About 3km south of Goa Velha, at the south end of the small village of Agassim, is the Church of St Lawrence, a plain and battered-looking building that houses one of the most flamboyantly decorated reredos (ornamental screen) in Goa. The heavily gilded construction behind the altar is unique not only for its wealth of detail but also for its peculiar design, which has multitudes of candlesticks projecting from the reredos itself. The panelled blue-and-white ceiling of the chancel sets the scene.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
5.26 MILES
Famous throughout the Roman Catholic world, the imposing Basilica de Bom Jesus contains the tomb and mortal remains of St Francis Xavier, the so-called…
5.49 MILES
At over 76m long and 55m wide, the cavernous Sé Cathedral is the largest church in Asia. Building commenced in 1562, on the orders of King Dom Sebastiao…
Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception
6.8 MILES
Panaji’s spiritual, as well as geographical, centre is this elevated, pearly white church, built in 1619 over an older, smaller 1540 chapel, and stacked…
11.43 MILES
Artist and restorer Victor Hugo Gomes first noticed the slow extinction of traditional objects – from farming tools to kitchen utensils to altarpieces –…
14.88 MILES
Braganza House, built in the 17th century and stretching along one whole side of Chandor’s village square, is the biggest Portuguese mansion of its kind…
7.65 MILES
Opened to the public in 2012 as a cultural centre, Reis Magos Fort overlooks the narrowest point of the Mandovi River estuary, making it easy to…
18.59 MILES
About 8km southeast of Chandor is the busy small town of Quepem. Here the Palácio do Deão, the renovated 18th-century palace built by the town’s founder,…
28.42 MILES
Situated in the far southeastern corner of the Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary, Goa’s most impressive waterfall splashes down just west of the border…
Nearby Panaji & Central Goa attractions
1.2 MILES
Aside from the beautiful views afforded from the roof terrace of Pilar Seminary, a few kilometres north of Goa Velha and 12km southeast of Panaji, it is…
3.69 MILES
About 5km north of Goa Velha, in the small village of Talaulim, the massive Church of St Anne (known to the local people simply as Santana) is an imposing…
4.47 MILES
It's the hilltop views, rather than the plain little chapel itself, that should entice you to take the steep road east off the coastal road up to Three…
4.61 MILES
Though marred by the chemical plant to the north, Velsao Beach makes for a quiet place to get away from it all.
4.77 MILES
Around 9km north of Ponda, this temple is one of the most visited of Goa’s Hindu temples, admirably combining two key features of Goan Hinduism: first, it…
6. Shri Laxmi Narasimha Temple
5.07 MILES
Almost immediately after leaving the village of Mardol on the main road, a side road to the right takes you up a hill towards the little village of…
5.1 MILES
The Mahalsa Temple, 1km down the road from the Shri Manguesh Temple, is in the tiny village of Mardol. This temple’s deity originally resided in an…
5.13 MILES
The Naval Aviation Museum, at the naval base on the road above Bogmalo Beach, makes an interesting diversion if you’re interested in ships and planes. The…