What to See and Do in Panjim in GoaPosted by Ritchie Putnam on January 14th, 2021 If you're planning to go backpacking around the globe in a gap year holiday, you should look at including a trip to Panjim in Goa with your travel itinerary. The region's state capital, Panjim is a particularly wonderful destination to visit in the summer, because every time a rather fun festival comes about each year. If you are in the area about the fourth Saturday of August, you might want to get into a speed boat and travel 12 km offshore to arrive at Divar Island, so you can play in the world-famous Bonderam Festival. Every year, a fiesta is put on from the local villagers to mark the protests that have been held many moons ago over Portuguese land ownership rules. Flags were put in location to show where the villagers cannot assume control and, through protest, a nearby people knocked them all down. If you go, it will be possible to participate in an enormous parade and sample a variety of local dishes with a huge feast. The villagers hold a fake fight every year to represent the knocking down of the flags, with bamboo stems used as toy weapons and wild berries being changed into pretend missiles. After the event, everyone all comes together to drink and relish the feast. Festivals aside, there are lots of other great activities to get acquainted with while in Panjim. Clayton Bay accommodation to Bondla Forest and it will be possible to explore the gorgeous local countryside over a nature-spotting hike. You will come across all kinds of interesting wildlife, even though this is actually the smallest of Goa's sanctuaries. Located in the foothills in the Western Ghats, the forest is a good spot to see sambhar - a darkish woodland deer - and wild boar. What's more, you will find there's zoo, a botanical garden as well as a fenced deer park, so there exists considerably more to take in. Make sure you sign up for an elephant ride to participate in the quintessential Goan pastime. Keep your camera on the ready to snap pictures of monkeys, langurs, jackals, pythons and leopards - while you should exercise caution because you walk along, taking into consideration the ferocity of some animals. Continued will also like a vacation to this part of India - the ruins of St Augustine's Tower are certainly one of Panjim's most widely used attractions. This can be found on the Holy Hill near Old Goa and stretches 46 metres up to the air. It was originally built in 1602 and is also the last one with the four towers of St Augustine Church that can once be seen about the site. There also had been a convent, eight intricately decorated chapels and four altars, but this tower is the final remaining vestige of all that history. Over the years, the buildings have fallen down and collapsed, with the government even selling off some from the materials utilized to construct them throughout the nineteenth century. While wandering around Panjim, don't forget to take note in the wonderful Baroque buildings and villas which can be dotted around the city. There are her response which can be fantastic. For example, what is now the passport office includes a history stretching returning to the 16th century, when it was originally the Sultan of Bijapur's palace.Like it? Share it! More by this author |