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Beaches In Goa
Anjuna Beach,Goa
With its fluorescent
painted palm trees and infamous full moon parties, ANJUNA, 8-km west of Mapusa,
is Goa at its  most
"alternative". Designer leather and lycra may have superseded cotton
Kaftans, but most people's reasons for coming are the same as they were in the
1970s: dancing and lying on the beach slurping tropical fruit. While browsing
in the area have a day trip to the famous flea market.
One of the main
sources of Anjuna's enduring popularity as a hippy hang out is its superb beach.
Fringed by groves of swaying coconut palms, the curve of soft white sand conforms
more closely to the archetypal vision of paradise than any other beach on the
north coast. Bathing is generally safer than at most of the nearby resorts, too,
especially at the more peaceful southern end, where a rocky headland keeps the
sea calm and the undertow to a minimum.
North of the market ground, the
beach broadens, running in an uninterrupted kilometre long stretch of steeply
shelving sand to a low red cliff. The village bus park lies on top of this high
ground, near a crop of small cafes, bars and Kashmiri handicraft stalls. Every
lunch hour, tour parties from Panjim pull in here for a beer, before heading home
again, leaving the ragged army of sun weary westerners to enjoy the sunset.
How To Get There
By Road
Buses from Mapusa and Panjim drop passengers at various points along the Tarmac
Road across the top of the village, which turns right towards Chapora at the Main
Starco's crossroads. The Starco's crossroads has a couple of small stores, a motorcycle
taxi rank, and functions as a de facto village square and bus stand.
Baga Beach,Goa
 A
Charming Combination Of Land And Sea
Baga, 10-km west of Mapusa, is basically
an extension of Calangute; even the locals are unable to decide where ends and
the other begin. Lying in the lee of a rocky, wooded headland, the only difference
between this far northern end of the beach and its more congested centre is that
the scenery here is marginally more varied and picturesque.
A small river
flows into the sea at the top of the village, below a broad spur of soft white
sand, from where a dirt track strikes across an expanse of paddy fields towards
Anjuna. The old red tiled fishers houses behind the dunes have long been swamped
by gaudily lit bars, Tandoori terrace restaurants and handicraft shops, but one
doesn't feel quite so hemmed in as at Calangute.
Benaulim Beach,Goa
According to Hindu
mythology Goa was created when the sage Shri Parasurama, Lord Vishnu's sixth incarnation,
fired  an
arrow into the sea from the top of the Western Ghats and ordered the waters to
recede. The spot where the shaft fell to earth, known in Sanskrit as "Banali"
and later corrupted by the Portuguese to Benaulim, lies in the centre of Colva
Beach, 7-km west of Margao.
Only a decade ago, this fishing and
rice-farming village, scattered around the coconut groves and paddy fields between
the main Colva-Mobor Road and the dunes, had barely made it onto the backpackers
map. Now, the shady lane leading through it is studded with guesthouses and souvenir
stalls while the paddy fields on the outskirts are gradually disappearing under
a rash of gigantic luxury resorts and time-share apartment blocks. For the time
being, however, this remains a peaceful and welcoming place to unwind.
Either side of the sand blown beachfront, the gently shelving sands shimmer away
almost to the horizon, litered with photogenic wooden fishing boats that provide
welcome shade if the walk from the palm trees to the sea gets too much. Hawkers,
itinerant masseurs and fruit wallahs appear from time to time, but one can easily
escape them by heading south towards neighbouring Varca, where tourism has thus
far made little impact.
Moreover, the sea is safe for swimming, being
generally jellyfish-free, while the village itself boasts a few serviceable bars
and restaurants, several telephone booths and a couple of stores.
How To Get There
By Road
Buses from Margao, Colva, Varca, Cavelossim and Mobor roll through Benaulim
every thirty minutes, dropping passengers at the Maria Hall crossroads.
By Air
International and domestic flights can be booked or reconfirmed
at meeting point travel, in the centre of the village, which also does deluxe
bus, train and catamaran ticketing for cities elsewhere in India.
Bogmolo Beach,Goa
 Immediately
south of the airport, the Mormugao peninsula's sun parched central plateau tumbles
to a flat-bottomed valley lined with coconut trees and redbrick huts. The sandy
beach at the end of the cove would be even more picturesque were it not for the
monstrous multi-storey edifice perched above it. Until Oberoi erected a huge five
star hotel here, Bogmalo was just another small fishing village, hemmed in by
a pair of palm fringed headlands at the northern end of Colva bay.
The
village is still present at Bogmalo, complete with a tiny-whitewashed Chapel and
gangs of hogs nosing through the rubbish, but its environs have been transformed.
Pricey café-bars blaring Western music have crept up the beach, while the
clearing below the hotel is prowled by assiduous Kashmiri handicraft vendors.
Even so, compared with Calangute Or Colva, Bogmalo is still a small-scale
resort. As long as one hasn't come to Goa to get away from it all or party all
night, then one'll find Bogmalo congenial enough. The beach is clean and not too
crowded, the water reasonably safe for swimming, and there are plenty of places
to eat, drink and shop. If, on the other hand, one is looking for somewhere not
yet, on the package tourist map, one'll be better off further south, at the far
end of Colva Beach or beyond.
How
To Get There
By Road
Bogmalo can be reached by bus or
taxi from Vasco da Gama, 8-km northwest. It's also near enough to the airport
for a last minute dip before catching a plane.
Calangute Beach,Goa
A mere 45 minute
bus ride up the coast from the capital, Calangute is Goa's busiest and most commercialized
resort,  and
the flagship of the state government's bid for a bigger slice of India's package-tourist
pie. In the 1970s and early 1980s, this once peaceful fishing Village epitomized
Goa's reputation as a haven for hedonistic hippies.
The road from the
town to the beach is lined with Kashmiri-run handicraft boutiques and Tibetan
stalls selling Himalayan curios and jewellery. The quality of the goods - mainly
Rajasthani, Gujarati and Karnatakan textiles - is generally high. Haggle hard
and don't be afraid to walk away from a heavy sales pitch - the same stuff crops
up every Wednesday at Anjuna's flea market.
The beach itself is nothing
special, with steeply shelving sand, but is more than large enough to accommodate
the huge numbers of high-season visitors.
To escape the hawkers, head
fifteen minutes or so south of the main beachfront area, towards the rows of olf
wooden boats moored below the dunes. In this virtually hawker-free zone, one'll
only come across teams of villagers hauling in hand nets at high tide or fishermen
fixing their tack under bamboo sun shakes.
How
To Get There
By Road
Buses from Mapusa and Panjim pull
in at the small bus stand cum Market Square in the centre of Calangute. Some continue
to Baga, stopping at the crossroads behind the beach en route. Get off here if
one can, as it's closer to most of the hotels.
Cavelosim Beach,Goa
 Sleepy
Cavelossim, straddling the coast road 11-km south of Colva, is the last major
settlement in southwest Salcete: its only claim to fame. A short way beyond the
village's picturesque church square, a narrow lane veers left across an open expanse
of paddy fields to the Cavelossim-Assolna ferry crossing near the mouth of the
Sal River.
If one is heading south to Canacona, turn left off the ferry
and carry on as far as Assolna Bazaar, clustered around a junction on the main
road. A right turn at this crossroads puts you on track for Canacona.
Carry straight on at the junction just past the square in Cavelossim and one'll
eventually arrive at Mobor, where Colva beach fades into a rounded sandy spur
at the mouth of the Assolna River. This would be an exquisite spot if it weren't
the site of South Goa's largest, and most obtrusive, package tourist enclave.
Crammed together on to a narrow spit of dunes between the surf and estuary,
the holiday inns and beach resorts combine to create a holiday camp ambience that
has as little to do with Goa as their architecture.
Chapora Beach,Goa
Crouched in the
shadow of a Portuguese fort on the opposite, northern side of the headland from
Vagator, Chapora,  10-km
from Mapusa, is a lat busier than most north coast villages. Dependent on fishing
and boat building, it has, to a great extent, retained a life of its own independent
of tourism. The workaday indifference to the annual invasion of Westerners is
most evident on the main street, lined with as many regular stores as travellers
cafes and restaurants.
It's unlikely that Chapora will ever develop
into a major resort, either. Tucked away under a dense canopy of trees on the
muddy southern shore of a river estuary, it lacks both the space and the white
sand that have pulled crowds to Calangute and Colva.
The Pit Stop
If one has one's own transport however, Chapora is a good base from which to explore
the region: Vagator is on the doorstep, Anjuna is a short ride to the south, and
the ferry crossing at Siolim --gateway to the remote north of the state - is barely
fifteen minutes away by road. The village is also well connected by bus to Mapusa,
and there are plenty of sociable bars and cafes to hang out in. Apart from the
guesthouses along the main road, most of the places to stay are long stay houses
in the woods.
Chapora Old fort
Chapora's chief landmark is
its venerable Old Fort, most easily reached from the Vagator side of the hill.
At low tide, one can also walk around the bottom of the headland, via the anchorage,
and the secluded coves beyond it, to big Vagator, then head up the hill from there.
How To Get There
By Road
Direct buses arrive at Chapora three times daily from Panjim, and every fifteen
minutes from Mapusa, with departures until 7.00 pm. Motorcycle taxis hang around
the old banyan tree at the far end of the main street, near where the buses pull
in.
Colva Beach,Goa
 A
hot season retreat for Margao's moneyed middle classes since long before Independence,
Colva is the oldest and largest of South Goa's resorts. Its leafy outlying 'Vaddos',
or wards are pleasant enough, dotted with colonial style villas and ramshackle
fishing huts. The beachfront is a collection of concrete hotels, souvenir stalls
and fly blown snack bars strewn around a central roundabout.
Each afternoon,
busloads of visitors from out of state mill around here after a paddle on the
crowded foreshore, pestered by postcard wallahs and the little urchins whose families
camp on the outskirts. If, however, one wants to steer clear of this central market
area, and stick to the cleaner, greener outskirts, Colva can be a pleasant and
convenient place to stay for a while. Swimming is relatively safe while the sand,
at least away from the beachfront, is spotless and scattered with beautiful shells.
Candolim Beach,Goa
What can easily
be termed as one of Goa's most serene beach, blessed by Mother Nature, Candolim
beach in India is a loner's paradise.
 Hemmed
by the crystal clear water of vast Arabian sea, a 7km sandy stretch of sun kissed
sands, starts from Aguada and ends at Chapora beach, greets when one visits Candolim.
This beach is a fave destination for those vacationers who are in quest of solitude.
Generally, elite foreign vacationers who are wish to spend some leisure moments
while simply lying on the beach, visits Candolim.
If you are not willing
to engage yourself in sunbathing,than you can participate in someother unusual
activities. Many tour operators provides options for expeditions to nearby islands,
river cruises, trips for spotting dolphins, crocodiles and fishes. A boat ride
to Mandovi river at the time of sunset is surely an enthralling experience for
vacationers. Every day with the descend of sun, Candolim beach dressed up in completely
different attire. It boasts some well stocked bars and pubs within its kitty,
which are ideal place to lighten up your evening. fe while the sand, at least
away from the beachfront, is spotless and scattered with beautiful shells.
How To Get There
By Road
Candolim beach is just 13 km away from Panaji and 10 km from Mapusa town respectively.
This beautiful beach can be easily access either by hiring a taxi or by boarding
a regular bus. Buses from Panjim stops frequently at the bus stand which is opposite
to the Casa Sea Shell.
Even travellers can reach Candolim from the nearest
railway station Thivim (19 km) by hiring taxis and autos.
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