GOA :-
Stretches of silver sand wetted by a rush of blue waters, the sky mirroring the sea below, the strumming of guitars from distant taverns, white churches resting against green paddy fields and coconut groves, long nights spent over brewed feni, longer days of sun, sand and sea.
One of the youngest states of the Indian Union, Goa attained statehood after 451 years of colonial rule and 26 years as Union territory. Its history dates back to the 3rd century when it belonged to the Mauryas, followed by the rule of the Satvahanas, Chalukyas and then the Shilharas and Kadambas. In 1312, Goa fell into the hands of the Muslims when Harihara of the Vijayanagar Empire evacuated the coastal area. The Muslim rule ended when the Portuguese took over in 1510. During the Napoleonic wars, Britishers had a brief occupation of Goa otherwise the Portuguese were masters of Goa till 1961 when they were finally driven out.
GOA SIGHTSEEING
BEACHES OF GOA :- Beaches of Goa are much ahead of other beaches in India in terms of popularity and the facilities that are available here. The beaches here have been accepted as a matter of life, there are exotic cuisine backing the pleasure of have on sun and sand, and water sports facilities that include from water scooters to water gliding. The most developed beach segment of Goa is the Calangute - Baga - Anjuna belt in the Bardesh subdivision north of Panaji.
CHURCH SQUARE : The leafy rectangular park opposite the India Government tourist office, known as Church Square or the Municipal Garden, forms the heart of Panjim. The church was built in 1541 for the benefit of saliors arriving here from Lisbon.
CHURCH OF THE ST. CAJESTAN : Modeled on the original design of St Peter's in Rome, this church was built by Italian friars of the Order of Threatens, who were sent by Pope Urban III to preach Christianity. The construction of the church began in 1655 in Old Goa.
STATE ARCHEOLOGICAL MUSEUM: The most noteworthy feature of Panjim's State Archaeological Museum is its imposing size, which stands in glaringly inverse proportion to the collections inside. The only rarities to be found amid the lame array of temple sculpture, hero stones and dowdy colonial-era artifacts are a couple of beautiful Jain bronzes.
FOUNTAINHAS : Panjim oldest and most interesting district, Fountainhas, lies immediately west of Pato, overlooking the banks of the green Ourem Creek. Many building have retained their traditional coat of ochre, pale yellow, green or blue- a legacy of the Portuguese insistence that every Goan building should be color-washed after monsoons.
ARCH OF THE VICEROYS : On arriving at the river landing stage to the north, 17th century visitors passed through the Arch of the Viceroys (1597), constructed to commemorate Vasco da Gama's arrival in India and built from the same porous red laterite as virtually all Old Goa's buildings.