North Goa Tour and Travel Information

Mapusa- Measure and Fill

Bardez, a province in North Goa gets its name from Tara Des', the 12 villages of Aldona, Anjuna, Assagao, Candolim, Nachinola, Olaulim, Pomburpa, Punola, Saligao, Sangolda, Serula and Moira. At the epicentre of Bardez lies the small town of Mapusa. Undersized it maybe, but there is no bypassing Mapusa, district headquarters, transport hub and the most prominent town in Bardez. Mapusa gained a measure of consequence as a market town in the period when the river next door, the Rio de Mapusa served as a vital waterway for the transportation of commodities.

Traditionally, market towns become prosperous centres of commerce, production or manufacturing — but not Mapusa. Mapusa was and still remains a small town on the plateau, euphemistically dubbed alto (mount), between the Rivers Mandovi and Mapusa. Its sole cachet is its geographical proximity to the best beaches in North Goa and its historic market, which also gives the town its name. 

The Goans call their oldest market town `Mapsa' - a name derived quite fittingly from the Konkani words for measure and fill (maap + sa). Predating the advent of the Portuguese, the historic market at Mapusa was frequented by the villagers of Bardez province who came here to measure and fill, buy and sell! The practise continued through the Portuguese regime and today, in the age of malls and supermarkets, when open-air stalls have metamorphosed into permanent structures, most people still choose to buy their fish and vegetables at `Mapsa's' market. 

The best part of North Goa is its many beaches - not the whitewashed churches that contrast with the unmitigatingly green landscape or the temples that temporarily relieve the monotony of churches! Bardez and Mapusa have their share of both but, fortunately for those who are keen to get along with it and reach the fabled shores, only a few places that should not be sidestepped. Those that come highly recommended include Portuguese forts, a few churches and the odd temple. 

Of temples, forts and market days!

 Mapusa's market grew from a few shops fulfilling a local requirement to a large market catering to increasing numbers of residents. The very first shops stocked oil and lamps for devotees who came to the shrine of Kanakeshwar Baba or Bodgeshwar, affectionately known as Bongini. Over a period of time, these shacks evolved into a marketplace whose pavements were crowded with freelancers and moonlighters, hawking everything from prawns, dried fish, pickles and preserves, fresh fruit and green vegetables, sacks of spices, bags of rice, red —gold wheels of palm jaggery, plants and flowers, terracotta planters and earthenware pots, pork chouricos (sausages) flecked with red pepper and bursting out of their skins, bottles of feni and palm vinegar, baskets of bread to clothes, old and new The more contemporary shops in the new market are the domain of sweet shops, saree sellers and goldsmiths. Its concrete corridors are crowded with tailors — Goa is famous for them — who operate their business from across a sewing machine! 

God of Wish Fulfillment!

Bongini or Kanakeshwar Baba is majorly into wish fulfillment and seems to oblige all and sundry. Which is why his temple in Mapusa remains crowded with grateful devotees who offer presents to the god who made them so happy! The huge congregation of satisfied devotees throngs Bogdeshwar Temple during its annual fair (December; January).

Friday Market

Mapusa comes alive on Fridays when the entire resident and non-resident population of Bardez descends on the city for its famous weekly market day. Visitors delight in the colour and cacophony of Mapusa's Friday market when women from neighbouring districts and fishing communities gather to hawk their wares. Space is at a premium, every overhang, every tree, every little bit of shade is fought over and zealously defended. Customers jostle and elbow each other in their impatience to snatch the best buys. Since loud and determined haggling is in order, a length of fabric, a bottle of feni, a mound of prawns or string of sausage is avidly bargained for till a price is settled upon, the one that leaves both customer and shopkeeper feeling they've won the round! 

Church of Our Lady of Miracles

Located in the heart of the city close to the market, Mapusa's parish church was constructed in 1594 under the supervision of Franciscan Father Jeronimo do Espirito Santo. The church was nearly destroyed in 1961 when retreating Portuguese forces are alleged to have set fire to it. A surprising charge since they did not indulge in arson elsewhere in Goa. The church was originally dedicated to St. Jerome, who was replaced by Our Lady of Miracles and since then, the church is popularly known as `Milagre Saibinn'. Our Lady is credited with miraculous powers - she can cure recalcitrant ailments, she can secure employment and make business boom! Consequently, endless numbers of her grateful devotees crowd the church, morning and evening. Mornings belong to the Christians who come for service or mass; in the evenings, Hindu pilgrims offer libations of oil that they pour over the idol in an unusual non-Christian practise! The church is busiest on the Monday after the Second Sunday of Easter, the feast day of Our Lady of Miracles. 

Sister Act

Sirigao, in the heart of North Goa's predominantly Hindu belt has a temple dedicated to Devi Lahirai. According to local lore, Milagre Saibinn and Devi are sisters, two of eight siblings who also have their own temples at Morjim, Mapusa, Mayem, Mulgao and Adidipika. 

Church of Our Lady of the Rock of France

 Across the river from Panaji and best seen from its shores is an unusual octagonal shaped church located in the village of Brittona, enroute to Fort Aguada prison complex. The Church dedicated to our Lady of the Rock of France (Nossa Senhora de Penha de Franca) was the grateful submission of sailors who had survived the plague that decimated the population of Old Goa. Just one of two outside Portugal, the church was authorized by a papal decree issued by Pope Clement in 1754. 

Accommodation

Why would anybody stay in Mapusa when they can as easily stay beside the blue waters of the Arabian Sea, in a fort overlooking a placid river or in a heritage villa in a quiet little village? North Goa offers an endless number of options in all those categories, but if its Mapusa that attracts, then check out the Goa Tourism Development Corporation's Tourist Hotel in the centre of the town near the Kadamba Bus Terminus. 

Here is list of best hotels in Goa at Swantour.com, Swan Tours one of the leading travel agents in India offers Goa hotels at best price:-

Taj Exotica Goa , Vivanta by Taj Holiday Village Goa , Vivanta by Taj Fort Aguada , W Goa , Ramada Caravela Beach Resort , The Lalit Golf & Spa Resort Goa , Alila Diwa Goa and  Zuri White Sands Goa.

Forts

The long length of North Goa's coastline is indented and interrupted by estuaries of many rivers that flow down from headlands and plateaus of inland Goa. Since most of these rivers were navigable and therefore weak links in the defense of Goa, the Portuguese constructed forts at the confluence of river and sea. The forts at Aguada, Chapora and Tiracol were built to deter and prevent unwelcome ingress from the sea. 

Fort Aguada

Fort Aguada is the jewel that crowns the rocky flat-topped headland flanked by the River Mandovi and the beaches of Sinquerim and Candolim. Built in 1612, Fort Aguada is the best preserved of the Portuguese fortifications, part of it still in use as Goa's Central Jail. The fort and the headland, Cabo Aguada, are named after the freshwater (agua) springs located within the fort's perimeters. If Reis Magos stood watch from high above, the multi-level Fort Aguada protected the entrance to the Mandovi from up close, almost level with the river. It was the first checkpoint for ships moving inland towards the harbour at Ribandar or Old Goa and the last for those returning home to Portugal. 

The well-preserved portion of the Fort with Goa Prison services is out of bounds for obvious reasons! Easily accessible by road is the upper ramparts on the headland with absolutely mind-blowing views of the surrounding countryside. In the midst of broken down ramparts stands a tall lighthouse dating back to 1864. The lighthouse is still operational and open to visitors who can climb all the way up for a bird's eye view of the Arabian Sea and inland Goa. The original lighthouse (since renovated and modernized) was the temporary residence of the Great Bell from the Church of St. Augustine in Old Goa before it was removed to its current abode in the Church of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception in Panaji. 

One arm of Fort Aguada's northern rampart extends into the sea forming a brown laterite barrier between the coves of Candolim and Sinquerim. Moss and barnacle encrusted laterite walls enclose pools of water at Sinquerim beach where the Arabian Sea has succeeded in its attempts to infiltrate this once impregnable fort. The fort that remained unassailable for 450 years is now overrun by weeds and inundated by tourists and guests from the luxury resort on Sinquerim beach. Where hawk-eyed Portuguese soiaaaos stood watch, hawkers sell coconuts and colas! 

Reis Magos Fort

One of the most important fortifications guarding the estuary of the Mandovi is the Reis Magos Fort. Located on the high ground north of Fort Aguada (Nerul-Verem plateau), the fort was well positioned with a commanding view of Arabian Sea and the entrance to the River Mandovi. Built in 1515, it was initially used as a residence for viceroys and later converted to a fortress with 33 cannons and a small garrison. 

The Franciscan Friars built a small church inside the fort in 1555 on what is believed to be the site of a Hindu temple. The Reis Magos Church is accessed by an impressive flight of stairs. At the foot of the church are a freshwater spring and a small shrine dedicated to Our Lady of Hope. The church, financed by the Portuguese government, has a crown on its facade, the royal coat of arms on the sanctuary and elsewhere and inscriptions on the paved areas. The most interesting inscription marks the last resting place of Dom Luis de Ataide, Viceroy of Portuguese India and Goa for two terms. The Church, a respected centre of ecclesiastical learning, apart from being a favourite stopover for Portuguese viceroys and governors, is the venue of the annual Feast of Reis Magos (6 January). 

Chapora Fort

The Rivers Mandovi, Chapora and Tiracol are natural boundaries that delineate the extent of North Goa's coastline. Fort Chapora on the mouth of the river bearing the same name was constructed in 1617 and served the Portuguese purpose well. It safeguarded Portuguese territories from repeated naval incursions by the Marathas from their home port at Vengurla. The fort fell to the Marathas twice but was reclaimed by the Portuguese in 1741. The upshot of the decline of Marathas was also a reduction in the potency of their raids, which finally petered out when the Portuguese annexed the inland territories (Nova Conquests). Having lost its raison d'etre, the fort was eventually abandoned in the 1890s. 

Tiracol Fort

The northernmost coastal fort in Portuguese controlled Goa was Tiracol Fort on the north bank of the River Tiracol (Terekhol) on the border with Maharashtra. The original fortress belonged to Sawantwadi, a small Maratha kingdom in the Western Ghats. The Raja of Sawantwadi lost his fort to Portuguese forces under the command of Viceroy Dom Pedro de Alameida in 1746. The hitherto Hindu fort was made suitable for its new Catholic occupants with the construction of a church. It currently houses a heritage resort. 

Corjuem Fort

Besides the coastal forts, the Portuguese also built inland fortifications alongside the rivers. One such is in east Bardez, at Corjeum on the River Mapusa near the village of Aldona. Corjeum was small, more a bastion or outpost than fort, and little remains of it accept a paved courtyard and well. The fort can be reached via the ferry service connecting Corjuem to Aldona.