Location:
16 kilometers from the capital city, Panaji
Highlights: Known as the "Queen of Beaches" due to its
increased popularity
How to Reach: The Calangute beach can be reached quite easily by
hiring a cab or an auto from Panaji or any nearby place.
The Calangute beach of Goa is known to be the busiest and the most
commercialized beach. This beach is a favorite among tourists who come
to India to visit this paradise called Goa. The Calangute beach was
discovered by the hippies who came here during the 1960's and made this
beach their favorite hideout. As more and more hippies came to know
about this beach, it became popular and attracted many more people. The
Calangute beach was known as "kolli gutti" in local language
which means "land of the fishermen". Due to the Portugal rule
the name got corrupted to Calangute.
The Calangute beach of Goa is supposed to be a wonder of nature and a
heaven for beach lovers. The long shoreline is dotted with palm trees
that sway hypnotically and the vast blue ocean just mesmerizes you into
staring at the horizon where the sun sets magically. Sounds tempting?
Wait till you get there and see this for yourself. On top of it, the
shacks and restaurants located on the coastline offers lip smacking
cuisine and chilled beer thus taking care of those hunger pangs that
suddenly erupt when you are appreciating this masterpiece of nature.
The beach is lined with local shops and stalls that sell everything
like trinkets, souvenirs, beach wear, exotic beach stuff, handicrafts,
etc. Don't be afraid to bargain with the shopkeepers. The quality of the
items is usually good and if you can bargain well, you can buy most of
the things that catch your eye. The handicrafts sold over here are
usually from nearby states like Karnataka, Gujarat, Rajasthan,
Maharashtra, etc. So you can expect to find some good ethnic stuff in
the stalls of the Calangute beach.
