On the plane from Mumbai to Goa, I sat with an Indian man who asked me which beach I planned to go, when I answered that I came here to see Old Goa churches especially the one that hold the relic of Saint Francis Xavier, he misunderstood my World Heritage Site traveling and started to praise my religious devotion! At Goa I chose to stay in the old town of Panaji or local called Panjim, the town was delightful with lovely Portuguese colonial buildings and churches. I also had great times admiring old Goa-Portuguese teak craved chairs; after first saw this kind of craving art at Pena Palace of Sintra in 2006; it became one of my favorites. Next morning I hired a taxi to take me to see Old Goa and nearby tourist attractions like spice garden and waterfalls.

St. Augustine church and its convent were the first places I visited in Old Goa, the complex was once the biggest church in Goa, but now in ruinous state after Portuguese expelled the order. I walked around the complex and saw some nice ceramic tiles decoration and interesting partially collapsed high tower. After that I walked to see Convent of St. Monica, the convent interior was closing for restoration, but the big buttress and Portuguese State Seal wall motif were the highlights of its exterior. Our Lady of the Rosary Church was my next destination. The church was built on the hill behind St. Monica Convent, so it was a short walk. The church’s façade was very interesting with fortress liked design. The interior was plain, but I really like its pastel-colored wooden altar and cute figurines. Also, the warm light inside this church was the best for photography. My taxi took me to the next place, the Basilica of Bom Jesus. The Basilica is very unique with its laterite exterior contrast of other white plaster covered churches in the town. Inside I saw golden main altar, the motif was clearly the celebration of Jesuit Order. On the right side of altar was the golden tomb of St. Francis Xavier. The Basilica was full with local tourists and I had to queue in order to have a chance for closer look on the tomb and I only had ten seconds to admire it! I gave up the horde of people and decided to move on to other church in the opposite side of the road, the large complex of Se Cathedral and Church of St. Francis of Assisi.

When I entered into the Church of St. Francis of Assisi, my mouth opened with wow, the interior of this church in my opinion was the most breathtaking sight in Old Goa. Actually, the reason I came to Old Goa was to see this church, but I mistook it with the Basilica of Bom Jesus, and that why when I entered the Basilica, I was quite confused. The interior was very rich in details from beautiful wooden gilded altars, naïvely sculptures to colorful paintings and tiles decoration. Then I went to Se Cathedral, unfortunately the exterior was under restoration so I could not see the whole façade, the interior was quite similar with the Basilica of Bom Jesus, but the quality of arts was more superior in my idea. There were also many interesting paintings of using Hinduism symbol in the cathedral painting around many altars. After cathedral I walked to Church of St. Cajetan passed the Viceroy’s Arch. The Church of St. Cajetan was modeled after St. Peter in Vatican, so its design was quite unique for Goa. Inside the church was again with beautiful altars and inspiring white classic decoration motifs. Then my taxi took me to Church of Our Lady of the Mount, not part of World Heritage Site, but also a very nice white church on the hill. From the church I could see the whole of Old Goa with dense green jungle and dreamy white churches, the same view in Paul Tanner’s review. I also had a chance to see Bollywood film crew as they used the church as love scene filming location while I was there.

I finished Old Goa tour within 3 hours longer than my taxi driver expected, he said that most of tourists will spend only 1-2 hours to see churches. In my opinion, Old Goa is a really nice place to visit, also because of its Christianity theme makes it very unique for Indian World Heritage Site, and its Portuguese architecture makes Old Goa like a different country, a nice antidote after many Mughal, Hindu, Buddhist and British Colonial arts during the long Indian trip. By the way I am quite confused with comments of Els and Paul Tanner that they were not sure which part of old Goa have been inscribed as the map in the UNESCO website is very clear that the protected areas are circled by the green lines. Apart from sites that Els already listed above, there is also a relatively unknown Gate of St. Paul College which is a part of World Heritage Site.