Marmagoa / Mormugoa

Location: 34 km From Panjim and 4 km from Vasco-da-Gama city.

Known For: The port and the Fort.

Marmagoa provides you with an opportunity to visit an important trade harbour, which is famed for its natural beauty as well. Being located at the mouth of the Zuari River, the city is counted among India's top natural harbours. Like most of the cities in Goa, Mormugao port's history, too, is linked with the Portuguese. The construction of the main fort in Marmagoa started in 1685, as it was first chosen to be the capital of the Portuguese Empire. The Viceroy even moved to Marmagoa in 1703. But the Maratha warriors (Hindu kings from Maharashtra, such as Shivaji) attacked the Portuguese Empire and declared Old Goa the capital instead of Marmagoa.

Trade

It was a spin-off of the Treaty of Lisbon in 1878 between the British and the Portuguese. Even today, Mormugao is not only a premier port for marine trade in Goa, but also an important component in the flourishing export industry of the state.

Marmagoa is a leading player amongst the iron ore exporting ports of India. The Mormugao Port handles about 32% of India's iron ore export, with an annual export of around 24.50 million tonnes of iron ore. The harbour is also a major attraction for tourists visiting the Vasco da Gama city.

Attractions

The Marmagoa harbour is one of India's finest natural harbours. If you are tired of beaches and white sands, you can change your mood with a sunset walk around the harbour. The red sunset skies and calm sea water, absorbing the sun rays, creates a romantic atmosphere. You can go to nearby open restaurants for a light drink or coffee with some snacks. The internationally famous Marmagoa Harbour was used as a location in the 1980 war film, 'The Sea Wolves.'

Most of the tourists visit the place in the charm of the fort, which was built to protect the harbour situated near the Vasco da Gama town. The Mormugao Fort is an excellent architecture of the Portuguese. Covering an area of six miles in circumference, the fort was equipped with 53 guns and a garrison with 4 officers. You can still see the  towering bulwarks, three magazines, five prisons, a chapel and quarters for the guard. The nearest place to the fort is Varca beach.

Accommodation

You will find a number of mid-range and budget hotels near the harbour. As Marmagoa is a major trade harbour, it also offers beach resort accommodation at reasonable prices.

How To Get There

The nearest airport, Dabolim, is just 4 km south-east of Vasco da Gama. You can find the nearest railhead also at Vasco da Gama.

If you travel by road, you can take a bus from Panjim or Margao, which drops you to the inter-state Kadamba Terminus (3 km east of the town centre from Vasco da Gama). From the terminus, you can catch ferries to the harbour.