GOA

Goa, which became part of India only in 1961, has several things special about it, because the area was a Portuguese colony. Goa is tucked away between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea and has some of the most beautiful beaches to be found in India, dotted with palm goves and sand dunes. It takes about 15 hours of driving by road from Bombay to reach Panaji or it is about 25 hours by ship. goa has a leisurely life, despite being a major centre of iron ore exports. It is full of siestas and fiestas. The architecture of Goa is very different from what is found in the rest of India. The white houses to be found here are inspired by Spanish and Portuguese buildings. Of the plentiful beaches, there is Gaspar Dias and dona Paula, in Calangute. Where there is a long white sweep of coarse sand. Some six kms off Marmagao town is Colva beach. Goa was referred to as Gomat in the Mahabharata, and Hindu Kings, called the Kadambas ruled the country until goa became a part of the vijayanagar empire in 1370.

A hundred years later Goa was taken over by the Bahmani Muslims who set up their capital at Ela, on the banks of the Mandovi. It fell in 1482 to the Sultan of Bijapur who was defeated by the Portuguese in 1501. The Portuguese changed the name of the town to Velha Goa and it became a major link in trade between Europe and the Orient. Under the Christian inquisition thousands of people were put to the sword, converted to Christianity and the Hindu temples destroyed. In 1738 Goa was attacked by plague and abandoned. The Portuguese built a new capital at Panji, also known as Panjim. (See pilgrimage section also).