Leave the world behind in an Indian Ocean haven
Winter is the most popular time to take a holiday in Goa and indulge in the traditional tourist pastimes of sunbathing and relaxing. Visitors are also drawn by Goan cuisine – exotic dishes combining a Latin passion for meat and fish with Indian spices, best served with a stunning sunset over the Arabian Sea.
Goa was a Portuguese colony until 1961. In the late 1960s, many hippy adventurers, keen to leave the world behind, travelled to Goa, which grew a reputation for hedonism and liberal attitudes. These days, Goa is attracting those with rather fatter wallets, and visitors are more likely to come from Mumbai via rail or fly in from the UK by charter flight. Hotels and resorts have been developed to cater for this influx, but Goa’s 25 miles of beautiful sandy beaches still provide havens of tranquillity.
There is much to enjoy in Goa away from the beach, not least in the state capital of Panaji, a place of contrasts best explored on foot. Discover cobbled alleyways, colonial villas, red-roofed houses and taverns reminiscent of a small Portuguese town, alongside government buildings pre-dating Goa’s colonisation. There are also some wonderful elegant churches – notably, the Church of the Immaculate Conception, topped with a huge bell that sits between two delicate Baroque-style towers.
Old Goa used to be the state capital, but malaria and cholera epidemics following the silting up of the river led the town to be abandoned in the 17th century. Old Goa is now a World Heritage Site and Goa’s main cultural attraction, with a score of well preserved grandiose churches and convents. The Tuscan St Catherine's Cathedral is the largest church in India, with huge Corinthian pillars dividing the central nave from the side aisles and no less than 15 altars nestling along the church walls. Getting to Old Goa is easy – tourist offices and larger hotels organise guided tours, or from Panjani you can catch one of the regular buses, or hire an auto-rickshaw or taxi.
At the Anjuna flea market, traders from all over India come to sell their wares. Traditionally dressed Lamani women from Karnataka sell colourful and elaborately woven clothes, Kashmiri stalls display silver and papier mache boxes, and Tibetans preside over orderly rows of Himalayan curios. The market is also a great place just to watch the world go by, and mingle with bands of musicians, snake charmers, beggars and jugglers.
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