Colva Beach

Colva Beach about 6 Kms to the west of Margao. Colva beach is one of those beaches in this small Indian state of Goa that is developing at a very rapid pace with the advent of many hotels and resorts in the nearby areas. There are a number of shacks lined up along the Colva beach that offer you delicious Goan cuisine along with innovative cocktails. since the 17th century. The predominantly Catholic community celebrates it on the third Monday of October every year.

It's always deserted in the morning, thus designing a perfect canvas for sunrise. Even after the hordes descend, fly high or raise their voice to overpower the ebullience of the waves, if you take the pleasure to walk half a kilometre up or down the beach, you can have a great deal of solitude. Fringed palm trees, nodding in the winds, its hallmark is the silvery white sand that gives it a special charm. Swimming is relatively safe while the sand, at least away from the beachfront, is spotless and scattered with beautiful shells.

The beauty of Colva Beach only lies in the gap between this myth and reality. Being South Goa's main tourist beach at a distance of mere 6 km from Margao, this pristine patch of golden sands attracts thousands of beach-holidayers round the year. Longest among all beaches in Goa, Colva stretches twenty kilometres along the Arabian sea, about six kilometres west of Margao.

Colva qualifies as the most versatile beach in Goa. Lined with coconut palms throughout, Colva has Bogmalo in north and Cabo de Rama in south. In the pre colonial era, Colva had the honour of being the retreat zone of Margao's high society. Take a leisurely stroll or savour lip smacking Goan cuisine in the nearby food stalls. The beachfront is a collection of concrete hotels, souvenir stalls and fly blown snack bars strewn around a central roundabout.

Its leafy outlying vaddos, or wards, are pleasant enough, dotted with colonial lection of concrete hotels, souvenir stalls and fly-blown snack bars strewn around a bleak central roundabout. The unspoiled environment can be ascribed to the fact that Colva has been one of the later ones off the block, with the necessary tourism infrastructure coming up only lately.