Before the Portuguese conquered it in 1510, Old Goa (Velha Goa) was established as a port town by the Bijapur sultanate under the rule of Adil Shah. When the Portuguese arrived, Christianity usurped Hinduism and Islam. All that remains of the Adil Shah dynasty is the gateway to his palace.

Today, Old Goa is still a place of Christian pilgrimage, 10km outside Panaji on the road to Ponda. There is no accommodation in the town, which has prevented it from becoming overpopulated with tourism and the amenities thereof, and there is no charge to see any of the churches, convents or the gateway to Adil Shah’s palace, of whose temples and mosques not one stood after the arrival of the Portuguese and Catholicism. All of these sites open at sunrise and close at sunset, but there’s nothing to stop you from enjoying sundown and early evening at the foot of the gateway to the palace or on the Holy Hill.

Cholera and Malaria nearly destroyed Old Goa in the 17th Century, reducing its population, which by 1543 had already equalled that of Paris and London, to 1500. In 1835, Panaji became the capital and Old Goa became almost completely deserted. It is for this reason that the churches and chapels have acquired a Neapolitan splendour, ironically faded by time and weather but not by people, and not subjected to constant redevelopment or reclamation by Hinduism and Islam. Below is a picture of the Church of St Francis of Assisi.

The building also houses the Archaeological Museum, which contains Hindu sculptures from the 12th and 13th centuries when Old Goa was under the control of the Kadamba kings. The Chapel of St Catherine:

Built by Albuquerque in 1510, the original building was the first church to be constructed in the town.

This picture was taken in 2008

The ruins of Old Goa are something to behold. Just like some of the places I have visited in Turkey, they are there for you to explore in their natural state, unspoiled by excessive restoration and surrounded by the jungle.

Get a short stay apartment to explore them from here.