Goa Attraction

Anjuna
The collection of people attracted to the beach settlement of Anjuna in North Goa may seem eclectic at first glance, but there are common (if loose) organic and spiritual threads woven between the hippies, artists, mild crazies and supposed ex-materialists who congregate here. It's famous throughout Goa for its Wednesday flea market, and has retained an undeniable if somewhat shabby charm. This is a good place to stick around for a while, make some friends and engage in mellow contemplation while the sun goes down. Full moon, when the infamous parties take place, is a particularly good time to be here if you want to indulge in bacchanalian delights. Only a Brit would think about raving about the main beach, but it's worth the walk to the small, protected sliver of sand at South Anjuna where the area's long-term house-renters tend to gather.

Calangute
Once upon a time, Calangute was the it beach for hippies, where pujas, ganja, drug-addled musicians and other lost artistic souls predominated, a beach of the truly half-baked that modern Leonardo di Caprioan versions couldn't hold a psychedelic candle to. But alas for those who still seek the 'revolution', or the occasional naked group frolic, Calangute is no longer Hippy Central. The local people, who used to rent out rooms in their houses for a pittance, have moved on to more profitable things, and the place has undergone a metamorphosis to become the centre of Goa's rapidly expanding package-tourist market.

Calangute isn't one of the best Goan beaches: there are hardly any palms, the sand is contaminated with red soil and the beach drops rapidly into the sea. There is, however, plenty going on, especially if you don't mind playing a minor role in this stage-managed parody of what travelling is meant to be about. Try heading off the beaten track unless you need a bit of R 'n' R to recover from life on the road, or want to mix it with the Simons and Sandras of this world who are visiting India to pep up their winter suntans.

Chapora
This is a fascinating part of the Goan coastline and more genuinely salubrious than Anjuna. It boasts a patchwork of coconut palms and the enigmatic character of Chapora village, which is more unruly farmyard than fishing community doubling as beach resort. The village is on the estuary of the Chapora River and is overshadowed by a rocky hill which supports a well-preserved Portuguese fort. There are sandy coves, pleasant beaches and rocky cliffs at nearby Vagator. Be prepared for Indian coach tourists coming to ogle sunbathing Westerners, and expect any police you encounter to regard you with some suspicion and shake you down for drugs if you mistakenly tell them you're staying at Chapora.

Old Goa
Half a dozen imposing churches and cathedrals and a fragment of a gateway are all that remain of the second capital of the Adil Shahi dynasty of Bijapur and the Portuguese capital that was once said to rival Lisbon in magnificence. Wracked by cholera and malaria epidemics, eroded by monsoon rains and choked by creepers, Old Goa has declined from a vibrant city of over a hundred thousand souls to little more than a handful of potent architectural relics.

Old Goa is still the spiritual heart of Christian Goa, and its most famous building is the Basilica of Bom Jesus, which contains the tomb and mortal remains of the peripatetic St Francis Xavier, credited with introducing Christianity to much of South-East Asia. Also of interest is the Convent & Church of St Francis of Assisi, which has gilded and carved woodwork, murals depicting scenes from the saint's life, and a floor substantially made of carved gravestones. The largest of the churches is the Portuguese-Gothic Se Cathedral, dating from 1562, which houses the so-called 'Golden Bell', whose resonant peal can be heard thrice daily. Other gems include the Church of St Cajetan, which was modelled on St Peter's in Rome, and the Royal Chapel of St Anthony. Not a single secular building remains standing, so don't say God doesn't work in mysterious ways.

Panaji
Most visitors treat Panaji as little more than a transport hub, but this lovely state capital has retained its Portuguese heritage in a lived-in, knockabout kind of way and exudes an aura more reminiscent of the Mediterranean than of India. If it weren't for the crush at the bus depot, the unmistakable buzz of auto-rickshaws and the fact that the bridge over the Mandovi River has fallen down twice in the last nine years, Panaji could seem like any siesta-ridden provincial town on the Iberian Peninsula. It contains all the quaint Mediterranean iconography - from the cramped cobbled streets, pastel-hued terraces and flower-bedecked balconies to the terracotta-tiled roofs, whitewashed churches and those small bars and cafes that are the social lifeblood of secular Portugal.

The old district of Fontainhas is the most atmospheric area to walk around, and includes the Chapel of St Sebastian, which contains a striking crucifix that originally stood in the Palace of the Inquisition in Old Goa. The Church of the Immaculate Conception, consecrated in 1541, is Panaji's main place of worship, and it was here that recently arrived sailors from Portugal gave thanks for a safe passage. It's worth taking one of the river cruises along the Mandovi River, but try to persuade your captain not to loiter under the bridge spans in order to admire Indian engineering.