Panajim, the state capital of Goa is popularly known as the seat of the Government, and also houses the head offices of most business concerns. Panaji is one of India's smallest and pleasantest state capitals. It is located on the south bank of the wide Mandovi River. The town has preserved its Portuguese heritage remarkably well and parts of it still consist of narrow winding streets, old houses with over hanging balconies, red-tiled roofs and numerous small bars and cafe's. Many signs in Portuguese are still visible over shops, cafe's and administrative buildings. One of the most charming things about Panaji is a that it is very small city, and has little scope for growth as it is bordered by Altinho (a hillock), on one side, the Arabian sea on the other Mandovi River on the third side, and Ourem Creek on the fourth.

The capital of Salcete Province, Madgaon is the main population center of southern Goa and a pleasant provincial town which still displays many reminders of its Portuguese past. In itself it's not of great interest to travelers, though the old Madgaon church is worth a visit and the covered market is the best of its kind in the whole of Goa. Its importance is as a service and transport centre for people staying at Colva Beach. If you're planning on staying at Colva you must first head for Madgaon, which is connected to the rest of Goa and to the neighboring states by bus, train and taxi.

There are some interesting places around Madgaon. About 3 Km. from the small village of Raia, which is on the road from Madgaon to the Borim bridge, is the Rachol Seminary and Church. The Church of the Holy Spirit, in the heart of a disheveled but picturesque colonial enclave. Presiding over the dusty Largo de Igreja square, the church built by the Portuguese in 1675, is one of the finest examples of late-Baroque architecture in Goa, boasting a pristine white facade and an interior dripping with gilt, crystal and stucco. The picturesque farming villages strewn across the verdant countryside around Madgaon host a scattering of evocative colonial monuments and a handful of Hindu temples that can be visited on day trips from the coast.

Vasco Da Gama sits on the narrow western tip of the Mormugao peninsula, overlooking the mouth of the Zuari River. Acquired by the Portuguese in 1543, this strategically important site was formerly among the busiest ports on India's west coast, and it remains a key shipping center, with container vessels and iron-ore barges clogging the choppy river mouth. The port town of Vasco-Da-Gama, popularly known as Vasco, is Goa's most cosmopolitan city. 30kms from Panaji, this well laid out city is also the railway terminus for passenger service. The Mormugao Harbor, one of India's few natural harbors is 4kms from Vasco at one end. And Goa's only airport, Dabolim is also 4kms from Vasco, at the other end.

Fort Aguada was once one of the main bastions commanding the entrance into the Mandovi river. Built by the Portuguese in 1612, with a church, the new lighthouse (which can be visited during specified hours 4 to 530 pm, barracks (Aguda Jail) along the beachside (Sinquerim beach lies below the fort) - Its worth visiting. With facilities for water sports, including parasailing and jet skis at the southern end of the sinquerim Beach, its a terrific travelmasti sojourn.

Lying north of Fort Aguda are the twin beaches of Calangute and Condolim. The Candolim beach is much quieter in comparison to Singuerim and Calangute. The sandy stretch here is scattered with dozens of hotels and loading houses. One can enjoy evenings on the beachfront in makeshift bars and restaurants made from wood and palm leaves.

Mapusa is a small town clustered around the mount (alto). With an even blend of residential and commercial establishments, it forms the hub of north Goa. 13 kms from Panaji, a sharing taxi or a bus will take you there. Known popularly for its Friday market, people from all over Goa come here to buy and sell their wares. On this particular day, apart from other regular items, you will also get plants and saplings, ready spiced Goan pork sausages, dried fish and prawns, clothing, junk jewelry, and the famous country liquor, all sold at the most reasonable prices you could possibly find.

It is located nine km east of Panajim and is famous for its churches and cathedrals. Some of the old buildings are converted into museums maintained by Archaeological Survey of India. Old Goa is still the spiritual heart of Christian Goa. It has been granted World Heritage Status by UNESCO for its extraordinarily grandiose churches & convents.

History
Before the arrival of the Portuguese, it was the second capital of the Adil Shahi dynasty of Bijapur. Under the Portuguese, the city grew rapidly in size and splendor. But it was short-lived because by the end of the 16th century. Portuguese supremacy on the seas had been replaced by that of the British, French & Dutch. In 1843, the capital was shifted to Panaji.

Access
Old Goa is just 30 minutes by road from Panjim and is served by buses every fifteen minutes from Panjim. Alternatively you can hire an auto-rickshaw or a taxi.

Ponda, known as Antruz Mahal because of the concentration of culture, music, drama and poetry also houses the temples of Lord Mangesh (Shiva), Lord Nagesh, Lord Ganapati, Lord Ramnath and the Goddesses Mahalasa and Shantdurga. Safa Masjid, 2km west on the Panjim road was built in 1560 by the Bijapuri ruler Ibrahim Adil Shah, this small mosque, with its whitewashed walls and pointed terra-cotta tile roof, is renowned less for its run-of-the-mill architecture than for being one of only two Islamic shrines in Goa to survive the excesses of the Portuguese Inquisition.

Thirteen kilometers east of Margoa across the fertile rice fields of Salcete lies sleepy Chandor village, a scattering of tumbledown villas and farm houses ranged along shady tree-lined lanes. The only reason to venture out here these days is to visit the splendid Perreira-Braganza/Menezes-Braganza house, regarded as the grandest of Goa's colonial mansions. Dominating the dusty village square, the house, built in the 1500s by the wealthy Braganza family for their two sons, has a huge double-storeyed facade, with twenty-eight windows flanking its entrance.

Measuring a mighty 600m from head to foot, the famous waterfalls at DUDHSAGAR, on the Goa-Karnataka border, are some of the highest in India, and a spectacular enough sight to entice a steady stream of visitors from the coast into the rugged Western Ghats. After pouring across the Deccan plateau, the headwaters of the Mandovi River form a foaming torrent that fans into three streams, then cascades down a near-vertical cliff face into a deep green pool. The Konkani name for the falls, which literally translated means "sea of milk", derives from clouds of foam kicked up at the bottom when the water levels are at their highest. Overlooking a steep, crescent-shaped head of a valley carpeted with pristine tropical forest, Dudhsagar is also set amid breathtaking scenery that is only accessible on foot or by train.