Goa
State Of Goa, A Portuguese Colony Until 1961; The Churches And Convents Of Goa Are A UNESCO World Heritage Site (1986) · Panaji, Goa
India's smallest state and its beach holiday, a hundred-odd kilometres of Arabian Sea coast that was a Portuguese colony for more than four hundred years, until 1961. That history is what makes it different from anywhere else in India: whitewashed churches, Portuguese-style houses, a Catholic calendar of feasts, and food built on coconut, vinegar and pork. The coast splits into two characters. North Goa, around Baga, Calangute, Anjuna and Vagator, is crowded, loud and built up, with nightclubs, markets and the remnants of the 1960s hippie trail. South Goa, around Palolem, Agonda and Colva, is quieter, with longer and emptier beaches. Inland are spice farms and the Dudhsagar waterfall, and at Old Goa the great churches of the former capital, a World Heritage Site, including the Basilica of Bom Jesus with the body of St Francis Xavier. The season is October to May. In the monsoon many beach shacks shut, the sea turns rough and swimming is often banned. Most visitors hire a scooter, which is both the best way to get around and the most common way to get hurt.
Dayanand Bandodkar Marg, Panaji, Panaji, Goa, 403001, India
NO OPENING TIME HERE WAS CHECKED. The typical pattern: the beaches are open at all times, though lifeguard cover runs only in daylight. Beach shacks and huts operate roughly from October or November to April or May and close through the monsoon. Old Goa churches open in the morning, often close for a few hours at midday and reopen in the afternoon, with masses on Sunday mornings when visitors should keep to the back. The Anjuna flea market runs on Wednesdays and the Arpora night market on Saturdays, in season only. The Dudhsagar jeep route runs after the monsoon, typically October to May. The traps: arriving in the monsoon expecting open shacks, flying into the wrong airport, and planning Dudhsagar in July. Confirm seasonal openings before travelling.