On my previous post, I had blogged about Dudhsagar waterfalls. After leaving that area, we decided to head over to Panjim before arriving at Vagator as there was still time. Here I just had to time to get a quick tour of Panjim and its historical churches and monuments.
This is the Catholic Church of St. Francis of Assisi and was built in the year 1661 by the Portuguese in Portuguese India. This is also part of a world heritage site.
Immaculate Conception Church was built around 1541 as a chapel on a hill which overlooks the city of Panjim. This church was then replaced sometime in the 1600s by a larger church due to religious expansion of the Portuguese.
Fontainhas is an old latin quarter located within Panjim and was founded in the 18th century by a rich Portuguese person named Antonio Joao de Sequeira. Fontainhas has great architecture and this includes narrow and charming streets like those found in a number of European towns and cities. There are a number of old villas and buildings painted in various shades of orange, yellow, green and blue and this ambiences creates the traditional Portuguese influence in the area.
St Sebastian’s Chapel is located within Fontainhas and was built in the year 1818. The chapel is dedicated to St Sebastian. The story is that people used to pray to St Sebastian to rid the area of pests and rodents mainly during the years of the plague that took place in Old Goa. This led to the building of this chapel in devotion of St Sebastian.
There is alot more to do in Panjim and it seems an interesting place to explore but next time. Places I intend to visit on my trip here are Salim Ali bird sanctuary, Reis Magos Fort, Miramar beach and possibly spend a few days in South Goa.