Panjim Or Panaji – Capital Of Goa

A few palaces wouldn’t be out of place, grand doorways and arches, a fort cum jail come tourist destination, a few major beaches, wildlife sanctuaries , all of this around one sleepy town looking over the confluence of two rivers and a the Arabian sea. Then add it up all, and the answer has to be Panaji or Panjim in the western state of Goa in India.

It also doubles up as the capitol of Goa and the starting point for the city states major attractions. Once a Portuguese stronghold, Panjim mean the land that never floods, Panjim is situated on the southern banks of the mighty Mondovi River, the river bridge forming the grand doorway to Panjim.

The European touch has withstood the passage of time and Panjim is the epitome of what could be a mini Europe in India. Atypical to any goan town, Panjim was built around a church, facing a huge square. The baroque styled buildings, the old villas, the whitewashed houses dotting the river side; Panjim is in a class of its own.

A structure which houses the passport office began its life as the palce to the Adil Shahs of the Bijapur dynasty, taken over by the Portuguese and converted into a the residence of the Viceroy, only to be transformed into a secretariat and finally in the present times home to visitors instead of rulers. 

Panjim for centuries was nothing much but swampland and marshes, protected by a hilltop fort. It was Old Goa which was well of then, but falling a major plague attention moved to Panjim. The years of cultural exchanges and people have made what Panjim is today , the capital of Goa and the host to a number of events and cultural activities, not only for the people of Goa but for the whole of the world.