Town Centre—Venue for Viva Carnival Goa

SIGHTSEEING, VASCO DA GAMA Updated : Apr 13, 2016, 03.34 PM IST

Abhijeet Deshpande

Abhijeet Deshpande is an accidental nomad and writer. His book ‘Backpacking North East India: A Curious Journey’ is set for release soon.Follow his blog dedicated to experiences and opinions of budget travellers at: https://www.backpackingseries.com/.

Photo courtesy: Abhijeet Deshpande

If you take a train to Vasco, the town centre is where you will arrive from its railway station. This unassuming large open town central area serves as a venue for music concerts, speeches and the captivating Viva Carnival Goa! From the airport though, it is roughly a 20 minutes drive away. It is a large area consisting of rows of roads and columns of streets with a central parking area flanked by the municipal building and a bike-taxi stand to the north, a string of shops selling cashews to the south, railway station to the east and a major bus terminal to the west. The parking area also hosts a Hindu temple on its eastern end. Given the high commercial activity it supports, the town centre is a busy intersection throughout the day. Residents flock to the area to shop in the fish market, vegetable market or the Mormugao municipal market, cashews remaining the major attraction for shopaholics. Hotels, restaurants and cafeterias are aplenty in the vicinity and so are the ice-cream parlours and bars. You can also stop by one of the many outlets for an authentic fish thali.

If you wish to explore Vasco town, it is recommended to choose a hotel on Swatantra Marg or the parallel but busier FL Gomes Road. You could hire a bike-taxi or even a standard car cab. Alternatively, you simply have to walk to the bus terminal and hop on to one of the places like Fort Mormugao, Japanese Garden, Grandmother's Hole Beach and Baina Beach.
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