What happens when pieces of history get majestically refurbished? A sight worth beholding of course! Lenny Baretto loves to give churches in Goa a transfigured look, including the stunning heritage centuries-old churches. In conversation with SHERYL GONSALVES from Planet Goa, he speaks about his unique passion and what happens behind the scenes. So how did
Ho Ho Ho! Harley Santas Ride All The Way To Grand Hyatt Goa
Grand Hyatt Goa in collaboration with Harley Davidson Owners Group – Goa recently organised the annual Santa Run through the streets of the capital city and the scenic routes of Old Goa, all the way to the resort. The celebratory began in the early hours of Saturday morning where a group of over 40 enthusiastic
Grand Hyatt Goa marks the beginning of the holiday festivities by lighting up the Christmas Tree
Fairy lights and dreamy nights by the Bambolim bay with Santa hats dangling across the lush green lawns, sounds about the perfect way to enter the holiday season in style. Grand Hyatt Goa has set flight right into the sparkling spirit of Christmas festivities the grand way with its annual Christmas Tree lighting by the
Pedal powering through Gorgeous Goa In his book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Robert M. Pirsig hit the nail on the head when he said that the view through a car window is just more TV and you are a passive observer. Whereas on a cycle the pleasure is becoming a part of
I feel chuffed ….. Today I have pushed the envelope a little further and pushed the bar a bit higher for myself. I challenged the adage ‘You can’t teach an old dog new tricks’. Why? At 63, female and solo – I joined a bunch of youngsters, all about 30ish, for a half-day trek of
“I’m fed up. During the day there is a lot to do in Goa. But what is there to do in the night?” “There are a lot of nightclu…” “No.!.. Please don’t mention nightclubs! It’s already been talked about too much. What else is there?” …. Have you felt the same way? Don’t worry. Here
A stone’s throw away from the congested and bustling Mapusa, lies the reticent and captivating village of Assagao. The picturesque village is seeing a sudden influx of new residents, who are moving into the quaint town. The hotbed of new investments now has quaint cafes, yoga retreats, restaurants and boutiques springing up adding to its
“You are dust and to dust you shall return…” chants the priest as he smears ashes on the foreheads of Catholics who begin their day in churches all over Goa on Ash Wednesday. SO begins the Season of Lent, a period of forty days where the people can mend their ways, seek forgiveness for ones
The Goan Village Life You Never Heard About and Saw
Goan villages are the heart and soul of the landscape of this tropical state. Characterized by close knit communities, traditions weaved in history, abundance of natural resources, stories passed through generations, and much more, the villages of Goa are unique and an integral part of Goa’s culture and history. Here, we look at the various
On the 25th of November 1510, Goa was conquered by the Portuguese while it was under the rule of the Bijapur Sultan, Ismail Adil Shah (1510 – 1534). The day of the battle is significant as it happened to be the commemorative day of the Feast of St. Catherine of Alexandria. While battle raged between
LEELA Goa has been a beacon of luxury and comfort for discerning clients in south Goa’s idyllic Mobor. Known for its gorgeous meandering lagoons, the resort is a surprising haven for feathered creatures. How this ultra luxurious resort came to be a sanctuary for migratory birds is a little known but interesting story. At the
HIDDEN gems of Veling, a walk curated by Soul Travelling, sounded like a treasure hunt and I found myself driving from my village of Benaulim early one morning. I wanted to catch the host, Bhavesh Velinkar of Soul Travelling before he set off on his walk with a group of heritage lovers. We were in
THE world is a funny place, and it’s only getting crazier by the minute. Gone are the days of hopping onto the family llama for a quick trip downtown (if ever there were days like that); as a species, we are now more comfortable with being strapped into giant metal cans and flung towards the
LOUTOLIM The Land Of Green Fields And Palatial House
Team Planet Goa takes a trip to explore the beauty of Loutolim – the people, the places and the stories that makes this village intriguing place worth visiting. Loutolim is a quaint village situated downstream on the Zuari River. Driving along the scenic road parallel to the river, lanked with shipyards and paddy fields on either side.
As much as I’d like to feign ignorance and hide behind a giant mug of hot chocolate (with maybe a plate of onion pakoras on the side, if you insist) I’m going to have to come out and face the music at some point; we’ve gone and gotten ourselves stuck squat in the middle of
With the beaches too rough for a day out and a lot of other activities shut for the season, the monsoons is a time that sees a whole new variety of activities for people to enjoy. Backwater Kayaking: While everyone knows Goa for its beaches, the hinterlands have tiny pockets of unexplored backwaters. These are
It is always better in Goa- rain or shine!!!!! It is that that of the year, swap your swimsuits and sunscreen for trekking boots and a poncho. Jason Santos takes you through all things good that Goa has to offer over the next few months. Don’t let the gloomy skies and pouring rain drown your
A Trail To Hero Stones and Other Historic Vestiges from Bandora, Goa
EXPLORING a village is always exciting but when a native leads the walk one can expect a different experience altogether. So this time when ‘Soul Travelling’chose a local young woman – an English literature lecturer –Tanvi Bambolkar to lead the walk in Bandora, expectations ran high. And sure enough, the group stood mesmerized when Tanvi
CITY living today is getting daunting and exhausting what with air quality in the metros dipping to an all time alarming level. Couple it with increased vehicular traffic, incessant construction and a scary rate of deforestation, more and more Indians are slowly gathering courage to let go of the life that has so far been
Discover Gerard da Cunha’s museum showcasing the ‘houses of Goa’ The first time I chanced upon the very regal sounding Salvadar-do- Mundo village was when I went in search of Nisha’s school. As I drove down the lane, I was intrigued at being led through a narrow fork, reaching a traffic island. Then boom, almost
Every state has a few festivals synonymous with its name. Although Goa has a number of festivals, here’s a list of the ones that will let you feel the fiber and fabric that Goa is truly made of. SAO JOAO Viva Sao Joao! The words reverberate throughout villages as people jump into well with colourful
More than one hundred and fifty-nine churches and hundreds of chapels are scattered throughout the Goan landscape. A cluster of churches and chapels dotting the erstwhile capital city of Goa, now Old Goa has been enlisted in the UNESCO list of World Heritage. One can visit the Goan churches due to their grandeur, antiquity, history
Goa – especially areas which came under the Portuguese rule centuries after the initial conquest, boast of architecturally rich temples with exquisitely sculpted stone icons, tall deep-sthambs, and beautiful water reservoirs. The deep-sthambs are light towers and in few of the Goan temples, these are simply toweringly handsome. They are also a curious blend of
The Goan villages are a must visit even if you are here for the parties and nightlife or for the beaches and scrumptious food. Unlike other parts of the country, most Goan villages are wrapped in nature with trees, hills and sometimes streams flowing through. Quaint chapels add a surreal beauty and whenever the village
Everything that nature gave us Goa is synonymous with it golden shores and why not? Its grainy sand, and blue waters make for a paradise within a small state. And away from these shores, lie hills filled with local fruits and berries, calm lakes, rivers that flow through the land and islands that hold beauty
A quaint village in South Goa remains submerged for a greater part of the year and resurfaces at the end of long and hard summer. The village of Kurdi is Goa’s very own Atlantis! Let us explore this phenomenal ancestral town of the Kurdikars through our lenses.
Top 5 things to do when in Goa: 1) Take a dip…in one of Goa’s many natural springs. Ask a local guide to direct you to the closest one or check your guide book. The spring at Rivona located in South Goa is once such local secret. The little spring gurgles with life after the monsoons have replenished its waters.
Modernizing at a rapid pace, Goa is dominated with malls and multiplexes, Wi-Fi zones and dotted with five star hotels. But one can still experience the real Goa, the way life was lived many decades ago, in the villages in the hinterland.
