Old Goa
The former Portuguese capital and its UNESCO church group
An Old Goa tour covers the Basilica of Bom Jesus, the Sé Cathedral and the Franciscan convent museum, UNESCO-listed in 1986, roughly 10 km east of Panaji.
Overview
Old Goa is a village of churches and ruins on the Mandovi side of Tiswadi taluka, North Goa, roughly 10 km east of Panaji. The Portuguese took it in 1510 and made it their capital in India, and by 1543 it is estimated to have held around 200,000 people. Epidemics emptied it in the 17th and 18th centuries, and the viceroy moved to Panaji in 1759. What remains is a walkable cluster of monuments that suits anyone with an interest in colonial history or church architecture, and the dry months from October to March are the comfortable time to see it on foot.
UNESCO inscribed the Churches and Convents of Goa in 1986. The Basilica of Bom Jesus, built from 1594 and consecrated in 1605, holds the tomb of Saint Francis Xavier in a silver casket, and Pope Pius XII gave the church the rank of basilica by decree in 1946. The relics are normally kept in the casket and are brought out for public viewing only about once in a decade, the latest time being from 21 November 2024.
The Sé Cathedral, begun in 1562 and dedicated to Saint Catherine, measures about 76 m by 55 m, with a Tuscan exterior and a Corinthian interior. The saint was chosen because the 1510 conquest fell on her feast day, and a small chapel built by Afonso de Albuquerque that year marks the same event. The Church and Convent of St Francis of Assisi traces its founding to eight Franciscan friars in 1517, and its convent wing has housed an Archaeological Survey of India museum since 1964, with eight galleries that include portraits of Portuguese governors and viceroys. Nearby, the Church of St Cajetan follows a Greek-cross plan with a dome modelled on St Peter's in Rome, and the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary dates from 1549. Only fragments survive of the Church of St Augustine, begun in 1602.
Allow half a day to a full day. Ferries leave from the Old Goa side for Divar island, which makes a quieter second stop. Dabolim airport and Manohar International Airport are the airports for the area, and Karmali is the closest railway station to this part of Tiswadi (distances to be supplied).
Known for
Consecrated in 1605, with the tomb of Saint Francis Xavier
Quick facts
Tropical, with Panaji nearby receiving about 2,900 mm of rain a year, mostly from June to October.
Goa International Airport (Dabolim), about 30 km from Panaji (distance from Old Goa to be supplied); Manohar International Airport (Mopa) (distance to be supplied)
Karmali (Konkan Railway), the closest station to Panaji (distance to be supplied); Madgaon Junction (distance to be supplied)
Panaji lies roughly 10 km west. The North Goa package gives about 24 km from Calangute. Drive times (to be supplied).
Start at the Basilica of Bom Jesus and walk to the Sé Cathedral and the convent museum, since the main monuments stand close together
Check locally before you go on the days and hours when the Basilica of Bom Jesus and the museum open, because no current official timings were confirmed
Take the ferry across to Divar island afterwards if you have time, as boats leave from the Old Goa bank
Location
Packages that visit Old Goa
All packages →
4D / 3NGoa Churches and Chandor Mansions
A Goa churches and Chandor mansion tour in four days: Old Goa's UNESCO churches, Braganza House and Margao, with private transfers from Dabolim.
Old Goa → Chandor → Margao (Madgaon)Heritage & Temples
4D / 3NPanaji and Old Goa Heritage Weekend
A four-day Panaji and Old Goa heritage tour: Fontainhas lanes, a river evening and the UNESCO churches of Old Goa, with private transfers from Dabolim.
Panaji (with Fontainhas) → Old GoaHeritage & Temples
4D / 3NCandolim Beach and Fort Aguada Stay
Candolim tour package: three nights by Fort Aguada and Candolim beach, a day among the churches of Old Goa and Panaji, with private Dabolim airport transfers.
Candolim and Fort AguadaBeaches & CoastlinePlan a trip to Old Goa
Tell us your dates and we will shape the route.