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bairroaltovillas-blog · 5 years

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DISCOVER THE MAGIC OF MONSOONS IN GOA

From a tourism perspective, monsoon is definitely not a peak season in Goa. However, if you want to see Goa in all its pristine beauty, at its greenest, you need to be here in the monsoons.

Monsoons in Goa starts around the first week of June and goes all the way up to mid-October. So, it gives an ample window to enjoy the monsoon. Imagine sitting in the shell lined Goan windows with a cup of coffee or Chai in your hands and letting the rains play music for you.

Rains in Goa do not fall in drops, they fall in sheets, blocking every other noise around. There are music and rhythm that will stay with you forever.

Goa Beyond Beaches

Goa is best known for its beaches. However, most beaches are either inaccessible or not so happening during monsoons. Even the famous beach shacks shut down during the monsoon season. This is your opportunity to see Goa beyond beaches.

Discover the hinterlands of Goa, quaint villages as and when the rains take a breather. Walk on the narrow roads with fields full of water on both sides. This is the time when the earth beneath recharge itself. The greenery that you see around carries the light green colour of freshly sprouted leaves.

Getting soaked in the rains here is a heavenly experience.

Waterfalls

Excessive rains mean the water rushes down from hilltops to reach a river, which in turn gushes towards the ocean. Monsoons in Goa creates many big and small waterfalls in its hills and ghats.

Walk around Chorla ghats in North Goa and you are literally walking with the waterfalls. Admire the falls like Surla falls from a viewing gallery across the valley and you see the mighty waterfall in all its glory as the clouds play hide and seek with it. Couple of resorts like Wilderness and Swapangandha offer a vantage point to see some big waterfalls.

In the South Goa, visit the Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary. It is lovely in monsoons, but its best-kept secret is its Kuskem waterfall. You need to trek a bit to reach it, but it is a delight to see the waterfall from a great height.

Amboli waterfalls, a drive of just about an hour or two from Goa, are best visited on a morning after heavy rains. There is nothing like eating a piping hot Sabudana Wada or hot Maggie standing in front of Dab Daba – as the waterfall is locally called, and listening to the roar it makes.

Dudhsagar waterfall is incidentally closed during monsoons. You can try taking a train to see the falls in monsoons. Best time to visit Dudhsagar is just after the monsoons.

White Water Rafting

The only time when you can do white water rafting in Goa is during the monsoon season. You need to drive to a remote Valpoi village where the rafting is done on river Mhadei. The grades are easy, but what stuns you is the scenery that you see as you go with the flow of the river. Unlike other popular places where River Rafting is big business, here you have is just a couple of rafts, and the sheer nature all around.

Only about two rounds of rafting are done here. It is advisable to do it through Goa Tourism.

Trekking in Monsoons

Goa Tourism and some private groups organize treks during monsoons. These range from easy to tough. Check out the local newspapers to see the treks being organized and be lost in the wilderness that not many get to explore in Goa. Most of these treks are done on Sundays.

Salaulim Dam

During monsoons, water dominates the landscapes – in rivers, lakes, fields, on hills and just about everywhere. The best place to feel the monsoon magic of Goa is at Salaulim Dam in South Goa.

This is a unique circular dam built in local laterite stone. The water falls from a height in a circle with such force that it creates a mist all around. You can walk on the road next to the dam and get soaked in this mist.

Surrounded by hills on all sides, the valley presents you with million shades of green. The dam also has well maintained botanical gardens around it. Just hope that rains allow you ample time to enjoy this unique sight in Goa, which you can enjoy only during monsoons.

Festivals during Monsoons in Goa

Goa has some unique festivals that take place throughout the year. At the beginning of the Monsoons, Goan celebrates Sao Joao, a unique festival that celebrates the onset of monsoons in Goa– a harbinger of prosperity. People make koppels of fruits and flowers and wear them on their heads. Young men jump in the wells where some gifts are hidden for them. In the village of Siolim, a boat festival takes place in the evening. In July, the village of Marcel celebrates Chikkal Kalo in the grounds of Devaki Krishna temple. This is literally the mud festival of Goa where all the boys in the village play in the mud. The climax is Dahi Handi that is broken by forming a human pyramid.

Toxchaem or Cucumber festival in Talaulim village celebrates the monsoons by offering cucumbers at the local church. Bonderam is celebrated in the island of Divar in August with a colourful flag parade.

Off Season Benefits

Being a relatively low season, the best of properties are available at a reasonable rate. So, it is the best time to pamper yourself with some luxury in Goa.

You can visit the heritage places like Old Goa and temples of Ponda or even spice gardens without jostling through the crowds.

The nightlife of Goa goes on as always, albeit with limited crowds.

Optional Links:

Dudhsagar Waterfalls – https://goa-tourism.com/waterfall_tour or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqhBJgA9mak

Goa Rafting – https://www.goarafting.com/

Salaulim Dam – https://www.inditales.com/duckbill-spillway-salaulim-dam-gardens/

Sao Joao – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sao_Joao_Festival_in_Goa

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bairroaltovillas-blog · 5 years

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GOAN ARCHITECTURE IS GOAN

Goa’s magnificent and still surviving old villas, built during its nearly 500-year-old colonial era, are vastly misrepresented as ‘Portuguese’ houses. This is in fact far from the truth. This myth is usually wilfully perpetrated by two agencies:

Eager real estate brokers wanting to peddle Goa’s Portuguese legacy to sell villas in Goa.

The influence of the tourism industry where the term ‘Portuguese’ is a higher denomination than ‘Goan’.

Look at the following simple facts:

Goan villas built in the colonial era are unique. They are not to be found elsewhere in the world. Not even in Portugal or any other Portuguese colonies, including those in South America.

By the beginning of the 1800s, the Portuguese regime in India had practically run off out of both territory and money. There were no Portuguese architects remaining in Goa. All the great structures were designed by locals. The designers, masons, craftsmen, artists and other skills involved were almost a hundred per cent local.

All the material used in Goan villas was local and these villas were perfectly adapted to the humid Goan summers and the bountiful monsoons. Most of these materials are not to be found in any Portuguese house anywhere in the world.

Unlike colonial structures in the rest of India (in particular Mumbai and Kolkata), where buildings were imposed upon the locals by the British, in Goa, it was Goan’s that dominated every aspect of the building industry.

Goan architecture – a reflection of Goa in all its forms:

Goa’s tropical beauty is a visual delight. Green plantations with colourful fruits dot its numerous villages. Red laterite soil rich in ferric oxides adorns mother earth. Goa is also crisscrossed by nine rivers and their forty-two tributaries in several hues of blue and grey. Then, there are of course the silver sandy beaches that kiss the entire Goan coastline. All in all, Goa is a riot of spectacular colours that change shades as the weather changes. Traditional 4 practice learned to beautifully incorporate these vibrant colours (often with a pastel hue) to make the villas blend in with the surroundings.

The roof of Goan villas incorporated materials that ensured safety from the bountiful but at times fierce monsoon rains. At the same time, it ensured good ventilation throughout and excellent thermal insulation during the humid Goan summers.

The Goan ‘Balcao’ with its sopos’ or the ‘angaans’ are a classic illustration of how locals used design to reflect both, the Goan culture as well as weather. They reflect spaces conducive to appropriate social interaction. They are spaces that allow healing and family bonding.

In every aspect of the design from the high plinths to slanted roofs, usage of wood, distinct local flooring or ornate fenestration, Goan architecture stands out as a singular and reflects Goa in all its forms.

Goan architecture is unique. There are some Portuguese influence and some elements of Portuguese design in most Goan villas. There is also the influence of surrounding regions of Kerala, Karnataka and Maharastra especially in the usage of materials. But the end product is truly and distinctively Goan. It is as if some elements of the whole are taken and then combined into an end result that is truly stand-out and distinct. Goan villas are indigenous treasures of this great Goan architectural legacy.

In the words of renowned Goan architect Arminio Ribeiro “the idea that social interaction can be encouraged through physical design, occupies the central thought in the design objectives of Goan architectural practice”.

Goan’s should be proud of this wonderful building legacy and architects should strive to retain and enhance this priceless inheritance.

#goanarchitecture #villasingoa #portuguese

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bairroaltovillas-blog · 5 years

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A SECOND HOME IN HINTERLAND GOA

Goa to most people conjures up images of sandy sun soaked beaches & rave parties. Nestled between the pristine Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea, the hinterland of Goa is thing of un-paralleled beauty. With eleven rivers crisscrossing the state, the Goan hinterland is awash with verdant paddy fields and sylvan woods. The thinly populated villages that dot this fertile land are clean, noise and pollution free & bereft of traffic snarls & parking woes. Aldona in North Goa is one such idyllic destination.

Travel writer Anuradha Goyal quotes locals as claiming that “it is the most beautiful village in the world”. With a population of around 6000, this beautiful village set along the banks of Mapusa River, is a hidden gem. A walk along its narrow winding streets will leave you spellbound. Every corner will throw up an architectural gem or a historic landmark. The stunning views of the backwaters & idyllic paddy fields are never too far away. For discerning buyers looking for a second home, Aldona offers a golden opportunity. Untouched by frenzied & unbridled urbanization that plagues beachside Goa, Aldona is an ideal destination for owning your second home.

Bairro Alto Villas are a low density luxury housing project comprising of 8 independent villas in Goa within a gated complex. These exquisite villas incorporate the best of traditional Goan & Portuguese designs without compromising on any modern amenities. Each villa has spacious dining & living spaces, landscaped garden areas & ample resident & visitor parking. The semi-open porches are an adaptation of the Goan ‘Balcao’. This is your space for indulging in a casual chat or an intellectual exploration; a space to spend the quality time with friends & family or pursue your favorite hobby. The Mangalore tile clad boarded water-proof roofing is aesthetically designed to blend in with the local architecture.

These villas are an investment that you will cherish for the rest of your life. Bairro Alto Villas offer an ideal destination for spending quality time with your family & friends. And if you are the creative type, the locale of Bairro Alto will get your creative juices flowing.

#VillasinNorthgoa #VillasinhinterlandGoa #Independentvillasingoa

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