Margao

The main population center of southern Goa is Margao, the capital of Salcete Province. The town still has reminders of the Portuguese past. It is a peaceful and pleasant place. The old Margao church is worth a visit and the covered market is the best of its kind in the whole of Goa. Its importance is as a service and transport centre for people staying at Colva Beach. If you're planning on staying at Colva you must first head for Margao, which is connected to the rest of Goa and to the neighboring states by bus, train and taxi.

There are some interesting places to see in Margo-- like the small village of Raia, about 3 km away, which is on the road from Margao to the Borim Bridge, is the Rachol Seminary and Church. The Church of the Holy Spirit is in the heart of a disheveled but picturesque colonial enclave. Presiding over the dusty Largo de Igreja square, the church built by the Portuguese in 1675, is one of the finest examples of late-Baroque architecture in Goa, boasting a pristine white facade and an interior dripping with gilt, crystal and stucco. The picturesque farming villages strewed across the verdant countryside around Margo host a scattering of evocative colonial monuments and a handful of Hindu temples that can be visited on day trips from the coast.