Shopping in Jagdalpur is a delightful experience. The tribes of the state are amazingly skilled in making a wide variety of handicrafts.

Such handicrafts have already earned worldwide acclaim and make wonderful showpiece, gift or utility item. So great is the attraction of these handicrafts, shopping in Jagdalpur.

Popular shopping items in Jagdalpur are: Woodcrafts and bamboo crafts, Bell metal items, Wrought iron items, Terracotta Stone-sculpting, Cotton fabrics. (more…)

There is a very, very wide variety of accommodation to choose from depending on the requirement and the budget. At the top end are luxury resorts complete with suites and villas with an exclusive sea view. In and around Margao are a large number of good hotels, mainly in the middle budget range.

This includes the GTDC Tourist Hostel near the Municipal Building. (The GTDC’s information office is also housed in this building). Most visitors, however, prefer staying at the nearby beaches of Colva and Benaulim where there is an unlimited range of accommodation, from up-market resorts, luxury hotels to modest hotels and guest houses, beach shacks and simple rooms that can be rented from local families.

The Goa government’s Tourist Department (GTDC) runs mid range hotels on the sea front in the beach town of Colva. Quite a few Goan families take in paying guests - the best way to experience a place, its culture and customs close up. Also available are hostel and dormitory style accommodation that is perfect for students and backpackers on tight budgets.

Tourists invariably stop over at Margao to make onward connections to other parts of Goa, or to shop at the town’s famous market. This bazaar weaves through narrow lanes, stretching all the way from the main square to the old railway station.

Browsing through the bazaar you can pick up typical Goan memorabilia, antiques and souvenirs. While handicrafts from all over India are available at shops in the market, local crafts made from from bamboo, straw or grass, woodwork, pottery and metal ware are available everywhere as are cotton sarongs, skirts, drawstring trousers, t-shirts, wide brimmed straw hats and bags, trinkets of shells and beads. Please don’t forget to bargain, as most items exorbitantly priced, and competitive bargaining can lead to some very good deals!

The Jorge Barreto Park: The Municipal Garden or the Jorge Barreto Park is surrounded by many restaurants and office buildings. It is a beautiful park to enjoy and relax.

Sat Burzam Ghor: Another famous attraction in Margao is the “Sat Burzam Ghor” which means “House of Seven Roofs”. It was a magnificent mansion built at the time of the Portugal rule. Though most of the roofs are destroyed now, it still looks splendid and gives an idea of how massive it must have been.

Monte church: Another must see in Margao is the small chapel called Monte church located on top of Monte hill. The church is locked most of year but one should go there to get a bird’s eye view of the entire city, which is grand and splendid. (more…)

The Margao Railway station is Goa’s biggest and most important as it is a railway junction positioned at the intersection of the Konkan Railway and the South Western Railway. All trains passing through Goa stop here and it is the gateway to south Goa.

Hence Margao is used more commonly as a transit stop rather than as a tourist destination, by many people who either head off down south to Palolem (38 km) or to Benaulim and Colva which are about six kilometers away.

The city has many sights and destinations. These include the ‘Closed’ Market called, in the Portuguese language, Mercado de Afonso de Albuquerque or in Konkani as “Pimplapedd” or “Pimpalakatta,” the municipal building (Câmara), the muncipal garden, Anna Fonte (natural springs), Old Market or Mercado Velho, Holy Spirit Church, grand colonial mansions, the view and chapel at Monte Hill, the Hindu crematorium or ‘Smashant’ and the Muslim burial ground or ‘Kabrasthan’ both situated on Pajifond’s Rua das Saudades.

Some of the city suburbs include Pajifond, Aquem, Gogol, Borda, Malbhat, Kharebandh, Old Market, Navelim and Comba, the last two being the oldest parts of the city.The many temples in Margao, 1) The ‘Damodar Temple’(Saal) is in the house of Naik Family and is famed as place where Swami Vivekanand stayed for a while before departing for Chicago to attend Parliament of Religion, 2) The ‘Hari Mandir’ is located in Malbhat, 3) ‘Maruti Mandir’ at Davorlim and other in Comba, ‘Saibaba Temple’ at Davorlim, 4) The ‘Shiv Temple’(Ling) at Fatorda near Nehru Stadium.

By Rail: The Margao is the most important railway station in the state of Goa. The Konkan trains, that connect Goa to Mumbai and Mangalore, halts at Pernim, Thivim, Karmali and Margao. Taxis are available outside the station.

By Road: Local private Buse stops at various places inside the town. Long distance buses stop and leave from the main Kadamba Bus Stand, 3 km away on the outskirts of the town.

By Air: The Dabolim Airport in Panaji is the nearest airport to Margao.

Margao in pre-Portuguese times was one of the important settlements in Salcete and known as Matha Grama (the village of Mathas) as it was a temple town with nine Mathas in temple schools. Most of the inhabitants were Brahmin.

It was then famous for its many outstanding and beautifully built temples, and long before the Portuguese came it had a university with a library. During the Portuguese conquest in 1543 Hindu temples were demolished and Catholic churches were built in their place.

Almost all traces of Hindu settlements were wiped out. The first church to be built in Margao, and its replacement in 1579, were destroyed by raiders along with the seminary that had been built along side. The present church was built in 1675.

The initial settlement of Margao grew from the site of the Holy Spirit church. The original temple here was demolished and the temple tank filled up to be replaced by the church and church grounds that came up in its place. While the western side developed as a market place the settlement grew on the eastern side, that is, the Borda region. The settlement grew with the church at its core and extended outwards. (more…)

Margao, the capital of Salcete taluka (district) and the chief town of South Goa, is an important transport hub for the region. Margao or Madgaon as it is called was an important agricultural and religious centre in medieval times, when farms surrounded it and dharmshalas and rich temples graced the town.

The 17th century Portuguese conquistadors destroyed many of the Hindu temples, but the Catholic churches survive, giving Margao a decidedly Portuguese flavour, and an old world charm. Margao is a vibrant Cosmo polis; a migrant populace comes in from the neighboring states of Maharashtra and Karnataka, peppering the existing Konkanese and Portuguese cultures.

Margao was famous for its fish market, which used to be an amusing and entertaining sight. Lots of fisher women used to assemble at a market place in south Goa near the Municipal Office building and sell their catch by publicizing it in the top of their voices. Their clothes were one to watch out for. The colors were very brilliant and used to add to the beauty of the women. (more…)

Tonyamel: Folk dance with sticks- A very vigorous and muscular group dance which is connected with the farm-folk celebrating the joys of good harvest.

Mando the love song: Mando is love song, sung by Goan Catholics in group accompanied with dance. A group of boys and girls, some 20 in number, form a semi-circular pattern in two lines with the girls in the front line and the boys in the back line. The songs cover the entire gamut of emotions in love, accompanied by the beats of Ghumat and romantic strains of violin.

Mando the Latin Taste: Set to the Latin American tune, the song with a local theme starts with a sad and slow note and ends on a faster beat called “Dulpods” or “Durpodha”, the rhythmic pattern being akin to ‘Khaiyal’ songs. In fact Mando represents the mingling of Indian and Western traditions. The girls and the boys sing a line of the song one after the other or sometimes in chorus.

Suvari Folk Music: Suvari is a traditional folk music, a tone setter to all Hindu religious and festival performances. The music is orchestral in nature and relies heavily on ‘Laya’ (tune) and ‘Tal’ (beat), as spoken words is few. The orchestra consists of ‘Ghumat’, ‘Shamel’, Cymbals and sometimes ‘Shehnai’ and ‘Surt’.