Churches and Convents of Goa

You can walk around the area in maybe 4 hours. I would find it hard to imagine you spend more time EVEN if you have a guide. Most of what you see here are churches, much uglier than European based ones, and the main interest is that they were brought here and thus brought Christianity to the area.

It's also confusing if only churches are inscribed or the entire area. The local signs will guide you to the UNESCO Viceroys Arch, Adil Shah Palace Gateway which is in front of the perhaps Cajetan (locally called Church of Divine), the Archaeological Museum, but since it's not far off what you visit anyway you can take the quick walk down.

I started with the largest: Bom Jesus. It's one of three old churches still actively used nowadays. It also says no guides are allowed inside but I saw a couple enter the Cajetan church with one so it might not be a big deal. As I mentioned before the churches aren't grand in any way. It's true that this one is large, has a courtyard, many places to visit, but I still managed to get through all in a short time. I actually spent most of the time in the back garden (near the toilet) because it was idyllic - the toilet is still a bit off so don't get the wrong idea!

Afterwards it's time to walk a bit further. The St. Augustine remains won't take long to …

The seven WHS objectives lie within a 10-15min walking distance circle; however a more convenient and "local" way to explore them is by rented scooters. We started in early afternoon from Calangute and after a 50min trip we reached Old Goa quarters. The road was pretty tough with alternating clogged village and faster expressway segments, but in the end manageable even for beginners like us. We didnt spot any western-style cafes or restos around, so consider bringing some F&B along. 

1. Basilica de Bom Jesus, Se Cathedral, Church of St Francis de Assisi, The Chapel of St Catherine

Park your bikes in front of the shops by the entrance of Basilica de Bom Jesus, then after visiting it cross the main road to Se Cathedral and Church of St Francis de Assisi. These three churches make out the main touristic core of the site, so be prepared for the usual dose of noisy tourists, loud guides, and colonial opulence. Head towards The Chapel of St Catherine for a more tuned-down feeling, an ochre-colored small jewel nestled in its own small garden where tourist flows recede and the magic of olden days starts to work its way through. Enjoy a well-deserved hydration break with coconuts and plenty of water at the small shop just in front of the exit.

2. Church of St Cajetan

A short few minutes ride through the forest will lead straight to the Church of St Cajetan. Despite its being modeled after Vatican's …

I visited this WHS in November 2016. Although this WHS is made up of 7 different churches it is relatively easy to cover them all in half a day.

4 of them, namely the Basilica of Bom Jesus, the Se Cathedral, the adjoining Church and Convent of St Francis of Assisi and the Chapel of St Catherine (hidden behind the Se Cathedral).

From the entrance to the Church and Convent of St Francis you can easily spot the whitewashed Church of St Cajetan in the distance and although we had a driver with us we decided to walk. Just next to the Church of St Cajetan it is worth viewing the Viceroy Arch which marks the Portuguese conquest of the city of Goa.

The Church of Our Lady of the Rosary and the Tower and ruins of the Church of St Augustine are quite far away from here so a tuktuk or taxi is needed. The Church of Our Lady of the Rosary looks more like a fort than a church while what remains of the tower of St Augustine is just half!

The Church of St Augustine was abandoned in 1835 due to the expulsion of the religious orders from Goa. In 1846 the main vault collapsed. The bell from the tower was initially taken to Fort Aguada and later in 1871 it was shifted to the Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception in Panaji (which is very similar to the Church of Bom Jesus do Monte …

The UNESCO World Heritage Site of “Churches and Convents of Goa” comprises of seven constituent sites. They are:

- Basilica of Bom Jesus

- Se Cathedral

- Church of St. Francis of Assisi

- Chapel of Santa Catarina/Chapel of St. Catherine

- Ruins of the Church of St. Augustine

- Church of Divine Providence (São Caetano or Saint Cajetan)

- Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Rosário/Church of Our Lady of the Rosary

The one thing that we realized was that, unless you have a guide or an experienced driver, most people did not know where all the seven constituent sites were actually located — they knew the more famous ones and we initially had some difficulty in locating all of them. Your best bet is to locate the Basilica of Bom Jesus or the Se Cathedral (these two are directly opposite each other across the road) — these two are very well known and serve as good reference points. Once you have located the Se Cathedral, you can find/locate a rough indicative map for all the major sites. This map is in the same complex as the Se Cathedral.

Basilica of Bom Jesus is the only monument that directly finds a mention in the UNESCO webpage. This church is famous as it contains the tomb of St. Francis Xavier and associated artifacts including the casket/coffin in which he was brought back to Goa.

The Se Cathedral is located directly across the road (opposite) from the Basilica of Bom Jesus. The …

In February 2014 I was fortunate enough to sort a quick two day trip to Goa with my Dad (a pilot). We flew out of Manchester on Wednesday morning and were back at Gatwick by Saturday.

Old Goa was founded by the Bijapur sultanate – a Shia Muslim dynasty that ruled a swathe of India from coast to coast in the southern central region. However, it is for its Portuguese prominence that the town is remembered, as it was made the colony’s most important city upon its capture from the sultanate in 1510.

The first building we visited was the 408 year old Basilica of Bom Jesus (Basilica of Holy Jesus) – a large baroque structure built from granite and basalt. Uniquely in Old Goa, it is unplastered – which sets it apart from all of the other churches, which are white. It was originally plastered, but was stripped of it by “a zealous Portuguese conservationist” in 1950.

We also look round the Church of St Francis of Assisi, Sé Cathedral, the Church of St Catejan, the Our Lady of the Rosary church, the Arch of the Viceroys and the ruins of the Church of St Augustine. All are within walking distance. The latter is the most striking, with an enormous fragment of a tower still standing in what is otherwise an abandoned ruin.

Although Goa is famous from its beaches, my main target in this state was visitig its churches and convents.

The inscribed churches are groupped on a small area in Goa Velha (Old Goa), small place near Panaji, Goa's capital. It is very easy to get there by bus from Panaji bus station, and the ticket is about 10 rupees. All churches, except Bom Jesus basillica, are painted white and present themselves wonderfully in Indian sun. The ones I liked most were Se Cathedral, Church of St. Francis, Church of St. Cayetan and Bom Jesus. The latter is the place were Francisco Xavier is buried. His coffin is importan pilgrimage place for Indian (and other) catholics. The whole place may be visited in 2-3 hours, but is definitely worth seeing.

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 …

In Goa Velha we occasionally had to pinch ourselves to remember that we were in tropical India rather than Latin America – but there were large numbers of Indians in church and wearing saris to prove it!

Overall Goa Velha exceeded our expectations - but these were perhaps not that high to start with. We were more carrying out a duty visit based on “list counting” than from any urgent desire to see the site!! This now consists of a series of churches and convents laid out pleasantly over a wide area among landscaped gardens and tropical forests – a very relaxing place to visit with bright greens (trees and lawns), blues (sky and river) and whites (most churches!). There are no significant remains of any habitation from the early days of the old city although there were signs that richer Goans were currently building plush villas among the trees. The capital was officially moved to Panjim in 1843 but the churches had begun to suffer earlier in 1835 when Portugal initiated a series of actions against the religious orders. The ruined church of St Augustine dates from these activities

Goa’s capture by the Alphonso de Albuquerque from its Muslim ruler took place as early as 1510 – Cortes didn’t overcome the Aztecs until 1520 and Pizarro the Incas in 1532. But, as far as we could make out, the current churches in Goa date mainly from the Seventeenth century having taken a long time to establish or …

Old Goa is now mainly an archaeological site annex open-air museum - there are some restaurants, vendors and people living there in shacks, but it is hard to imagine that this once was a city of 200,000 inhabitants. Their religious structures have survived, a clutter of churches, chapels and convents in different European architectural styles. I'm not sure if the whole area of the former Portuguese city has been designated a WHS, or only the named churches and convents - the documentation on the Unesco website once again is incomplete.

I arrived by local bus from Panaji, the current capital of Goa, about 15 minutes away. The site is pretty popular with Indian tourists - to them, it must be a very exotic place, with its abundance of non-Indian monuments. But when you're familiar with Southern Europe or Latin America, the churches aren't that special. Most of them are plain, especially the interiors. Some of the churches have faded wall paintings or wooden carvings. Their style almost looks naïve. Only the Sé Cathedral and the Basilica (where St. Francis Xavier is buried) still seem to be used for religious services.

The town is pleasant enough to spend half a day. I went around on foot, the roads are not too busy and the grounds are well-kept. Nowhere I had to pay an entrance fee. The Church of St. Francis and the Basilica holds the best ornaments. Besides the churches, not much is left, except for the Viceroy's Arch …

I visited Goa while in college in India along with friends during the Christmas-New year week in 1983. The Churches and Convents of Goa gave the feeling of being in Europe right in India! The Basilica of Bom Jesus was noteworthy and I was fortunate to visit that when Saint Francis Xavier's preserved body was exposed to the public!