Beaches in India

Famous Beaches of India

–» ANJUNA BEACH
Anjuna, 18 kms from Panaji is a popular beach area adjacent to Chapora fort- it was the haunt of the flower generation in the sixties - and is still popular with the younger generation. In Anjuna there is magnificent Albuquerque mansion built in 1920, flanked by octagonal towers and attractive Mangalore tiled-roof.

The Anjuna band plays for the beach party at night. Palm trees stand motionless in the warm air. To the east is a mountain. If you want to return to civilization, climb the mountain to get to Baga where you can catch a ferry out. This is the Goa Freak capital of the World. Anjuna becomes a fair of colors. Lines of vehicles full of tourists start virtually raising clouds of dust in this area.

Anjuna attracts a weird and wonderful collection of over monks, defiant ex-hippies, gentle lunatics, artists, artisans, seers, searchers, sybarites and itinerant expatriates who normally wouldn't be seen out of the organic confines of their health-food emporia in San Francisco or London.

Full moon, when the infamous parties take place, is a particularly good time to be here if you want to indulge in bacchanalian delights. Only a Brit would think about raving about the main beach, but it's worth the walk to the small, protected sliver of sand at South Anjuna where the area's long-term house-renters tend to gather.

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.

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–» CALANGUTE BEACH
Excellent accommodation facilities are available, particularly at the tourist resort and cottages. Calangute lie on the shores of the Arabian Sea of North Goa in india. It is encircled by Arpora-Nagoa, Saligao and Candolim, in the Bardez taluka. 16 Kms from Panaji. is the most popular holiday resort in Goa and known as The Queen of Beaches.

Being a popular holiday resort, the small houses amidst the coconut groves behind the beach are always in constant demand. Calangute seems to be a distortion of the local vernacular word ‘Koli-gutti’, which means land of fishermen. Some people connect it with Kalyangutti (village of art) or Konvallo-ghott (strong pit of the coconut tree) because the village is full of coconut trees. With the advent of the Portuguese, the word probably got distorted to Calangute, and has stuck till today.

Seemingly not all that long ago, Calangute was the beach all self-respecting hippies headed for, especially around Christmas when psychedelic hell broke loose. If you enjoyed taking part in those mass poojas, with their endless half-baked discussions about `when the revolution comes' and `the vibes, maaan', then this was just the ticket.

You could frolic around without a stitch on, be ever so cool and liberated, get totally out of your head on every conceivable variety of ganja from Timor to Tenochtitlan and completely disregard the feelings of the local inhabitants. Naturally, John Lennon or The Who were always about to turn up and give a free concert.

Calangute's heyday as the Mecca of all expatriate hippies has passed. The local people, who used to rent out rooms in their houses for a pittance, have moved on to more profitable things, and Calangute has undergone a metamorphosis to become the centre of Goa's rapidly expanding package-tourist market.

It isn't one of the best Goanese beaches: there are hardly any palms, the sand is contaminated with red soil and the beach drops rapidly into the sea. There is, however, plenty going on, especially if you don't mind playing a minor role in this stage-managed parody of what travelling is meant to be about.

Try heading off the beaten track unless you need a bit of R 'n' R to recover from life on the road, or want to mix it with the Simons and Sandras of this world who are visiting india to pep up their winter suntans.

The best time of the year to visit this area is between September and March.

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–» DONA PAULA BEACH
7 kms from Panaji. An idyllic picturesque spot. Command a fine view of the Zuari river and Mormugao Harbour. Water scootering facilities are available here. It is near the rocky point between the Mandovi and the Zuari is Dona Paula, a secluded bay with a fine view of the Marmagao harbour.

This is an idyllic spot to relax and sunbathe. Water scootering facilities available. On the northern banks of the River Zuari, a little away to tie south east of Cabo, lies a large escarpment with a bay and two small beaches which in the old days was part of Oddavel. The Dona Paula bay is at the place where two of Goa's famous rivers meet the Arabian sea.

Named after Dona Paula de Menezes, this place is called the Lovers Paradise due to a myth which has been attached to this place. Dona Paula takes its name from a viceroy's daughter who threw herself off the cliff, when refused permission to marry a local fisherman. Located 9kms south west of Goa's capital, Panaji.

At the place where two of Goa's famous rivers meet the Arabian Sea is the secluded bay of Dona Paula with a fine view of the Marmagoa Harbour. This beach of Goa carries with it an aura of both romance and myth - haunted by Dona Paula de Menezes; tourists throng the Dona Paula beach not only in search of the deceased beloved, but also to indulge in water sports on the clear waters. The Dona Paula Beach offers an opportunity to the tourists to have a sunbath and enjoy water scootering and motar boat rides.

Dona Paula divides the Zuari and Mandovi estuaries and provides pleasant views of Marmagao, the port city of Goa. Due to its proximity to the capital Panaji, Dona Paula is a popular stop for the sight seeing tours. This has lead to mushrooming of hotels in and around Dona Paula.

There are boating facilities for those who dare to venture in the waters. The official residence of the Governor of Goa, Known as Cabo Raj Bhavan is situated on the westernmost tip of Dona Paula. Along the road leading to this place lies the ruins of the small military cemetery the British built at their brief occupation of the Cabo, to deter the French from invading Goa.

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