First day - Fort Aguvada
Fort Aguada and its lighthouse is a well-preserved seventeenth-century Portuguese fort standing on Sinquerim Beach overlooking the Arabian Sea. The fort was constructed in 1613 to guard against the Dutch and the Marathas. It was a reference point for the vessels coming from Europe at that time. This old Portuguese fort stands on the beach south of Candolim, at the shore of the Mandovi River.
Our guide insisted us to read the information plaque and straight ascend the steps. Some read, some never bothered. Whatever, I feel it quite important to understand the history of a place..that you may not misinterpret it with anything else!
Interestingly,the fortress seemed to be a replica of our Bakel Fort..in Kasargod.
A freshwater spring within the fort provided water supply to the ships that used to stop by and thereby the fort was named after the Portuguese word ‘Agua’ meaning water. On the fort stands a four-storey Portuguese lighthouse, erected in 1864 and the oldest of its kind in Asia. Built in 1612, it was once the grandstand of 79 cannons. It has the capacity of storing 2,376,000 gallons of water, one of the biggest freshwater storages of the time in whole of Asia.
Below is a close view of the light house enormous in size...
Mandovi river from the fortress...
Walk around the upper part of the fort to marvel at the water storage chamber, bastions, and gun powder room whereas the lower part which was used as a berth for ships during the colonial era has been converted into a prison.
The lower part of the fort served as a berthing station for ships and the upper part housed the lighthouse, moat, and ammunition room and water storage chamber. Several Bollywood movies are shot at Fort Aguada, making it a popular destination for Hindi film buffs along with history loving tourists.
Upper views of the fortress...
Soon got tired, as we chose a weird time to visit the place.. sun above scorched us splendidly and we rushed downstairs.. Seriously, one should visit the place at shades!
Our guide insisted us to read the information plaque and straight ascend the steps. Some read, some never bothered. Whatever, I feel it quite important to understand the history of a place..that you may not misinterpret it with anything else!
Interestingly,the fortress seemed to be a replica of our Bakel Fort..in Kasargod.
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| An outside view of the fort |
A freshwater spring within the fort provided water supply to the ships that used to stop by and thereby the fort was named after the Portuguese word ‘Agua’ meaning water. On the fort stands a four-storey Portuguese lighthouse, erected in 1864 and the oldest of its kind in Asia. Built in 1612, it was once the grandstand of 79 cannons. It has the capacity of storing 2,376,000 gallons of water, one of the biggest freshwater storages of the time in whole of Asia.
Below is a close view of the light house enormous in size...
Mandovi river from the fortress...
Walk around the upper part of the fort to marvel at the water storage chamber, bastions, and gun powder room whereas the lower part which was used as a berth for ships during the colonial era has been converted into a prison.
The lower part of the fort served as a berthing station for ships and the upper part housed the lighthouse, moat, and ammunition room and water storage chamber. Several Bollywood movies are shot at Fort Aguada, making it a popular destination for Hindi film buffs along with history loving tourists.
Upper views of the fortress...
Soon got tired, as we chose a weird time to visit the place.. sun above scorched us splendidly and we rushed downstairs.. Seriously, one should visit the place at shades!
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