Things To Do in Arpora

Some of the best curries in Goa are up for grabs at All Spice, which explains why it’s usually packed to the rafters. From the hyderbadi chicken to the prawn balchao, there are different degrees of spice to suit all comers. Get a few naans and rices on the side. And if you really want to show off, ask for the grilled lobster – it’s so big, it’ll be hanging off the side of your plate.

Every Saturday, bargain hunters from across Goa converge on this vibrant night market just by Baga Creek. In the Lower Field, trestle tables sag under the weight of embroidered shoulder bags, wooden carvings and Tibetan lampshades. The Upper Field has more high-end gear like jewellery and designer dresses sown together from saris. Once you’ve bagged your souvenirs, hang around for the live music and disco action on the sandy dance floor.

Arpora has a couple of spas specialising in ayurvedic medicine – a holistic system perfected in India over the course of millennia. Working on your mind, body and spirit, the treatments range from simple massage and aromatherapy sessions to panchakarma – it’s a 7-day detox combining yoga, acupressure, herbal medicines and enemas that will leave you feeling on cloud nine.

The most buzzing section of North Goa’s 8-kilometre stretch of sand, Calangute Beach is ideal bucket-and-spade territory. The sand shelves gently into the sea, plus there are lifeguards keeping watch. When it comes to food options, you’re spoiled for choice with beach shacks every 50 metres serving seafood curries or sandwiches. And you’ll be tempted by offers of Indian head massages, fresh fruit and henna tattoos from the throng of local traders.

The curries in Arpora are on an entirely different level to the ones you get back home. You’ve got everything from vegetarian Rajasthani dishes to Goan fish curries for the taking. The local highlights are kingfish cooked in an aromatic blend of spices and coconut, and mullet stuffed with chillies – a style known as recheado. Kingfisher is the local beer of choice, although if you’ve just swallowed a red-hot chilli, you’re possibly better off slurping a mango lassi.

There are a handful of relaxed bars to while away the evenings in Arpora. Some have riverside gardens where you can unwind with a watermelon margarita and some live music, others have quiz nights and gin and tonics on the menu. If you fancy taking things up a notch, try Club Cabana, Arpora’s only nightclub. It’s in a grand Goan mansion, and comes with an outdoor pool, a Jacuzzi^® and a dance floor that reverberates to deep house. And with unlimited drinks included in the entrance fee, people tend to stay until late.

Club Cabana is set high up on a hill, surrounded by palm forests, and with Baga Beach stretching out in the distance. Unlimited drinks are included in the entrance fee, so when the up-for-it crowd aren’t flexing their moves on the dance floor, you’ll find them sipping feni-based cocktails around the open-air pool.