Aguada Fort and Sinquerim Beach – A Quick Visit
#31Days31Articles
A new month with new beginnings, the blog is back on its weekly schedule of one article every Wednesday. It was an awesome experience to write one article every day for the whole month. I realised how tough it is if you are not doing it full-time. With so many photos and blogs and videos everywhere from my Instagram Account to my blog and Youtube Channel.
Aguada Fort and the Lighthouse
After my visit to Old Goa in the morning, I thought to end the day visiting some more places. So I headed towards the Aguada Fort built to protect the Old Goa from the attacks of the Dutch and Marathas, by preventing the ships to enter Mandovi River. Built by the Portuguese colonial rulers in 1612. The first ever lighthouse in Asia, which was equipped with ammunition, rooms and barracks. Another interesting fact about this place is that it had the giant bell which was collected from the St. Augustine Tower which I visited in Old Goa that day. You won’t see the bell here now as it had been moved to Our Lady of Immaculate Conception Church at Panaji.
You can come here from 9:30 AM till 6 PM and also visit the lighthouse for a fee of Rs 20/person. Other places which are near to the Aguada Fort include Sinquerim Beach, St Lawrence Church and Candolim Beach.
The Ride With the Crowd
The ride, which was about to meet its destination got messy with the crowd out there. I wasn’t able to believe my eyes that there was not even an inch of space that would have let me enter the parking area. With so many people, buses and cars out there it made me realise why you should avoid the main tourist spots even when you are there on an off-season. It took me some time to park my scooter and later even walk towards the entrance of the place. The Fort walls looked beautiful from even the outside, including the lighthouse, which was visible from a distance. Instead of standing in the crowd I went to the edge of walls, which had the epic view of the Arabian Sea. Many ships and the never-ending sea will definitely let you forget your worries about how you will take back your scooter and others.
Later I went towards the lighthouse, which wasn’t accessible that day, maybe as I saw no one going there. So, I immediately took the left towards the exit of the place, this time it wasn’t that tough to go out as the crowd was still there in the fort. Better escape before the sun sets as being stuck in a traffic jam would be the worst it can get.
Sinquerim Beach
Like my last day, I thought to spend the sunset time on a beach so I drove towards the Sinquerim Beach. Which was just 3 kms away from the Aguada Fort, but had the same crowded parking area, except if you are staying at the Taj Fort Aguada Resort & Spa. Located just before the entry to the beach with a massive parking space. Last time I was at Sinquerim was the first time I visited Goa, which we reached when it was all dark. With just one shack open in the corner for some drinks and food, we spent the evening there.
The Sinquerim Beach is beautiful with the blue sea on one side and the coconut trees on the other. It is also famous for its water sports like Banana boat ride, Water scooter rentals and Parasailing. Which weren’t available during the off-season so I headed over to the other side of the beach. Which had the view of the sea water hitting those huge rocks at tremendous speeds. Also, there was a small but dangerous trek if you would love to take a look at the sea from a height.
I thought to stay there as it was getting dark, and walking there with no light would not be a great idea. But if you are there early definitely try that and let me know if I should have gone there.
And yeah, that was how I spent my 2nd day at Goa. See you guys in the next one till then you can check out the January archive for the 31 articles.
Nice Article, Keep It Up
That’s quite a lot solo. Nice informative post Avi. Look forward to more interesting reads….