Candolium Beach Goa

Candolim Beach is one of those beaches whew one can want to spend some time of their life in solitude and peaceful ambience. Away from hustle and bustle of modern life this beach is an idyllic destination for relax, relax and relax. Less packed, less crowed than other beaches like Anjuna beach or Calanguate beach, this beach offers a perfect place for practicing, Yoga and Meditation. Going for Candolim beach offers pleasure and satisfaction. The peaceful ambience of this beach is its one of major attractions.

Candolim beach is located at 14 km from north of Panaji (Panjim) – the capital of Goa, India. The part of long stretch of beach coastline along the blue water Arabian Sea, Candolim Beach begins at the Aguada Fort and ends at Chapora Fort.  It is one of the longest beaches in the state and is located in the Bardez taluka.

 

 

 

 

About The Beach

 

 

The white sandy Candolim beach naturally beautified by the scrub-covered dunes draws a lot of tourists these days. Candolim beach offers various water-sports activities-right from parasailing to water-skiing, wind surfing and so on. Fishing is an activity for those who love peaceful and quiet environment. 

 

This beach comes as an ideal beach for those who are slowly getting tired of the crowded beaches of Calangute or Anjuna. Though tourists quite often frequent this beach, you can still find some quiet places for yourself. If you want to try your hand at fishing, you are welcome to do so too. Some hotels at this beach offer yoga and meditation session which will give any tourist a sense of relief from all the stress and fatigue that he has been trying to run away from by being in Goa. 

 The beach in itself is very calm and peaceful, at times tourists come here from Rajneesh Ashram in Pune to take a break. What adds to the scenic beauty of the sand and sea are the scrub covered dunes at the back of the beach quite popular with tourists.

 

 Special beach excursions are also arranged in Candolim beach wherein a tourist is taken right to the core of the sea from where he can capture some memorable sunsets. Candolim's nightlife is very calm, giving a break from the chaos and commotion of other beaches.

 

The main road that is the Candolim Calangute road is packed with shops and restaurants, but the beach front is rather free of any commercial activity apart from some water activities. Though the beach is close to bustling Calangute beach, life is rather laid back at Candolim. Even the village isn't very clustered, its quite spread out so there isn't any centre to it as such. The area around the beach can be termed as resort free as there aren't any resorts there. However, the beach has quite a number of inns at reasonable prices with good facilities.

Another interesting feature about the Candolim beach is the ship River Princess, which has been stuck at the shores of the beach since 2000.

 

 History

 

During the late 16th century, Candolim became the first village to be entirely converted to Christianity in Bardez by the Franciscans. The present Christian identity of its villagers dates back to the conversion of Santu Sinay (Shenoy), a ganvkar (Konkani: freeholder) who belonged to the nobility of his people.

Santu Sinay (1577–1640), was the son of Naru Sinay; who had earlier migrated from Loutolim, Salcette, and established himself in Candolim, where he purchased the fifth vangodd (clan) of the comunidade on 13 August 1604. Naru Sinay died after 1624, and was survived by his wife, four sons—Jeronimo de Souza, Manoel de Souza, Santu Sinay, and Christovão d'Andrade, and one daughter, Quiteria de Souza. Santu Sinay was converted along with the rest of his family at the age of 8, and subsequently took the name of Salvador Pinto. His godfather was Fr. Manoel Pinto, a Franciscan rector of the Church of Our Lady of Hope of Candolim and the seminary of Reis Magos. He was brought up in the seminary of Reis Magos, where he developed a great devotion to St. Francis Xavier. Salvador Pinto was tutored by two Franciscan priests, Fr. Pinto and Fr. Simão de Nazareth; who succeeded the former as rector of Candolim parish. Salvador Pinto worked zealously to spread Christianity in the village.Fr. de Nazareth held great influence with the Viceroys and in recognition of Salvador Pinto's tremendous work in converting the village, obtained for him many life grants and concessions which are still held by his descendants. Fr. de Nazareth, as representative of Fr. Miguel de S. Bonaventura—Custodian and General Commissioner of East Indies and Diogo Dias, syndic of St. Francis and procurator of His Holiness—granted two perpetual graves in the Candolim Church, to Salvador Pinto and his father-in-law António Pereira in the transept, in front of the altar of Bom Jesus, and also to his wife and mother-in-law, Maria and Catharina Pereira in the transept; her grave located between those of two parishioners, Pedro Sequeira and Francisco de Souza.

Candolim was the focal point of the anti-Portuguese revolt of 1787, also called the "Conspiracy of the Pintos", because it was spearheaded by priests belonging to the village's Pinto (Shenoy) clan.

 

Things to do

 Sports, Yoga and Other activities

 

 

 

 

The Candolim beach is a place where one can indulge oneself in various beach activities like yoga & meditation, fishing, windsurfing, water sports, water skiing, swimming, sunbath and others. There are also many eating joints on the beachside of Candolim beach where on can enjoy mouth-watering Goan cuisine.

This beach offers a variety of sports activites, right from parasailing to water-sking. There are special guides to help you through these daring water sports activites.

 

Boating Excursion

 Besides the main attraction at the beach is the special boating excursion especially during the evenings which offers you beautiful views of the sunset…you can really feel the sun touching its all-glory orange and then slowly sinking into the sea. This excursion is definitely worth a try.

 

Sightseeing

 

 

 Apart from the beaches that are dotted with swaying palm trees and the vast expanse of the sea, there are also many churches and temples that are reflective of superlative architectural skills and all of them are great tourist attractions.

 

Aguada Fort is the greatest attraction of Candolim Beach .The fort was built by the Portuguese way back in 1912 for fortification against the Dutch and the Maratha invaders

 There are many luxurious hotels, villas, restaurants, resorts and guest houses around this magnificient fort. There is also Calanguate beach nearby the Candolim beach which is also worth visiting.

 Along with the fort the church, lighthouse and the garrison of the Aguada Jail have also been a part of tourist attractions. The northern side of the fort has two beaches, one of them is Calangute and the other one is Condolim. It is one of the most visited spots in Goa. There are many resorts, villas and guest houses around this fort.

 Night Life

  Candolim, Goa is the place to be in to spend the evenings in the best possible manner. you must check out the makeshift bars and restaurants made from wood and palm leaves on the beachside.

Food

There are a lot of makeshift bars and restaurants made from wood and palm leaves on the beachside. Tourists can stop at a small taverna (bar) for a drink of feni - a locally brewed drink made from cashew or coconut.

What To Eat and Drink

Besides the fun for food there are several restaurants that offer excellent seafood though the continental dishes are also available. There are many eating joints in the hotels. Hands down, the best restaurant in Candolim is After 7. Great selection of food and wine (mainly European) served in a beautiful garden. Great service, very romantic. The chap that owns the place ‘Leo’, super friendly, and very passionate about his restaurant. Opp Pedro Martina Resort, 1/274b, Gaura Vaddo. Just opened, sister restaurant to After 7, also run by Leo called Posh. Do a great American style brunch. Eggs Benedict, 10/10, best cup of coffee I had in India. Can’t comment on the dinner menu, but it looked great. Opp Nerul Panchayat. You should try this lovely restaurant called BOM SUCESSO in Candolim. A multicusine the food is great.You should try their Seafood and meat platters and their Tiger Prawns. Good entertainment- live music, karaoke, magic show, big screen etc.With a sound proof music room now the music goes on even after 10 pm. For good North Indian food and succulent kebabs in pleasant surroundings try Floyd's on the main road just south of the junction to Mapusa. It's a small place with a warm and friendly atmosphere and is very popular. Coconut Inn, a bit further south and just off the main road (signposted from the junction) is housed in the garden of an old Goan house and serves good food in a relaxing environment at very reasonable prices. Service is friendly and attentive and there is live Portuguese / Goan music on Tuesday evenings. How to Reach       The attention-grabbing Candolim beach is well connected with the rest of the places. To arrive here Dabolim Airport provides best connectivity throw air with other parts of the country. Goa is also linked by train with some of major cities of the country, such as; Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Trivandrum. The captivating Candolim beach is also easily accessible by road. There are plenty of buses which run within Goa.    Travel by Airway: There have only one Airport in Goa located at Dabolim about 46 km away from the Candolim Beach. It is an international airport and the international flights from the country of Qatar, Dubai, Sharjah, Kuwait, Britain, Germany, Netherlands, Russia, and the major cities of India are available here. After reaching to the airport you can easily reach to Candolim Beach with a four wheeler car. Travel by Roadway: Candolim beach is directly connected to Panaji (12 km away) Bus Station. There have lots of government (Kadamba Transport Corporation, KTC) and private bus operator from Panaji bus station to Candolim Town. You can also hire a private Taxi to reach here. You can also reach from Mapusa to Candolim Beach by a bus with in 15 minutes normal. Local travels are provided with the automobiles of Bus, motorcycle, taxis and auto-rickshaws. Travel by Railway: Nearest rail station of Candolim Beach located at Thivim (Thivim Railway Station) about 17 km away. It takes around 25 minutes to reach at Candolim Beach from the Station. Other important railway stations are located little away at Margao and Vasco Da Gama.  Where to stay There are many hotels and guesthouses at beach which offer you a luxurious stay but they might come as slightly expensive if you are in Goa on a shoestring budget. So it is a better idea to stay at guesthouses near some other beaches.  This beach has got a lot of inns with real good facilities. Candolim beach has also many hotels and resorts which offer extravagant stay. But it is better to stay in guest-houses since they are too expensive.

Casablanca Goa Hotel Casablanca Beach Resorts, nestled amidst swaying palm trees, is situated just 100 meters from the caressing sands of Candolim Beach and the sandy beaches of the Arabian Sea. The hotel is well connected by road from the major cities like Panjim and Mapusa.

 

 Dona Alcina Goa Hotel Dona Alcina Resort is situated along the famous Candolim beach. The hotel is located 45 km from the Dabolim airport, 15 km from the Tivim railway station and 18 km Panaji.

 

Lemon Tree Resort Hotel Lemon Tree, located on the Candolim Beach in North Goa, stretches from the main road right up to the beach front. The hotel has been designed to evoke the poetry, history and romance of 15th century Portugal.

Marquis Goa
Hotel Marquis Beach Resort, located on Candolim beach, is set on four acres of landscaped garden. The hotel is located 2 km from the Calangute beach, 4 km from the Baga beach and 12 km from the capital of Goa, Panjim. Hotel Marquis Beach Resort has an excellent location on the North coast.

Nizmar Goa
Hotel Nizmar Resort is located just 500 meters from the renowned Calangute Beach. The hotel is located 50 km from the Margao railway station, 23 km from the Tivim railway station, 16 km from Panaji and 0.5 km from the Calangute Beach. The hotel has an air-conditioned 2500 sq. ft.

Victor Exotica Hotel Victor Exotica Beach Resort was launched in December 1999. It is located in the heart of the tourism belt of North Goa. The famous Candolim Beach is just a 5 minutes walk from the hotel. The resort is specially designed for the entire family.