors treat Panaji
as little more than a transport hub, but this lovely
state capital has retained its Portuguese heritage in
a lived-in, knockabout kind of way and exudes an aura
more reminiscent of the Mediterranean than of India.
If it weren't for the crush at the bus depot, the unmistakable
buzz of auto-rickshaws and the fact that the bridge
over the Mandovi River has fallen down twice in the
last nine years, Panaji could seem like any siesta-ridden
provincial town on the Iberian Peninsula. It contains
all the quaint Mediterranean iconography - from the
cramped cobbled streets, pastel-hued terraces and flower-bedecked
balconies to the terracotta-tiled roofs, whitewashed
churches and those small bars and cafes that are the
social lifeblood of secular Portugal.
The old district of Fontainhas is the most atmospheric
area to walk around, and includes the Chapel of St Sebastian
which contains a striking crucifix that originally stood
in the Palace of the Inquisition in Old Goa. The Church
of the Immaculate Conception, consecrated in 1541, is
Panaji's main place of worship, and it was here that
recently arrived sailors from Portugal gave thanks for
a safe passage. It's worth taking one of the river cruises
along the Mandovi River, but try to persuade your captain
not to loiter under the bridge spans in order to admire
Indian engineering.
Old
Goa
Half a dozen imposing churches and cathedrals and a
fragment of a gateway are all that remain of the second
capital of the Adil Shahi dynasty of Bijapur and the
Portuguese capital that was once said to rival Lisbon
in magnificence. Wracked by cholera and malaria epidemics,
eroded by monsoon rains and choked by creepers, Old
Goa has declined from a vibrant city of over a hundred
thousand souls to little more than a handful of potent
architectural relics.
Old Goa is still the spiritual heart of Christian Goa,
and its most famous building is the Basilica of Bom
Jesus, which contains the tomb and mortal remains of
the peripatetic St Francis Xavier, credited with introducing
Christianity to much of South-East Asia. Also of interest
is the Convent & Church of St Francis of Assisi, which
has gilded and carved woodwork, murals depicting scenes
from the saint's life, and a floor substantially made
of carved gravestones. The largest of the churches is
the Portuguese-Gothic Se Cathedral, dating from 1562,
which houses the so-called 'Golden Bell', whose resonant
peal can be heard thrice daily. Other gems include the
Church of St Cajetan which was modelled on St Peter's
in Rome and the Royal Chapel of St Anthony. Not a single
secular building remains standing, so don't say God
doesn't work in mysterious ways.
Anjuna
The collection of people attracted to the beach settlement
of Anjuna in North Goa may seem eclectic at first glance,
but there are common (if loose) organic and spiritual
threads woven between the hippies, artists, mild crazies
and supposed ex-materialists who congregate here.
Chapora & Vagator
This is a fascinating part of the Goan coastline and
more genuinely salubrious than Anjuna. It boasts a patchwork
of coconut palms and the enigmatic character of Chapora
village, which is more unruly farmyard than a fishing
community doubling as a beach resort.
Calangute & Baga
Calangute was the it beach for hippies, where pujas,
ganja, drug-addled musicians and other lost artistic
souls predominated, a beach of the truly half-baked
that modern Leonardo di Caprioan versions couldn't hold
a psychedelic candle to. But alas for those who still
seek the 'revolution', or the occasional naked group
frolic, Calangute is no longer Hippy Central.
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