Goa Pictures
 

These pictures were taken during my visit
(Goa is home) during the months of Dec 2005
and Jan 2006.

I shall keep the album open for about the
next two weeks.

For best viewing, let the whole page load
(less than 3 mins on a broadband connection)
before beginning the slideshow.

http://web.mac.com/parrikar/iWeb/fodors/fodors.html

I am looking to go from Kerela to Goa, are there frequent flights? I was thinking of spending about 3 days in Goa. Do you have any recommendations on what I should try and do/see in such a short period of time.

Those are gorgeous..I am going to Goa in 29 days and it has made me very excited..But is it really that clean there??

Thanks for sharing your great photos!

India2006: I am not sure about the flights frequency from Kerala to Goa. My guess is that it is not as high as, say, from Mumbai to Goa but that there should be one flight a day at least. As for recommendations about things to do in Goa. If you are looking for a beach holiday, then try one of the 5-star resorts along the coast (but my suggestion would be, if you only want a beach holiday go to Miami or Santa Monica:-)). I suggest you take a tour of the cathedrals at Old Goa and the Hindu temples around the Ponda region. For a little off-the-beaten-track experience, check out the Tambdi Surla temple - the drive is through exquisite territory, go to the island of Divar, take a lunch at one of the spice plantations, visit the Bondla wildlife sanctuary, or the Bhagwan Mahaveer sanctuary in the Goan interior, or the Cotigao sanctuary in the southern district of Canacona. The northern Goan beaches are now overrun with tourists and present an ugly site (to those of us used to pristine beaches not too long ago).

TracyB - historically Goa has been very clean. Today its cleanliness index is certain much higher than the Indian average (if I can frame it that way). Panjim has come under some stress in recent years due to migrant labour from neighbouring states but most tracts are still quite clean. The northern beaches have turned into dumps - stalls, shacks, semi-nude Westerners lounging on the beach and gallivanting on mobikes, ill-behaved Indian louts and so on. I suspect there will soon be political pressure from the rest of the population to rid these beaches of this nuisance.

India 2006..As far as i know there are no flights from Kerala to Goa..You can take the train or fly from Trivandrum to Mumbai or Chennai and then to Goa..I looked into this when i was just in Kerala, so decided against it..But low and behold and am going to Goa anyhow next month!! So maybe try to make it work while you are there..

agtoau...I am staying in Northern Goa..I hope it isn't that bad!!!!! But we are going anyhow, so i guess it doesn't really matter..We are not planning what to do til we get there..We are visiting someone we met in India in November (NOT staying at their house, but on the beach)..Waiting to see what they plan for us..

Wonderful photographs. They bring back so many memories of our visits to Goa.

Gill & Tony

Hi. Thanks for sharing the pictures. Looks like a pretty nice place to spend some time. Don't know why, but I spent too much time looking at the pictures of the prepared food. haha

TracyB,

By the time you get to Goa the peak season rush will have abated - so that's a plus. Go to Tiracol Fort, the northermost tip of Goa, on the border with Maharashtra. The view of the Arabian Sea from the fort is spectacular. But don't make the mistake of eating at the restaurant in the fort. The food at the humbler huts en route is outstanding.

Thanks for sharing. I will check out the photos at home.

By the way, I'm considering spending a week in Goa and Mumbai. Any recommendation on how to split the time among the two locations? Is hiring a local guide/driver instead of taking a plane a silly idea? What not to miss if I only have that short time span?

watakeet,

Whatever else you may choose - do NOT
take a car from Mumbai to Goa. Just fly.

As for splitting time between Mumbai and
Goa. The answer is, it depends on your
choices and preferences. Personally I cannot
stand Mumbai (but then, I go to India not
as a tourist). if you want to see a slice
of 'real' life (i.e. the struggles of humans),
then Mumbai will afford you that opportunity.

Thank you for posting those wonderful photographs of Goa. We are originally from Goa and try to make it back "home" at least every other year. No place like Home!

Thanks for the interestings pics, I've never been to Goa but it's a place that I've always wanted to visit, so maybe one day. I was interested in comments you made about some place being spoilt by backpackers and Indian louts. Do you mind telling more about this?

great pics....thanks