Old Goa
Sixteenth-century Portuguese churches in the jungle, including the basilica holding St Francis Xavier.
Duration
2 hrs 30 min – 4 hrs
Best time
Early morning
Open
Every day
Entry price
Free
Old Goa was the capital of Portuguese India and, in the sixteenth century, a city more populous than Lisbon or London — it was called the Rome of the East. Cholera and malaria epidemics emptied it, and the capital moved to Panaji in 1843. The jungle took the rest.
Half a dozen monumental churches remain in the middle of nothing. The Basilica of Bom Jesus holds the body of St Francis Xavier, who died in 1552, displayed every ten years at an exposition that draws hundreds of thousands of pilgrims.
Getting there
Ten kilometres east of Panaji, half an hour by road. Regular buses from the Panaji bus station.
What to bring
- Covering clothes
- 1.5 L of water
- Cap
Rules on site
Shoulders and knees covered: these are working churches and entry is refused otherwise. There is no shade between the buildings, which stand hundreds of metres apart.