Goa was formerly a Portuguese colony and is today the smallest state of the Indian Republic. 1,2 m inhabitants live on an area of 3'700 km² (1'430 square miles) which is something like a sixth of Wales. The country is divided in a South and a North District, whereby the north is more populated and industrialized. As well in  the north lies the capital Panaji with the airport Dabolim, mostly used for inland flights and charter.

In whole Goa still the Portuguese influence is evident and many buildings and churches conserved the typical colonial style.

The starting-point of nearly every individual Goa-journey (entry visa needed) is the international airport of Bombay (Mumbai) and then with inland-flight to Goa (Dabolim) or by train to any destination in Goa. The railway is a part of the Indian network and therefore you can easily reach by train any major town in India.

Characteristic for the south of Goa are beautiful landscapes and gorgeous beaches and it is therefore more concentrated on tourism and agriculture. It's here where life looks still to be easy and harmonic and you see often peasants working on their fields or looking to their cattle.

A detailed map of Goa you can download here as a PDF-File (2.5MB)

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