Panaji & Central Goa
This 200-year-old plantation, 12km north of Ponda, is the least touristy in the region (and elephant-free). Knowledgeable guides will walk you through the…
Must-see attractions in Goa
Panaji & Central Goa
Around 5km north of Ponda, this is one of the most popular farms with tour groups, so is often busy and probably best avoided by independent travellers on…
Anjuna
Anjuna’s charismatic, narrow beach runs for almost 2km from the rocky, low-slung cliffs at the northern village area down beyond the flea market in the…
Palolem
Hire a local boatman from Palolem Beach to ferry you up to Butterfly Beach and back (₹2000 for the boat), relishing the views of untouched coastline along…
North Goa
The quiet Aswem sands are popular with long-staying foreigners and play host to an annually changing parade of beach-hut accommodation and beach-shack…
Panaji & Central Goa
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…
Panaji & Central Goa
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…
North Goa
Chapora’s old laterite fort, standing guard over the mouth of the Chapora River, was built by the Portuguese in 1617, to protect Bardez taluk (district),…
Church of Our Lady of the Rosary
Old Goa
Passing beneath the buttresses of the Convent of St Monica, about 250m further along the road is the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary, which stands on the…
South Goa
Built in 1580 atop an old Muslim fort, the Rachol Seminary and Church stands near the village of Raia, 7km from Margao. It’s not officially open to…
Panaji & Central Goa
In the village of Khandepar, 5km northeast of Ponda, and set back in the dense forest behind the Mandovi River, are four small (well-hidden) rock-cut…
Panaji & Central Goa
At only 8 sq km, Bondla Wildlife Sanctuary is Goa’s smallest protected wildlife sanctuary. Though not particularly remote, it’s really only accessible if…
Panaji
Beside the Secretariat Building, look out for the sublime, starkly black statue of a caped man, arms, hands and fingers outstretched, towering over an…
Panaji & Central Goa
Surrounded by forest and paddy fields, the Shri Shantadurga Temple is one of the most famous shrines in Goa and is consequently packed with those who come…
Old Goa
Work on this three-storey laterite church and convent commenced in 1606 and was completed in 1627, only to burn down nine years later. Reconstruction…
Panaji & Central Goa
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…
Panaji
Miramar, 3km southwest of the city, is Panaji’s nearest beach. The couple of kilometres of exposed sand facing Aguada Bay are hardly inspiring compared to…
Church of Nossa Senhora de Penha de Franca
North Goa
Britona’s parish church, Nossa Senhora de Penha de Franca, is a grand old dame, occupying a fine location at the confluence of the Mandovi and Mapusa…
North Goa
Reis Magos Church was built below the fortress walls in 1555, shortly after the construction of the fort itself. A Franciscan seminary was later added,…
North Goa
Around 5km north of Pomburpa, the large and picturesque village of Aldona is home to the Church of St Thomas, built in 1596, and a grand sight on the…
Panaji & Central Goa
In the village of Bandode is the small and peaceful Naguesh Temple. The most striking part of the temple is the ancient water tank, with its overhanging…
Church of Our Lady of the Mount
Old Goa
This church is often overlooked due to its location on a wooded hilltop, some 2km east of the central area. A sealed road leads to an overgrown flight of…
South Goa
Approximately 12km southeast of Chandor and 22km from Margao, on the border of Quepem and Sanguem talukas, is the small village of Zambaulim, home to the…
North Goa
This multilevel museum was created by well-known local architect Gerard da Cunha to illuminate the history of Goan architecture. Interesting displays on…
South Goa
Around 3km south of the village of Zambaulim, the road passes through Rivona, which consists of little more than a few houses spread out along the…
Old Goa
About 100m to the west of the Church of St Francis of Assisi stands the small Chapel of St Catherine. An earlier chapel was erected on this site by…
Panaji & Central Goa
Though undoubtedly one of Ponda’s less-attractive temples, Shri Ramnath is notable for the impressive and extravagant silver screen on the door to the…
Panaji
Fontainhas is notable for being home to the pretty Chapel of St Sebastian, built in 1818. This small whitewashed church contains one of only a few relics…
Panaji
The yellow-and-white Menezes Braganza Institute occupies part of the old buildings that were once the Portuguese army headquarters. It’s worth poking your…
South Goa
Betalbatim’s sands, just to the north of Colva, are a good example of what difference a few hundred metres can make, as calm, quiet and pastoral as Colva…
Panaji
Dedicated to the monkey god Hanuman, this large orange temple built up the Altinho hillside is resplendently lit at night, and affords pleasant views over…
Church of Nossa Senhora, Mae de Deus
Calangute & Baga
As you explore the countryside, don’t miss a peek into the Church of Nossa Senhora, Mae de Deus, with its unusual neo-Gothic Christmas-cake style topped…
Panaji & Central Goa
Only 4km outside Ponda, and a stone’s throw from Naguesh Temple, is the relatively uninspiring Mahalaxmi Temple. The goddess Mahalaxmi, looked upon as the…
Margao
On the west side of the canary-yellow Secretariat Building, you’ll find respite from the sun in the prim Municipal Library, which houses some good books…
Old Goa
The melancholy, evocative ruins of this once vast and impressive Augustinian monastery are all that remain of a huge structure founded in 1572 and…
Old Goa
The Chapel of St Anthony, dedicated to the saint of the Portuguese army and navy, was one of the earliest to be built in Goa, again on the directions of…
Panaji
If you’re interested in gazing at the clear winter night skies over Goa, the local branch of the Association of Friends of Astronomy has a public…
Panaji & Central Goa
A less-touristy alternative to the Ponda region spice plantations, this relatively remote farm is about 30km from Margao on the road to Colem. As well as…
Panaji
To the west of the Municipal Gardens, the grassy Azad Maidan won’t win any prizes at a flower show. Its centrepiece is a small pavilion (whose Corinthian…
North Goa
The old Portuguese lighthouse, which stands in the middle of Fort Aguada, was built in 1864 and once housed the great bell from the Church of St Augustine…
