| Known as the "Queen of Beaches" due to its increased popularity |
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| The Calangute beach of Goa is known to be the busiest and the most commercialized beach. This beach is a favorite among tourists who come to India to visit this paradise called Goa. The Calangute beach was discovered by the hippies who came here during the 1960's and made this beach their favorite hideout. As more and more hippies came to know about this beach, it became popular and attracted many more people. The Calangute beach was known as "kolli gutti" in local language which means "land of the fishermen". Due to the Portugal rule the name got corrupted to Calangute |
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| The Calangute beach of Goa is supposed to be a wonder of nature and a heaven for beach lovers. The long shoreline is dotted with palm trees that sway hypnotically and the vast blue ocean just mesmerizes you into staring at the horizon where the sun sets magically. Sounds tempting? Wait till you get there and see this for yourself. On top of it, the shacks and restaurants located on the coastline offers lip smacking cuisine and chilled beer thus taking care of those hunger pangs that suddenly erupt when you are appreciating this masterpiece of nature. |
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| The beach is lined with local shops and stalls that sell everything like trinkets, souvenirs, beach wear, exotic beach stuff, handicrafts, etc. Don't be afraid to bargain with the shopkeepers. The quality of the items is usually good and if you can bargain well, you can buy most of the things that catch your eye. The handicrafts sold over here are usually from nearby states like Karnataka, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, etc. So you can expect to find some good ethnic stuff in the stalls of the Calangute beach. |
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| Shopping At Calangute Beach |
| The road from the town to the beach is lined with Kashmiri-run handicraft boutiques and Tibetan stalls selling Himalayan curios and jewellery. The quality of the goods - mainly Rajasthani, Gujarati and Karnatakan textiles - is generally high. Haggle hard and don't be afraid to walk away from a heavy sales pitch - the same stuff crops up every Wednesday at Anjuna's flea market. |
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| Leisure Activities At Calnagute Beach |
| The beach itself is nothing special, with steeply shelving sand, but is more than large enough to accommodate the huge numbers of high-season visitors |
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| Head fifteen minutes or so south of the main beachfront area, towards the rows of old wooden boats moored below the dunes. In this virtually hawker-free zone, one' will only come across teams of villagers hauling in hand nets at high tide or fishermen fixing their tack under bamboo sun shakes |
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| Water Sports At Calangute |
| Calangute also makes a perfect beach site if you want to indulge in some water sports activities. Parasailing, water skiing and wind surfing at the Calangute beach starts in the afternoon when the wind is blowing just in the right direction and it goes on till sunset |
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| Attractions Around Calangute Beach |
| Kerkar Art Gallery: Located at close proximity is the Kerkar Art Gallery, displaying the paintings and sculptures of various talented, upcoming artists of Goa. The gallery also hosts a night of Indian music and dance, once every week |
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| Church Of St. Alex: As the vast tourist traffic on the CHOGM road reaches the village site of Calangute, the Church of St Alex greets the visitors with its two towers and a magnificent dome gracing the façade. The inside of the church is a display of the line and beauty of its architectural style and attractive altars |
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| Nightlife & Entertainment At Calangute |
| Calangute's nightlife is surprisingly tamed and provide a nice break from the wild parties at Anjuna. All but a handful of the bars wind up by 10.00 pm. One notable exception is Tito's at the Baga end of the beach, which stays open until after midnight in the off-season and into the small hours in late December and January |
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| Huge showrooms filled with exquisite handicrafts from Kashmir, Tibet, Indonesia, Rajasthan and other exotic places, line up the main road running towards Anjuna. |
