Travel Agent In Gujarat

A place outside time...a tiny emerald speck on the west coast of India, tucked away snugly between the hills of the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea, Goa has a warm, tropical climate with an average temperature of 21?C (79?F) throughout the year. The winter months December to February are delightfully cool and sunny, and from June to September, Goa is drenched by the southwest monsoon, which turns the countryside into a lush garden.

Goa has a 100-km coastline studded with some of the world’s most picturesque beaches...lapped by the placid blue Arabian Sea, dotted with palm groves and sand dunes. A liquid sun pours gold onto the sands. Goa’s beaches have a magic all their own. Coastline are golden stretches of beaches with picturesque names like Arambol, Vagator, Baga, Anjuna, Calangute in the north, and the raw beauty of Colva, Betul and Palolem in the South.

Panaji is the state's capital, while Vasco da Gama is the largest city. The historic city of Margao still exhibits the cultural influence of the Portuguese, who first landed in the early 16th century as merchants, and conquered it soon thereafter.

Goa’s Portuguese history which began in 1510 and ended in 1961, makes for a fabulous amalgam of Iberian and Indian, Christian and Hindu lifestyles. “Golden Goa” was the capital of the Portuguese Empire in the east and they imposed upon its essentially Hindu environment their own architectural styles. Goa still has the look of the Iberian coast, with its tiled houses, imposing baroque churches, eternal carnivals and skirt clad, mantilla-wearing women. The Portuguese were not able to entirely obliterate Goa’s Hindu ancestry, and some fine temples can be seen, built in an architectural style quite different to those elsewhere in India. If Hindu tradition influenced the Old Catholic churches, Catholic tradition has permeated the new Hindu temples. It exemplifies the strange correspondence and amity between the two religions, which exist in Goa.

Goan food is a delicious blend of Portuguese and Indian artistry. Seafood in spicy coconut curries, pork in vinegar, sannas (steamed rice cakes fermented in toddy) accompanied by the local drink, feni, and rich puddings like bebinca with a recipe that begins with “take forty eggs... There are also the unsung pleasures of the Hindu Goan vegetarian cuisine, which includes pickled mangoes, and a flurry of chutneys.
The word `leisure’ would be a poor substitute for the Goan socegado. Anyone who has been to Goa will understand the futility of trying to translate the word. It is a heady combination of lethargy and a sense of timelessness. Goa is a place where you can do everything or nothing at all.

Panaji (Panjim) This is the successor of the grand old city of Goa but inherited none of its stateliness. Built by the Portuguese, it was an apt symbol of their declining fortunes. This modern capital of Goa can trace its history back to the 12th century AD when it was nothing but marshes, creeks and paddy fields..
The new city was called Nova Goa and was divided into Panaji, Ribandar and Velha Goa or Old Goa.

Panjim Goa’s capital is situated on the left bank of the Mandovi River (150 kms. long with its source at Bhimgod in the Sahyadri mountains). Perched on a hillock is Panjim’s most prominent landmark, the Church of the Immaculate Conception with a zigzag patterned stairway. A winding road climbs the long wooded ridge of Altinho where stand the ancestral houses of some of the wealthy Goan families. From here one can have a wonderful view of Marmagoa Harbour. Pass by Miramar Beach and proceed to Old Goa.

Old Goa Half a dozen imposing churches and cathedrals. 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. 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.

The road to Mapuca (pronounced Mapsa) winds through sleepy villages and across a large plain, dotted with white crosses of chapels and roadside shrines. Friday is special and all roads seem to lead to the town. Produce from distant village’s flood into the marketplace. The market was opened in 1962. Markets are the essence of life in Goa. In the central square, women call customers for sausages, and spices, clay pots and cane-basket wares. Goa’s famous fish; sardines, shark, lobster, crab, squid, clams, oysters, mussels and prawns.

Visit Mapuca, the market town - 12 kms. from the Panjim ferry. On Fridays, an amazing bazaar unfolds on the streets of Mapusa where vendors from local and distant villages gather to sell their wares consisting of carved curios to earthenware pottery, About 2 kms. from the market stands the principal church of the town dedicated to Nossa Senhora de Milagres - Our Lady of Miracles. This church, contains a store of treasures salvaged from Old Goa. Turn off from the main road to Porvorim to Calangute Beach - one of the popular beaches of North Goa.

Full day visit to Tivim, a village in the north and proceed to Arvalem Waterfalls, a popular picnic spot although, except during the monsoon, the volume of water flowing is small. It is a pleasant place laid out amidst rocks and ferns, areca and coconut palms, breadfruit, bananas and a host of other trees.

Colva beach is 4 miles from Margao (south Goa), the second largest town in Goa. There is the usual army of palm trees and the sand is very fine like hot shredded silk underfoot. Colva is in fact a series of beaches, some 40 kms. of uninterrupted snowy sand like drying linen in the sun. At the far end, with its aura of sublime peace is Betul, perhaps the most beautiful beach of all. The water here is said to take on a magical luminescence.

Bondla Wildlife Sanctuary This small wildlife sanctuary in the lush foothills of the Western Ghats is a good place to see sambar and wild. The sanctuary has accommodation in chalets and dorms, and is located 50km (30mi) south-east of Panaji.

Beaches in North Goa:
Arambol, Morjim, Chapora, Vagator, Anjuna, Baga, Calangute, Candolim, Sinquerim, Bambolim, Miramar, Dona Paula
Beaches in South Goa:
Bogmalo, Majorda, Colva, Benaulim, Varca, Cavelossim, Mobor, Canaguinim, Agonda, Palolem

Goa has many famous National parks, including the renowned Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary. Other wildlife sanctuaries include the Bondla Wildlife Sanctuary, Mollem Wildlife Sanctuary, Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary, Mahadeyi Wildlife Sanctuary, Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary, Mahaveer Wildlife Sanctuary and the Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary located on the island of Chorao.

Tourism is Goa's primary industry: Mainly foreign tourist. Goa has two main tourist seasons: winter and summer. In the winter time, tourists from abroad (mainly Europe) come to Goa to enjoy the splendid climate. In the summer time (which, in Goa, is the rainy season), tourists from across India come to spend the holidays.

Airport
Goa's sole airport, the Dabolim Airport, is both a military and civilian airport catering to domestic and international airlines that stop en route to other Indian destinations. The airport also handles a large number of chartered flights. Goa receives international flights from Dubai, Sharjah and Kuwait in the Middle East and from Britain, Germany and Russia during the charter flight tourist season.

Road Transport
Goa's public transport largely consists of privately operated buses linking the major towns to rural areas. Government-run buses, maintained by the Kadamba Transport Corporation, links both major routes (like the Panjim–Margao route). Goa has two National Highways passing through it. NH-17 runs along India's west coast and links Goa to Mumbai in the north and Mangalore to the south.

Railways
Goa has two rail lines—one run by the South Western Railway and the other by the Konkan Railway. The line run by the South Western Railway was built during the colonial era linking the port town of Vasco da Gama, Goa with Hubli, Karnataka via Margao. The Konkan Railway line, which was built during the 1990s, runs parallel to the coast connecting major cities on the western coast.