As I described previously in my post about Goa, we went on two day trips. The first was to Dudhsagar Falls and the second to the UNESCO listed churches of Old Goa and a few temples.
I have so many pictures of this day trip that I will limit my writing, otherwise the post will be massive.
Old Goa
Old Goa is the historical city of Goa, it was built in the 15th century and it was used by the Portuguese as capital of Portuguese India in the 16th century. It was completely abandoned in the 18th century due to the plague. The remains of the city are now UNESCO heritage listed. Old Goa, because it was the centre of Christianization of Asia, contains churches for different religions.
Church and Convent of Saint Francis of Assisi (which houses the Archaeological Museum)
First stop was the archaeological museum, which is was OK but certainly not the highlight of the area. There are some portraits and old artifacts on display, but it kind of takes away from the beautiful churches next to it.
SE Cathedral
The architecture style of the SE Cathedral is Portuguese-Manueline. The exterior is Tuscan, whereas the interior is Corinthian. The SE Cathedral’s tower houses a large bell known as the “Golden Bell” on account of its rich tone. It is said to be the largest in Goa, and one of the best in the world.
Surroundings
It’s worth walking around the area to have a look at the surroundings.
How did this happen to the tree?
Basilica of Bom Jesus
The most famous basilica in Old Goa is Basilica of Bom Jesus. It holds the remains of St. Francis Xavier. The Jesuit church is India’s first basilica, and is considered to be one of the best examples of baroque architecture in India
Temples
That concluded the part of the tour about Old Goa. On the itinerary were two Hindu temples as well, this was especially exciting for me because I have visited a lot of Buddhist temples but never Hindu ones.
Mangueshi – Lord Shiva
This temple is one of the largest and most frequently visited temples of Goa. The temple is dedicated to Bhagavan Manguesh, an incarnation of Shiva. According to the legend, Lord Shiva had manifested into a tiger to scare his wife Parvati. Paravati, who was frightened at the sight of the tiger, went in search of Lord Shiva and cried out, “Trahi Mam girisha!” (Oh Lord of Mountains, save me!). Upon hearing the words, Lord Shiva turned himself back to his normal form. The words “mam girisha” became associated with Lord Shiva and over time the words got abbreviated to Manguirisha or Manguesh. (Wikipedia)
I love how colourful Hindu temples are!
We were actually also lucky to see the actual ritual performed at the temple, where people were bringing gifts to the deity.
Shantadurga
This temple is dedicated to Shantadurga, the goddess who mediates between Vishnu and Shiva. Local legends tell of a battle between Shiva and Vishnu. The battle was so fierce that the god Brahma prayed to Goddess Parvati to intervene, which she did in the form of Shantadurga. Shantadurga placed Vishnu on her right hand and Shiva on her left hand and settled the fight.
This temple is incredibly pretty.
Dona Paula
Dona Paula village was named after a Portuguese Indian lady. She was a very affluent and kind lady and she helped the people in need in her area. Obviously, she was very loved by her villagers and when she passed away in the 17th century, they decided to name the village after her.
Dona Paula is buried in the Governor’s House in the picture below. Legend has it that you can see her walking through a moonlit see with her pearl necklace. This is the reason a lot of tourists visit the beach, hoping to catch a glimpse of Dona Paula.
When my friend and I made our way to the lookout point, we were asked by so many Indian tourists to be on pictures with them. Groups, married couples, single men, single women; we are on the pictures of many Indians. After featuring in about six different pictures, we decided we wanted a picture with a local too, so we asked the lady’s husband to take one with our camera (she had already asked her husband to take a couple of pictures of us with her camera).
Conclusion
This day trip was my favourite. A lot of sites were cramped into one day, but it was totally worth it. The combination of churches and temples gives a great view of how culturally and historically rich Goa is. If I could advise anyone I would tell them to do the same thing I did. Booking day tours to various parts of Goa in order to see everything efficiently (especially if you’re stay is as short as ours).
And the last tip: Eat as much Indian food as you can, because it’s delicious! Chicken Malai and Paneer Malai were my highlights of the the trip! Goa is home to a lot of delicious restaurant, we went to some random places but we never had bad food! This picture is taken in Sher-E-Punjab in Panajim, which was between Shantadurga Temple and Dona Paula.
