|
The capital of Goa and headquarters of North Goa District, a small and charming city on the left bank of silvery Mandovi river, with beautiful, red-roofed houses, built in Latin style, also boasts of many modern houses, well laid gardens, statues and avenues lined with Gulmohar, Acassia and other trees. Enchanting panorama unfolds from atop Altinho (Hill Top).
Since Panjim is the first place to be seen when you land it Goa, its impressions remain etched in your mind. While Panjim does not have too many tourist spots in the way of monuments or well-known picnic sites, what it does have is a singularity of character that exudes a sense of hospitality.
Just 3 km from Panaji is the Miramar beach. The Miramar beach is one of the many beaches Goa boasts of. The long walks on the silvery sands of the Miramar are the best way to enjoy the beach. Further ahead there is the fishing village of Dona Paula around Panaji. The Dona Paula beach is a place that attracts several tourists. The Marine Biology Museum and Taxonomy Reference Center of the National Oceanography Institute is a must see while at the Dona Paula. The old Goa or the Golden Goa lies around Panaji and is a must see.
Panaji is situated in the Tiswadi taluka of North Goa district and lies on the left bank of river Mandovi. The place is well connected with other places in Goa as well as other places in India with flights, rail, road, and sea.
History:
Panjim or Panaji's history goes back to the Purta Dharmas - the charitable deeds
of Gandagopal Kelima whose grandfather Kalapa was entrusted with the administration of Panjim by the Kadamba king, Shasthadeva (1007-1050), a good and a glorious king who "by his works redressed all the wrongs in his kingdom". This is gathered from an inscription of the Kadamba king, Vijayaditya I, dated February 7, 1107, and refers to Panjim as Pahajani Khali - Pahajani from which Panjim supposedly got its name and Khali probably refers to the creeks and backwaters abounding in the area. The first few Portuguese chroniclers, soon after the conquest of Goa, refer to Panjim as Panji or Ponji which is said to mean "Land that never gets flooded". According to one Portuguese philologist, the word Pongy is derived from Panch Yma Afsumgary or five wonderful castles where the Muslim king, Ismail Adil Shah, and his wives used to live. Its name was later changed by the Portuguese into Panjim. When Old Goa collapsed in the 19th century, Panjim was elevated to the status of a city on 22nd March 1843 and was renamed `Nova-Goa' (New Goa). After liberation in 1961, it came to be known as Panjim.
| |
