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A Leisure Paradise Dependent on fishing and boat building, it has, to a great extent, retained a life of its own independent of tourism. The workaday indifference to the annual invasion of Westerners is most evident on the main street, lined with as many regular stores as travellers cafes and restaurants. It's unlikely that Chapora will ever develop into a major resort, either. Tucked away under a dense canopy of trees on the muddy southern shore of a river estuary, it lacks both the space and the white sand that have pulled crowds to Calangute and Colva. |
The Pit Stop
If one has one's own transport however, Chapora is a good base from
which to explore the region: Vagator is on the doorstep, Anjuna is a
short ride to the south, and the ferry crossing at Siolim --gateway to
the remote north of the state - is barely fifteen minutes away by road.
The village is also well connected by bus to Mapusa, and there are
plenty of sociable bars and cafes to hang out in. Apart from the
guesthouses along the main road, most of the places to stay are long
stay houses in the woods.
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Chapora Old fort At low tide, one can also walk around the bottom of the headland, via the anchorage, and the secluded coves beyond it, to big Vagator, then head up the hill from there. Leisure Eating OutFinding somewhere to eat in Chapora is easy: just take a pick from the crop of affordable little cafes and restaurants on the main street. |
The popular Welcome, halfway down, offers a reasonable selection of inexpensive and filling seafood, Western and Vegetarian dishes, plus relentless reggae and techno music, and backgammon sets. The Preyanka, nearby, is in much the same mould, but has a few Indian and Chinese options.
If one is suffering from chilli burn afterwards, Scarlet Cold Drinks and the Sai Ganesh Café, both a short way east of the main street, knock up deliciously cool fresh fruit milkshakes.
How To Get There
By Road
Direct buses arrive at Chapora three times daily from Panjim, and every
fifteen minutes from Mapusa, with departures until 7.00 pm. Motorcycle
taxis hang around the old banyan tree at the far end of the main
street, near where the buses pull in.
Places To Stay
one wants to check in to a reasonable guesthouse try the west side of
the main street in Chapora.
Prime Attractions of Mapusa
Anjuna Beach
With its fluorescent painted palm trees and infamous full moon parties,
ANJUNA, 8-km west of Mapusa, is Goa at its most "alternative".
Baga Beach
Baga, 10-km west of Mapusa, is basically an extension of Calangute;
even the locals are unable to decide where ends and the other begin.
Chapora Fort
Chapora fort was built by the Adil Shah of Bijapur on the southern
headland of the Chapora River. It was also known as "Shahpur" and is
now mostly ruined.
Vagator Beach
Barely a couple of kilometres of cliff tops and parched grassland
separate Anjuna from the southern fringes of its nearest neighbour,
Vagator, a desultory collection of ramshackle farmhouses and
picturesque old Portuguese bungalows .
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