Colva and Benaulim
A pilgrim church and a village of carpenters on the Salcete shore
A Colva and Benaulim stay in Salcete: Colva's 2.4 km beach and Menino Jesus church, then Benaulim's rosewood carpenters, Parashurama legend and hilltop church.
Overview
About 2 km of coast separates Colva from Benaulim, two villages in Salcete taluka, South Goa district, and the pair work well together because they differ so much. Colva has the 2.4 km beach, the more developed strip of shacks and guesthouses, and a church that draws pilgrims from across the state. Benaulim is calmer and still tied to fishing and woodwork. October to March is the recommended window, with monthly averages through the year ranging from about 17 to 36 C.
Colva's shore is a working one. Trawlers anchor offshore, and mackerel are laid out to dry on the sand. Inland, the Church of Our Lady of Mercy was founded by Jesuits in the 17th century and holds a statue of the Infant Jesus, Menino Jesus, which devotees believe has healing powers. It is kept in a locked vault and brought out for public veneration at the Fama, held on a Monday in mid-October. The main market sits behind the church, roughly 2.3 km from the water.
Benaulim has an older story attached to it. A local tradition places the spot where the arrow of Parashurama landed here, creating Goa, and one reading of the village name links it to the word for arrow. Benaulim is also called the village of carpenters, and its rosewood furniture is the craft people mention first. The missionary priest St Joseph Vaz was born in the village, and the Church of St John the Baptist, on high ground beyond the settlement, is another stop. A museum called Goa Chitra, devoted to rural Goan life, is also in the village. Benaulim's Maria Hall area holds the shops and stays, and the village had 11,919 residents in 2011.
Boat trips to look for dolphins leave from both beaches. Betalbatim lies to the north of Colva and Varca to the south of Benaulim, so the stretch can be extended on foot or by short drive in either direction.
Dabolim airport is about 21 km from Colva and roughly 24 to 27 km from Benaulim. Madgaon Junction, in Margao, is the railway station: around 7 to 8 km from Colva and about 5 km from Benaulim. Margao is the taluka's market town and the usual place to change buses. Two to three days is enough, or longer if you add Chandor and the other inland villages.
Known for
A beach of about 2.4 km with trawlers offshore and mackerel drying on the sand
Happening soon
Updated Oct 7, 2026Coming up, dates to be confirmed
Fama of Menino Jesus at Colva
festivalDevotees queue at the Church of Our Lady of Mercy to venerate the Menino Jesus statue, which is brought out of its locked vault for the day.
A Monday in mid October: 14 October in 2024 and 16 October in 2023. No 2026 notice found, and the date is not fixed to the same Monday each year.
Reach out to us for the confirmed datesQuick facts
Monthly averages run from about 17.4 C to 36.2 C, and heavy rain falls from June to September.
Dabolim (Goa International Airport), about 21 km from Colva and roughly 24 to 27 km from Benaulim; Manohar International Airport (Mopa) in North Goa is much farther (distance to be supplied)
Madgaon Junction (MAO) in Margao, about 7.6 km from Colva and about 5 km from Benaulim
Colva is about 6 to 8 km from Margao and roughly 39 to 40 km from Panaji. A routing site puts the drive from Dabolim to Colva at about 32 minutes and to Benaulim at about 35 minutes. Buses run to Margao.
Stay at Benaulim if you want the quieter base and use Colva for the market and church, as the two are only about 2 km apart
Plan around the mid-October Fama if the church interests you, but check the date locally because it is not fixed to one calendar day
Walk to Colva's fishing end of the beach in the morning to see the catch laid out, and keep the evening for the shacks
Location
Packages that visit Colva and Benaulim
All packages →
4D / 3NSouth Goa Beach Stay at Colva and Benaulim
A South Goa beach stay at Colva and Benaulim: four days of quiet sand, village churches, Goa Chitra and a Margao market morning, with Dabolim transfers.
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5D / 4NColva and Palolem South Goa Beaches
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Colva and Benaulim → Palolem and PatnemBeaches & CoastlineSouth Goa Heritage and Beaches
A five-day South Goa heritage tour: Margao's 1675 church, Rachol, Chandor's Braganza House, and two beach nights at Colva and Benaulim, with airport transfers.
Margao (Madgaon) → Chandor → Colva and BenaulimHeritage & TemplesPlan a trip to Colva and Benaulim
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