Things To Do in South Goa

Stacks of soap, baskets of silver rings, and pyramids of prawns – this maze of a covered market is famous for selling pretty much everything. It’s here you’ll find Goa’s speciality food, the Goan sausage. It’s made from a spicy combo of Portuguese-style sausage and Indian masala spices, and strings of them are looped around stalls like rosary beads. All this is a 15-minute drive from Benaulim.

At festival time, this temple’s light show gives Las Vegas a run for its money. It’s a five-day event dedicated to the Hindu goddess, Shantadurga. Not only is this one a religious festival where everyone’s welcome, there’s also a rainbow funfair, a lively marketplace, and sizzling food stalls. If you’ve got to pick one day, make it the fifth one, when the party goes until the early hours.

Introduced by the Portuguese, the Goa Carnival is the biggest festival in the state. In big cities like Margao, the streets are packed with floats, drum processions, and costumed dancers. Drift towards the villages and you’ll find people dancing around flickering lamps, sipping feni, and swapping stories about their ancestors. If you’re coming to town for this, book in advance – you’ll be in the company of thousands of others who want a taste of this Goan Mardi Gras.

Bogmalo is the place for those who crave a bit of action. Wind surfing, water skiing, scuba diving – this small, sickle-shaped beach packs in loads of watersports. There’s a PADI-approved diving school that’ll lead you along the coral reefs near Grande Island. And don’t miss the 20th-century shipwreck of the British SS Rita – she’s now home to a load of lobsters.

Purple-rumped sunbirds, golden orioles, woolly-necked storks – South Goa has them all. In fact, this is bird-watching central. You’ll have a 450-strong species checklist to plough through, so head straight for Cortigao Wildlife Sanctuary – about an hour’s drive from Benaulim. Some hides are tucked high above watering holes, where you could even spy a leopard.

This place nudges up to Arossim Beach, making up one of the longest sandy stretches in India. Its golden sand rolls on for miles, so there are plenty of peaceful spots to sink into a deckchair. Despite being relatively quiet, it’s well served by restaurants and beach shacks that duck into shady nooks among the palm groves.

Cavelossim village hasn’t really changed in generations – people still spend the day caulking their boats, salting stacks of fish, and setting off down the River Sal to catch their living. A stone’s throw from the village square, stalls peddling clothing, bags and jewellery brighten the streets, while the 2 shopping arcades specialise in local handicrafts.

The Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary is about an hour and 15 minutes’ drive from Cavelossim. Hike through the forest trails here and you’ll chance upon snakes, frogs and alien-looking insects. The park is home to a pair of watchtowers, where you’ve got a good chance of spotting the multi-coloured birds that rest on the trees’ higher branches.

The Tambdi Surla Mahadeva Temple is hidden away in a remote forest, about an hour-and-a-half drive from Arossim Beach. Its 13th-century birthdate makes it Goa’s oldest Hindu temple. Like Stonehenge, the origins of the temple are a mystery. It’s built from black basalt, which isn’t that unusual, until you consider the fact it’s nowhere to be found in Goa.

Carnival comes to Goa at the start of spring. For three days before Lent, colourful floats fill the streets, locals dance in traditional costume, and feasts are held for all the family. Panaji is the best place to visit if you want to be in the heart of it all.

Around six kilometres south of Benaulim, Varca Beach is a long, quiet stretch of soft white sand. This place hasn’t strayed far from its roots – the palm-thatched homes of the fishing community dot the sands, and wooden working boats pepper the shoreline. The seafood shacks here are pretty good – keep your eyes peeled for grilled snapper and buttery tiger prawns.

On the 3rd of December all eyes fall on Old Goa, as Catholic pilgrims from around the globe descend to pay homage to Francis Xavier, Goa’s patron saint. Francis was a Jesuit priest sent to the region by the Portuguese king. A man on a mission, he converted nearly 30,000 people. Legend has it when his remains were enshrined in Old Goa in 1553 – a full year after his death – his body showed absolutely no signs of decay.

Sign up for a kayaking trip along the River Sal and you’ll glide past palm-freckled banks, chart a course through tropical wetland, and explore the lotus ponds of the backwaters. You might even spot a crocodile or two lurking in the mangroves. For something a bit different, sunset cruises set sail from Cavelossim, and they usually include dinner and Goan dancing.

The village of Betul, about 45 minutes’ drive from Arossim Beach, is spread-eagled along the River Sal estuary. You’ll find a handful of workshops here, where locals sit and carve wooden ornaments and create tribal-inspired artworks. You can also climb up to the Baradi Hillock viewpoint, for vistas that stretch for miles across the river and the beach below.

Quiet Patnem Beach is further south than Palolem Beach, and it sits at the complete other end of the scale to its lively neighbour. This curve of sand is backed by a thick palm grove, and has only a sprinkling of beach huts and a few local rowing boats to its name.

Lonely Planet has dubbed Palolem Beach a ‘tropical Glastonbury’. And it’s fair to say this stretch of sand isn’t as sleepy as some of South Goa’s other beaches. What it does have, though, is a great atmosphere. Local families and dreadlocked travellers come here to paddle in the translucent waves, and to eat in the beach shacks lined up like sardines along the sands.

Often called Panjim, this is Goa’s capital. Not that you’d know it, though – it’s got the look and feel of a sleepy Mediterranean town. Expect to see tree-lined avenues, pastel-washed buildings, and a jumble of tile-roofed houses. Make sure you check out the Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, in Largo da Igreja square – it’s one of the oldest churches in Goa.

Legend has it this fort, on the outskirts of Cavelossim, was used to imprison Lord Rama – an important Hindu God – and his wife Sita, after they were banished from their kingdom in ancient times. It was taken over by the Portuguese in 1763, and used as a prison until the Fifties. There’s little here nowadays, save for some ruins and a few cannons, but the views of the River Sal and the surrounding countryside are spectacular.

Ponda, 40 minutes’ drive from Arossim Beach, is known for its temples, many of which are tucked away in fairy tale forests. They’re a mix of Hindu and Muslim styles, with a dash of Baroque – so don’t be surprised to see prayer halls decked out with European chandeliers. Must-sees include the Shantadurga Temple in Quela, with its pagoda-like roof, and the Safa Shahouri Masjid, Goa’s oldest remaining mosque.

This vast spice plantation is set in a valley on the outskirts of Ponda, just over an hour from Cavelossim. Guided tours run daily, teaching visitors about the different types of spices and their flavours and medicinal properties. There’s a restaurant tucked among the greenery, which serves curry on banana-leaf bases.

The Bhagwan Mahavir Sanctuary is about an hour-and-a-half drive from Cavelossim, and it covers more than 90 square miles. Leopards, deer and bison are among the residents here. Watch out for monkeys, too – they’ve been known to make a play for people’s picnics. And don’t miss the Dudhsagar Waterfalls. They’re hidden in jungle and are 600 metres tall, making them the second highest in India. The pools at the foot of them are perfect for a dip.

The chance of spotting dolphins gets higher the further south you go. Palolem skims Goa’s southernmost edge, about an hour’s drive out of Cavelossim, and it’s a perfect launch pad for dolphin trips. It’s also said to be the best sunset-watching spot in South Goa, thanks to its cosy crescent moon beach, so it’s worth sticking around to catch it.

Cloves, curry leaves and cardamom – they might sound exotic to us, but they’re common crops to lifelong Goans. They’re also all grown just north of Ponda at a family-run place called Savoi Spice Plantation. You can go on a culinary tour and learn about the plants’ magical medicinal values, too. To top it all off, you can have a fresh fish dinner – maybe fried calamari, flavoured with spices plucked straight from the plantation.

This city is Goa’s Hindu heart. It’s well worth the 40-minute drive from Majorda Beach to see the 5 temples there – especially the monster Shanta Durga Temple. It’s dedicated to the goddess of peace and comes with pagoda-like halls and a lake. It was rebuilt after the Portuguese left, so it’s a bit fresher-faced than the original one that was here, fetching up at 300 years old.