Old Goa: UNESCO Churches and the Former Portuguese Capital

Old Goa was the former capital of Portuguese Goa, once known as the Rome of the East, and its churches are a UNESCO World Heritage Site — the heritage counterpart to the state's beaches. Portugal ruled Goa until 1961, far longer than the British ruled elsewhere in India, and Old Goa's baroque churches are the clearest surviving evidence of that.

It sits in the central strip of the state alongside Panjim, the part of Goa the North-versus-South choice leaves out: this is where the Portuguese heritage and culture concentrate, rather than nightlife or empty beaches.

The church complex is the reason to come, and two names anchor it:

Old Goa is a heritage site rather than a place to base yourself: most visitors stay in nearby Panjim or on the coast and see it as a half-day or full-day trip. The classic pairing is a day inland that takes in the churches of Old Goa, the Latin Quarter of Panjim and a spice plantation together.

It sits close to Panjim in the centre of the state, within reach of both North and South Goa by private car, which is the easier way to travel between the beaches and the heritage sites given how spread out Goa's narrow lanes make things.

Beyond the churches, the area beyond Old Goa holds spice plantations and Hindu temples around Ponda, the Dudhsagar waterfall in the jungle, and colonial mansions at Chandor — a fuller day for anyone building out the heritage side of a Goa trip.