CANDOLIM
Candolim is a famous beach in Goa, located right after the ever so famous, Calangute. The beach is connected to the Calangute shore on one side and the other extreme is marked by the Aguada fort. It is not as popular as Calangute, but it is quite well known around India and beyond, to some extent. The beach is located about 12 kms from Mapusa and about 15 from Panjim.
DOES CANDOLIM HAVE AN INTERESTING BACKSTORY?
It is said that the entire village of Candolim was converted to Christianity by the Franciscans, a group of priests who were evangelising, a couple of centuries back. Furthermore, Candolim was connected to a lot of the fights for Goa’s freedom during the Portuguese rule.
In more recent times, the beach got quite a name for itself, thanks to the ‘River Princess’, a giant vessel that ran aground on its shores. Many people came from far and wide to check out the beauty of the once legendary river princess, which ran into a storm and came hurling toward Candolim.
WHAT TOURISTY ACTIVITIES TAKE PLACE AROUND CANDOLIM?
Like most of Goa’s coastline, Candolim too has a very famous fort. Fort Aguada sits and stares out to sea from one of the highest points in Candolim. The fort was built back in the day and was one of the Portuguese’ biggest defences against the Dutch, who also tried to stake claim on Goa. It also assisted against the Maratha invaders in some of their smaller battles. The cannons used back in the day, still stand facing out at sea, in position waiting for someone to threaten them.
The fort being almost out at sea, it was the ideal location for a lighthouse. The Aguada lighthouse warns ships heading too close to the shore. This lighthouse build during the Portuguese reign in Goa is functional to this day. Another interesting fact about the fort is the prison. Back in the day, the most dangerous prisoners and even many significant freedom fighters spent a lot of time here. The prison too is functional to this day and still has people locked behind bars.
The recent years have seen a lot of development around Candolim and the stretch of road passing through is covered with all kinds of stores. One of Goa’s largest supermarkets Newtons, is situated around here. There are different restaurants offering various cuisines. Tourists can never be too far from a tattoo parlor when around here.
Taj, the famous franchise of five star restaurants, has some amazing cottages a little away from Candolim. Tourists come from all over the place to check out the Taj as well. Candolim has some of the most comfortable sand ever, they are clean and white, just perfect for a long walk on the beach.