Page 491 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - India

SOUTHWESTERN INDIA  489

GOA

This tiny state, along the Konkan Coast, covers 3,702 sq km (1,429 sq
miles) and consists of just two districts, North and South Goa. Goa’s
distinct culture is a legacy of its colonial past. In 1510, Alfonso de
Albuquerque established a small but powerful Portuguese enclave
here. Though Goa became a part of the Indian Union in 1961, evidence
of the 400-odd years of Portuguese rule is still apparent in the people’s
dress, language, religion and cuisine, and in their music, a fusion of the
plaintive fado with the lilting rhythms of local Konkani folk songs. Today, Goa
is one of India’s most popular holiday destinations, with its idyllic beaches, lush paddy
fields, coconut plantations and villages dotted with pretty whitewashed churches and
grand mansions. Its other attractions include the Hindu temples around Ponda, built
between the 15th and 18th centuries, and the magnificent cathedrals of Old Goa.
Goa’s friendly, easy-going people go out of their way to make visitors feel at home.

Sights at a Glance
Towns & Cities Churches, Seminaries & Historic Sites
1 Panaji Temples 9 Terekhol Fort
5 Mapusa 2 Reis Magos 0 A Walk through Old Goa
7 Pernem q Pilar y Braganza House
t Margao w Ponda Beaches & Beach Towns
e Tambdi Surla 3 Calangute
r Rachol
4 Anjuna
6 Vagator
8 Arambol
u Colva
i Cavelossim
Terek hol o Palolem

Querim • Chapora
Mandrem • NH 66
Morgim •
Bicholim
•
Sanquelim
•
Candolim • Valpoi
Ma ndov i
Fort Aguada
Miramar
Dona Paula Mardol Bondla Londa •
Mormugao NH 66 Sanctuary
Vasco da Gama Z uari NH 4A Molem •
Dabolim Loutolim Bhagwan Mahaveer
•
Sanctuary
Majorda •
• Curtorim
Arabian •
Sea Chandor
Varca • • • Sanguem
Quepem
NH 66
Mobor •
Key
National highway
Cabo da Rama •
Major road
Agonda • • Mallikarjun
Cotigao Wildlife Minor road
Sanctuary Major railway
0 kilometres 20
Galgibaga • Talp ona State border
0 miles 20
Polem •
Pretty interior of the Royal Chapel of St Anthony, near Panaji For keys to symbols see back flap
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