Travel India

Goa is India’s smallest state in terms of area and the fourth smallest in terms of population after Sikkim, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh. It is located on the west coast of India, in the region known as the Konkan, and is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the east and south. The Arabian Sea makes up the state’s west coast.

Panaji is the state’s capital, and Vasco-da-Gama (Vasco) its largest town. Portuguese merchants first landed in Goa in the 16th century but soon after colonised it. The Portuguese colony existed for about 450 years, until it was annexed as part of India in 1961.

Internationally renowned for its beaches, Goa is visited by hundreds of thousands of foreign and domestic tourists each year. Besides beaches, Goa is also known for its world heritage architecture including the Bom Jesus Basilica.

Goa also has rich flora and fauna, owing to its location on the Western Ghats range, which are classified as a biodiversity hotspot. Over the next few centuries it was ruled successively by the Shilharas, the Kadambas and the Chalukyas of Kalyani.

The Kadambas are credited with constructing the first settlement on the site of Old Goa in the middle of the 11th century when it was called Thorlem Gorem.