Goa

Day 1

Fort Aguada

Fort Aguada, completed by the Portuguese in 1612, guards the mouth of the Mandovi from the Sinquerim headland — the strongest of Goa's coastal forts and the one that never fell. Its name comes from the freshwater springs ('agua') that replenished passing ships, stored in one of Asia's largest freshwater cisterns. On the upper fort stands a stout 19th-century lighthouse; below, the ramparts drop to Sinquerim beach and the sea.

Day 1

Chapora Fort

Day 2

Panaji

Goa's capital was laid out on a planned grid after the Portuguese moved it up from Old Goa in the 17th century, and the shape still holds: stepped streets, concrete houses with balconies and red-tiled roofs, and a seven-kilometre promenade along the Mandovi estuary. The baroque Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception stands over the main square, Praça da Igreja. With about 114,759 people in the metropolitan area it is the largest urban agglomeration in the state, though the avenues of gulmohar and acacia keep it from feeling that way. Walk it rather than drive it; the grid rewards that.

Day 4

Agonda Beach

A long, quiet South Goa beach favoured for its calm, clean sands, turtle nesting, yoga retreats and a quieter alternative to the north. The best months to visit are roughly November to February, when seas are calm and skies are clear; the monsoon (June to September) brings rough water and many beach shacks shut. Plan water sports and swimming for the dry winter window.

Day 4

Cabo de Rama Fort

Cabo de Rama takes its name from the legend that Lord Rama sheltered on this cape during his exile. The headland fort — held by the Soonda rajas until the Portuguese took it in 1763 — is mostly a romantic ruin now: laterite ramparts, a few rusting cannon and the little white church of St. Anthony still in use inside the walls. The real spectacle is the cliff-top view down the wild Canacona coastline and the hidden beaches below.

Day 5

Panaji

Goa's capital was laid out on a planned grid after the Portuguese moved it up from Old Goa in the 17th century, and the shape still holds: stepped streets, concrete houses with balconies and red-tiled roofs, and a seven-kilometre promenade along the Mandovi estuary. The baroque Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception stands over the main square, Praça da Igreja. With about 114,759 people in the metropolitan area it is the largest urban agglomeration in the state, though the avenues of gulmohar and acacia keep it from feeling that way. Walk it rather than drive it; the grid rewards that.