Old Goa

West India · Goa

Old Goa, Goa

~590 km by road from Mumbai (~460 km by rail via the Konkan Railway)

Plan this trip

Getting there

By road

~590 km by road from Mumbai (~460 km by rail via the Konkan Railway)

By rail

Madgaon (Margao) Junction, Goa's main and busiest station

By air

Dabolim Airport (GOI), ~30 km from Panaji; Manohar International Airport (Mopa) in North Goa is a newer second option

Sources: wikimedia

Before you go

UNESCO-listed churches and the tomb of St Francis Xavier; the decennial Exposition of the relics (last held Nov 2024-Jan 2025) is Goa's largest pilgrimage.

About Old Goa

Riverside

Where it is

Old Goa, the former capital of Portuguese India, lies on the southern bank of the Mandovi river in the Tiswadi taluka of North Goa, about 10 km east of Panaji in the state of Goa.

History

Founded as a port by the Bijapur Sultanate in the 15th century, the city was captured by the Portuguese under Afonso de Albuquerque in 1510 and became the capital of Portuguese India. Its many churches and convents earned it the name Rome of the East, but epidemics of malaria and cholera emptied it from the 17th century, and the capital moved to Panaji, officially in 1843.

People

Old Goa is a small place today, home to Konkani-speaking families and to the priests and religious orders who care for its churches. The Feast of St Francis Xavier on 3 December draws pilgrims of many faiths, and the Hindu temples of Ponda, among them Mangueshi and Shantadurga, lie a short drive away.

Known for

The Basilica of Bom Jesus
Sé Cathedral
The Church of St Cajetan
The Exposition of St Francis Xavier's relics
UNESCO-listed churches and convents

Did you know?

St Francis Xavier's body reached Goa in 1554 and has rested in a silver casket in the Basilica of Bom Jesus since the 17th century; it is shown to pilgrims roughly once every ten years.

Shrines and sites

Basilica of Bom Jesus
Se Cathedral
Church of St Cajetan
Mangueshi and Shantadurga temples at Ponda

Traditions

Christian
Hindu