Old Goa
The former Portuguese capital and its UNESCO church group
An Old Goa tour covers the Bom Jesus basilica, the Sé Cathedral and the museum in the Franciscan convent, a World Heritage group since 1986, about 10 km east of Panaji.
Overview
Old Goa is a village of churches and ruins on the Mandovi side of Tiswadi taluka, North Goa, roughly 10 km east of Panaji. The Portuguese took it in 1510 and made it their capital in India, and by 1543 it is estimated to have held around 200,000 people. Epidemics emptied it in the 17th and 18th centuries, and the viceroy moved to Panaji in 1759. What remains is a walkable cluster of monuments that suits anyone with an interest in colonial history or church architecture, and the dry months from October to March are the comfortable time to see it on foot.
UNESCO put Old Goa's churches and convents on the World Heritage list in 1986. Bom Jesus, begun in 1594 and consecrated in 1605, keeps Saint Francis Xavier's remains in a silver casket; Pope Pius XII raised the church to a basilica by decree in 1946. The relics are normally kept in the casket and are brought out for public viewing only about once in a decade, the latest time being from 21 November 2024.
The Sé Cathedral, begun in 1562 and dedicated to Saint Catherine, measures about 76 m by 55 m, with a Tuscan exterior and a Corinthian interior. The saint was chosen because the 1510 conquest fell on her feast day, and a small chapel built by Afonso de Albuquerque that year marks the same event. St Francis of Assisi, church and convent together, owes its start to a party of eight Franciscans who landed in 1517; since 1964 the convent wing has held an ASI museum whose eight galleries include portraits of Portuguese governors and viceroys. Close by, St Cajetan's is laid out as a Greek cross under a dome that echoes St Peter's in Rome, and Our Lady of the Rosary dates from 1549. Of St Augustine's, begun in 1602, only fragments are left standing.
Allow half a day to a full day. Ferries leave from the Old Goa side for Divar island, which makes a quieter second stop. Dabolim airport and Manohar International Airport are the airports for the area, and Karmali is the closest railway station to this part of Tiswadi.
Known for
Consecrated in 1605; Saint Francis Xavier is buried here
Quick facts
Tropical, with Panaji nearby receiving about 2,900 mm of rain a year, mostly from June to October.
Goa International Airport (Dabolim), about 30 km from Panaji; Manohar International Airport (Mopa)
Karmali (Konkan Railway), the closest station to Panaji; Madgaon Junction
Panaji lies roughly 10 km west. The North Goa package gives about 24 km from Calangute.
Begin at Bom Jesus, then walk across to the Sé Cathedral and the convent museum; the main monuments are only minutes apart on foot
Ask locally about the opening days and hours of Bom Jesus and the museum before setting out, because no current official timings were confirmed
Take the ferry across to Divar island afterwards if you have time, as boats leave from the Old Goa bank
Plan a trip to Old Goa
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