Places in and around
Wherever you may base yourself, come into Margao for a hearty breakfast. Afterwards, step outside, and if you are in the mood for a languid stroll, set off to discover the wonderful mix of Indian and Iberian Margao town, or get into an auto and head to Salcette's beaches. You could also take a taxi from the stand right outside Longuinho's restaurant and explore the sparkling hinterland of Margao, with its stately old homes in quiet villages, check out a temple or two in Ponda, or bathe under India's second highest waterfall. Drives through Salcette and Ponda are lush experiences in themselves. Sombre seminaries and towering white-washed churches rise out of villages, nestled between green paddy fields. Every so often, a roadside cross provides visual relief from the endless green of the fields. If you travelled down to Margao on the train, the first thing you need to do is catch an auto to Colva Beach and rent yourself a Kinetic Honda. You can then rush off to the secluded beaches on Salcette's southern shore, or the more happening stretch towards Majorda and Betalbatim. Do reserve part of your weekend for a tour of the taluka's grand old mansions.
Walks through Margao
Leading off the Rua do Abade Faria is the most beautiful church square in all of Goa, Margao's Largo da Igreja. Tree-shaded avenues lead off from the grounds of the Church of Espirito Santo, lined with elegant old colonial homes. Stop for a few minutes outside the largest of Salcette's grand homes, the Sat Burzam Ghor, on the road to Ponda. Built on seven levels by a Portuguese bureaucrat, only three floors remain, which are enough to impress upon you an idea of the size of this mansion when it was new. Unfortunately, you can't go in, but there's nothing to stop you from peering at it rudely from the street. Climb up to the Church of Our Lady atop Monte Hill, leading off from the Largo da Igreja. It's a long trudge to the top but worth it for the unmatched views of colonial Margao and the long stretch of sand on Salcette's coast.
The beaches
Just 6 km away from Colva Beach, Margao too offers its share of beach highs, only, unlike in the north, the emphasis is on the beauty of the waves pounding against talcum powder sand and not on getting one's chest tattooed. Salcette's beaches form an almost unbroken strip of sand on which you can fulfil your wildest beach fantasies. Velsao, the first beach on the Vasco coastline is absolutely quiet, with seldom a soul in sight. That's probably due to the large fertiliser factory next door that dissuades swimmers from entering the water. There are hardly any shacks over here, so for refreshment walk into Velsao Village, replete with old world charm in its crumbling mansions. Arossim is up next, a quiet village with an equally quiet beach where swimming is indeed a splendid option. A number of tiny islands off the Vasco coast are visible from the sands. Vasco's Grande Island used to be known as San Jorge. To reach these islands off Vasco, you have to negotiate with a fishing vessel. Talk to Manuel Cabral (Tel:09822580796) or Benjamin Rodrigues (Tel: 2452097) for visits to Grande. A diver will come along to catch fresh fish, which can be cooked on a raw picnic fire at the shore. Dolphin trips rates are quoted by the hour. Bogmalo is the most happening beach in Salcette for water sports that include wind-surfing and parasailing. Ask at the shacks along the beach, and at Joet's Guest House for rides. Walks along the beach at sunrise are the best bets here. Majorda Beach up next is among the more famous in Salcette, and definitely excellent for a day on the beach which is well-lined with well-stocked bar shacks. Lots of seafood on offer here. Dolphins sometimes swim off the shores of Betalbatim Beach, just south of Majorda. This brings you to the small stretch of Salcette that begins to resemble the beaches of Bardez, with lots of shacks and rather commercialised. But there's definitely a lot of pleasure in sitting in a beach hut with a cool glass of feni. Colva, the busiest beach near Margao, carries a series of massage available signboards. Once just a fishing village, hotels stand neck to neck along Colva's shores today. You have to cross a monstrosity of a bridge across a small moat to get to the sands. Once there, head straight for waiting feni in the shacks, or turn left towards the shops selling sarongs, pseudo jewellery and rave party clothes. The quieter Sernabatim and Benaulim beaches south of Colva are better bets, also equipped with beach shacks but with a far greater feel of the quiet countryside behind them. Little rough tracks lead onto the sands, with upturned canoes drying in the sun before the next day's fishing.
Mobor-Cavelossim
These two beaches which bring up the end of the Salcette coastline, are the best for a true beach experience, in my opinion. Most of the time, you will find only fishermen from Benaulim, wearing their minuscule thongs, wrapping up after the day's work. When the nets open, it's a beautiful sight of plump pomfret and striped prawns, fat crabs and the occasional baby shark. They seem impervious to the dogs and cats grabbing long and slender silver fish straight out of the nets. Everyone here knows the drill, it appears, as these slender fish won't be sent to the markets. Out of nowhere, dozens of crows and gulls darken the sky waiting for the humans to finish distributing the catch so they can swoop down and mop up the remains. Mobor is an excellent option to base yourself for a truly rustic beach weekend. Plenty of dolphins hang out in the waters off Cavelossim and Mobor. Negotiate with the boatmen to take you on a spotting tour. These twin beaches are packed with Kashmiri souvenir stalls in season.
Rachol Fort and Seminary
Arm yourself with a road map and little else and make for the tavernas in the villages, gloomy seminaries and quiet coves along the Zuari River. Drive past Raia Village, east of Margao, to Rachol Seminary on the banks of the Zuari. As you approach the seminary, you will drive through the only existing remnant of Rachol Fort, an ancient Portuguese arch at the western edge of Rachol Village. A polite request will get you a guided tour around the seminary, despite cautionary signs against disturbing the priests-in-the-making as they study. Standing out among the historic exhibits is a statue of Constantine, Emperor of Rome.
Margao to Ponda
Afterwards, get onto the ferry that connects Rachol in Salcette to Shiroda in Ponda. You have just crossed the historical boundary between Catholic Salcette and Hindu Ponda. The landscape changes as you drive up into the forested hills of Shiroda, and the difference is stark. From a flat country road through low paddy, you find yourself rising ever higher and the tree tops falling lower as you advance. Every now and then a breadfruit tree, its branches hung low with bounty, marks the way. The thick forests are disorienting after the flatlands of coastal Salcette. The whispering of the leaves adds to the spookiness, and all this doesn't prepare you for your sudden emergence out of the forest and onto the main street of the bustling temple town of Shiroda. Having finally got your bearings and adapted to the different-ness of Ponda, you make your way to the Kamaxi Temple, a remarkably pretty shrine that shows you how Catholic and Hindu met to produce a thing of beauty, literally carved in stone. Of all the temples of Ponda that Ive visited, none have made as much an impression as that of the Kamaxi of Shiroda. It could well be because I had just exited the solemn halls of the largest seminary in all of Asia. More likely because of the grace of the goddess and her home, complete with Portuguese-inspired mandapa, an excellent example of the Konkani deepmala in her courtyard, a herd of buffaloes, the sheer serenity of the setting, away from the bustling bazaar. If you are pressed for time but want a memorable glimpse of an unseen, unknown Goa on your weekend, take the ferry across the Zuari from the village of Rachol to Shiroda.
Karma Sutra
Ponda, which has the largest cluster of temples in Goa, is the place to go to find old, old temples that are unique for their Iberian-influenced architecture. Some of them date as far back as the 16th century. The Ganpati Temple in Marcela, a remarkable example of Kadamba-Chalukya architecture, is dedicated to Lord Ganesha. The black-stone idol of Ganpati was brought from Jaipur and consecrated here in 1968. The Mahadeva Temple in Tambdi Surla was spared destruction at the hands of the Portuguese because of its inaccessibility. This temple, 66 km from Panjim, traces its ancestry to Hemadri, minister of the Yadava king Ramachandra (circa 1271). It is the only basalt stone specimen of Kadamba-Yadava architecture (12th-13th century) in Goa that is still standing. A motorable road connects Sancordem to this temple. At Quela, 2 km west of Ponda town is the temple of Devi Shantadurga, built in 1738 by Chhatrapati Shivaji's grandson, Shahu. It has a rich and beautiful garbhakunda, the sanctum sanctorum where the deity is kept. Atop a hillock at Priol along the NH-4A in Ponda is the temple dedicated to Lord Mangueshi, an incarnation of Shiva. A lamp tower stands at the temple entrance and the main altar comprises a golden shesha and lingam. This temple dates back to the 1700s. Also check out the Navadurga Temple in Madkai.
Spicy Ponda
No beaches, no tourists. A Goan truth that Ponda has caught on to. Ponda has always trailed behind Goa's tourist bus, but it's hooking the holidayers by marketing its spice plantations that are guaranteed to make the eyes as well as the mouth water. Several enterprising Pondekars are combining Ponda's essential Hinduness in a sea of Portuguese Christianity with a tour of their spice gardens. Visitors are welcomed with a garland, a tilak and lemon grass tea. This is good stuff for the kids it keeps them busy while you learn how pepper, cardamom and all the other spices that you see in plastic packets in your local grocery store are grown. You can also watch as men climb the betel nut trees that stand tall at over a hundred feet above the ground, to pick the nuts. Another attraction is the birds that populate the mango, jackfruit, cashew and chikoo orchards, from pond herons and cattle egret to bush quail, Brahminy ducks and the crested serpent eagle. Round off the tour with a sumptuous vegetarian lunch made out of farm-fresh ingredients. Highly recommended, since the very red earth of Goa seems to add a unique flavour to its fruit. Contact: Tropical Spice Plantation, A-14, Arla Bazaar, Keri, Ponda, Tel: 2340329; Savoi Plantation, Ponda, Tel: 2340272, 2340243; Sahakari Spice Farms, Near Hotel Amigos, Curti, Ponda, Tel: 2312394, 09850466478; Email: info@sahakarfarms.com; Website: sahakarifarms.com
Dudhsagar and Bondla
Up in the ghats, east of Ponda, the Mandovi River has created India's second largest waterfall. The river tumbles down a vertical hill face to the plains at Dudhsagar Fall, the cascades showering swimmers at the base with a fine spray. A viaduct spans the top of the falls, and monkeys scamper along the hills that overlook the base. The falls are at their best post-monsoon, till December, and are well worth the time it takes to cover the distance to the ghats near the Karnataka border. you will pass the Bondla Wildlife Sanctuary on your way to Dudhsagar. The real delights here are the butterflies and numerous species of birds that fill the skies, far more appealing than the caged animals in the zoo at the heart of the sanctuary. The really wild and free animals roam the lush hills around the sanctuary. Far better than spending time at Bondla is to have a quick look, then make for Colem at the south-east of the enclosure, entry point for the more appealing Bhagwan Mahaveer Wildlife Sanctuary. You will need a few days to appreciate the extent of the endangered wildlife this sanctuary protects, but it's a pleasure just to walk through the forests under lush tree cover.
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