Located on the West Coast of India in Konkan, Goa is bounded by Maharashtra in the north, by Karnataka in the east and the south, while the Arabian Sea forms its western coast. Panaji (Panjim) is the state's capital and Vasco da Gama (Vasco) is its largest city.

The merry land of beaches and sunshine, of feni and cashewnuts, of hippies and -- , Goa has a historical past too. Until a century before the arrival of the Portuguese adventurer, Vasco Da Gama (who landed near Kozhikode in Kerala in 1498), Goa belonged to the kingdom of Kadamba for over a thousand years. Over those years, it had been successfully conquered by the Karnatakan Vijayanagars, the Muslim Bahmanis and Yousuf Adil Shah of Bijapur but the capture of the fort at Panaji by Alfonso De Albuquerque in 1510 signaled the start of a Portuguese occupation that was to last for 450 years.

Goa formed part of the Mauryan Empire in the 3rd century BC. This was followed by the rule of the Satvahanas of Kolhapur and the Bhojas who made Chandor their capital. From 580 – 750 AD the Chalukyas of Badami held sway over Goa until the Silharas took control in 1086 AD.

Gulhalla Deva of the Kadambas, originally from Mysore, consolidated his hold over Chandor in the 11th century AD until the 13th century AD. On a pilgrimage to Somnath, a sudden storm threatened the Kadamba King and his armada at the mouth of the River Zuari. Arab traders who lived in a settlement by the riverside rescued them and in gratitude, the Arabs were allowed to carry on their commercial activities in the kingdom.

Anjuna is huge. So huge there’s a South, Middle and North Anjuna beach. Much of the action, and many hotels, bars and restaurants are clustered off North Anjuna Beach in DeMello, Soronto and St Anthony vaddos. The road from Mapusa comes past Mazil and Temb vaddos to end in DeMello Vaddo, where there’s a parking area to the right. Lanes lead left from here to St Anthony’s Church, beyond which stretches Gaunkar Vaddo and Middle Anjuna Beach, which has its own share of beachfront shacks. South of Middle Anjuna is the large flea market ground in Dando Vaddo, which leads on to Little (South) Anjuna Beach.

With all those rocks in the sea, water sports in Anjuna are limited to its southern end. What Anjuna does offer on calm days, though, is some snorkelling around the rocks in the sea. There are mullet, parrotfish and groupers to be spotted, if the water visibility is 2 m or more.

Anjuna has restaurants everywhere. The beachfront is an endless chain of shacks, most of which come up on the edge of the cliffs and coconut groves that line the beach.

Anjuna’s flea market began in the 1970s as a place where hippies hawked their possessions when they were either broke or leaving for home. Banned for several years after the local church ran a campaign against it (they said it was a front for drug dealing), the flea market was revived by the Anjuna Panchayat as the Anjuna weekly market some eight years ago, and is now held on Wednesdays over several acres of coconut plantations at the southern edge of the beach.

From the flea market ground, a path winds its way along the hillside and emerges near the Retreat House in Baga. Great views and a pleasant time, but don’t get caught out after dark, even if you have a torch.

Anjuna is located in north Bardez Taluka, just south of Vagator Beach and north of the Baga-Calangute-Candolim stretch, from which it is cut off by the Baga River.

By taxi, Anjuna is 57 km from Dabolim Airport, 19 km from Thivim Station and 25 km from Panjim. You can also get autos from Mapusa or take a bus from Panjim and Mapusa (hourly frequency).

Beaches in this stretch include Calangute, Baga, Candolim, Sinquerim. With nightlife, flea markets and generous helpings of history, this beach stretch is by far the biggest draw in Goa.

Known as the ‘queen’ of Goa’s beaches, Calangute is flanked on its southern side by the village of Candolim and on its northern side by the hamlet of Baga. The Calangute-Baga-Candolim stretch is the very heartland of tourism in Goa. It was first ‘discovered’ by hippies in the late 1960s and has become the playground of Goa’s visitors ever since the 1980s.

Nowadays, Calangute’s visitors are busloads of tourists who tumble out onto the beach and into the restaurants, night-spots, night-markets and adventure agencies that pack the Baga-Calangute-Candolim road. Yet between the Tai-Chi hoardings and raver’s graffiti, you can still catch a few glimpses of the old seaside village vaddos before they metamorphosed into Goa’s biggest beach destinations. That, perhaps, remains Calangute’s charm.

There are more than a dozen water sports operators along the beach who offer parasailing, water-skiing, banana and bump rides as well as windsurfing. A large number of boat operators also offer dolphin- and crocodile-spotting trips, island trips, fishing expeditions and river cruises.

Try Souza Lobo, Calangute’s oldest and best restaurant. It offers fantastic Goan food on the beachfront. Another spot you might want to try is Kerkar Retreat, one of the few places that serve authentic Goan Hindu cuisine.

Calangute is considered a reasonably safe place to swim, though large waves have been known to drag swimmers out to sea. The best thing to do is to swim in the designated areas.

Calangute is at the centre of the Bardez coast. It is bordered by Candolim beach to the south and Baga to the north. From Dabolim Airport (48 km), a pre-paid taxi costs around RS600. From Thivim Station (15 km), taxis cost around RS250 and from Panjim (16 km), around RS250. Buses come from Panjim and Mapusa every 15 minutes.

To travel from Panjim, cross the Mandovi Bridge and take the Chogm Road past Porvorim down to Calangute. You can also continue to Mapusa and turn left to Calangute. Both routes are equally convenient.

Baga is a vaddo of Calangute where Goans flock in mid-May to take the sea cure. It’s an endless line of shops, restaurants and hotels. But the beach is still very beautiful, especially when seen against the thickly forested Baga-Anjuna Hill.

Arpora village, spread across a hillock near Baga, is the place to be on Saturday nights. Ingo’s night market is far more organised than Anjuna’s flea market and can be much more fun. There are stalls offering all kinds of goods and services, including clothes, trinkets, exotic haircuts, body-piercing, tarot-reading, palmistry, sculpture, wood-carvings, and lots of food. With live bands playing, the place has a carnival atmosphere.

Baga has a river to the north. Keep at least 300 m away from the mouth of the river. The best thing to do is to swim in the designated areas.

Candolim Beach extends from the Taj hotels near the vaddo of Sinquerim (the Taj likes to call its part of the seafront ‘Sinquerim Beach’) to Escrivao Vaddo, on the main Candolim-Calangute Road. This main road and the lanes off it are packed with shops, hotels and restaurants, but the Candolim beachfront itself is much less crowded.

Drive up to Fort Aguada. As you come to the end of Candolim’s Chogm Road, it passes over a deep ditch. This is all that remains of the moat that once surrounded Fort Aguada that cut the fort off from the Bardez mainland. Climb up to the fort, which lies atop the Sinquerim Plateau. This location affords a stunning panorama of the Mandovi meeting the sea, and of Panjim on the south bank. In the distance, just beyond the cliff-top Cabo Raj Bhavan, you can see huge cargo ships making their way to Mormugao Port.

Candolim is the southernmost beach of the Bardez coast. Its border with Calangute is a blur of restaurants and shops. From Dabolim Airport (45 km), a pre-paid taxi costs around RS600. From Thivim Station (19 km), a taxi costs around RS300 and from Panjim (13 km), around RS200. You can also get a bus from Mapusa (10 km), the closest big town, while a taxi costs around RS160. Buses at Mapusa leave for Candolim about every 15 minutes.

To travel from Panjim, cross the Mandovi Bridge to Porvorim and turn left off the Chogm Road to Candolim via Pilerne. You can also turn left under the Mandovi Bridge and get to Candolim via Betim, Verem and Neru.

Any resident will tell you that Panjim is a walker’s paradise. There are tree-lined avenues and promenades and the best possible walking areas are any of the quiet winding lanes on Altinho.

Browse through the Panjim Corporation Market in Campal. You can get everything here from local and exotic fruit and veggies to fish. The fisherwomen are fascinating; true aristocrats, they know they have what every Goan craves — fish. Buyers come to eye fat tiger prawns, mackerel, kingfish, squid, crabs, pomfret, mussels, oysters... the list is endless, and the odours rich. The Goan fisherwomen treat all supplicants with equal disdain. There are also stalls selling clothing, shoes, bags, electronic items, spices, flowers and sweets.

For branded shopping, head to colourful MG Road, which is also where you’ll find all the liquor and wine shops. By far the most interesting establishments are the posros, or the small grocers that sell everything, from fresh pao to ingots of golden palm jaggery, petals of dried kokum, sheets of aromatic tamarind and bottles of home-made toddy vinegar and coconut feni.

GMT/UTC +5.30

200.4 km²

Local Area Code: 0141

3,324,3191

English (official) and Hindi

Indian Rupees (RS)