Indian Cities & Destinations - Comprehensive guide to
cultural heritage of India where you discover art & craft, dances,
music, costumes, and languages of India.
Beauty
can be quite inebriating and here in Goa you have so much of it-in the
golden sands, the blue waters, the sylvan forests and the lakes.
Palm-swathed
hills, islands, beaches and riverine waters rush to the freedom of the
waves, unfold, meet the eye and merge with yet another visual wonder which
the land generously and continuously keeps unfolding. Add to this
the spicy nip of the sea, the tang of fish-curry rice, the moistened sips of
cocum, the pleasure of discovering a crab under a stone, and the thrill of
walking on a beach full of crisp seashells. The mind stops thinking and the
heart begins speaking! Come monsoon and this hundred-kilometre coastline
turns into a fantasyland.
Wild wind that rustles the
hair, a sprinkle of water drops all around. On one side stand the palm
trees, lush green and swaying in the wind, and on the other the vast Indian
Ocean greets you. The dense cover of the clouds makes the ocean
look darker than usual until some clouds part sending down brilliant beams
of sunrays which hits the ocean turning it into a radiant jewel of a
thousand diamonds. This and much more is the charm of Goa. Situated on the
western coastline of India, Goa is split into two districts, North Goa with
the capital city of Panaji and South Goa with places such as Vasco da Gama
and Margao.
The history of the place goes far back in time when it
was a part of the Mauryan Empire around 3rd century BC. Later the place came
under the influence of Satavahanas, Chalukyans, Vijaynagar, Adil Shahi
Dynasty of Bijapur, and finally the Portuguese who under Alfonso de
Albuquerque invaded Goa in 1510. They ruled the region till 1961, when the
Indian forces liberated it and Goa became a part of the Republic of India.
In the local dialect, Goa is often referred to as "Goa Dourada,"
(meaning "Golden Goa") because of its beaches, forts, churches,
waterfalls, seminaries, and caves.
 Main
Attractions of Goa |
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Dona Paula Beach : It is named after Dona
Paula de Menzes, daughter of a viceroy (in colonial India), who threw
herself off the cliff, when refused permission to marry a local fisherman,
Gaspar Dias. With the romance and myth attached to it—haunted by Dona
Paula de Menzes—tourists throng the Dona Paula Beach. The myth says
that Dona Paula is entombed in the Cabo Chapel of the Raj Bhawan and is
supposed to be seen emerging from the moonlit waves wearing only a pearl
necklace. Located just about 7 km From Panaji, North Goa city is the the
Lover's Paradise, Dona Paula Beach. The nearby tourist attraction is
Marmagoa Harbour. Water scootering is the best thing to do at this place.
Calangute Beach: Calangute seems to be a distortion
of the local vernacular word-‘Koli-gutti’, which means land of
fishermen. Some people connect it with Kalyangutti (village of art) or
Konvallo-ghott (strong pit of the coconut tree) because the village is full
of coconut trees. With the advent of the Portuguese, the word probably got
distorted to Calangute, and has stuck till today. In a green semi-circle,
the villages of Arpora-Nagoa, Saligao and Candolim do their bit to enhance
the divine beauty of Calangute. There are picturesque agors (saltpans) at
Agarvaddo, Maddavaddo is full of madd (coconut trees), Dongorpur skirts a
bottle-green hillock and Tivaivaddo laces the beach.
Destinations
