Shubhyatra >> Goa Yatra >> Anjuna Beach


ANJUNA BEACH

Location : 8 km west of Mapusa, 18 km NW of Panaji
Main Attraction : Anjuna Flea Market, Baga Hill
What To Do : Shopping, Photography, Snorkelling, Bungee Jumping
Best Time To Visit : November To March

Anjuna Beach - Where Even the Sun Flirts With The Sea

Anjuna Beach
Anjuna Beach


"One cannot collect all the beautiful shells on the beach; one can collect only a few, and they are more beautiful if they are few"

-- Anne Morrow Lindbergh

There is a surreal quality about Anjuna. You can find a shallow red laterite cliff embracing the little spits of white sand. Azure water swirling and frothing between the rocks. Yes, indeed, this is Anjuna Beach. Welcome to the freak capital of the world and the undisputed ramp of Goa's rave scene. Start walking over jagged laterite boulders that ensure, you get a red carpet reception. You will find terraced coconut plantations to your right. To the left is a sprawl of restaurants that breathe mellow aroma of sundry sea food delicacies; a perfect blend of global cuisines. Imagine what a holiday it would make!

Lying south of Vagator Beach, this sun-kissed drop of pristine white waves is a heaven for beach lovers. Anything goes here and all kinds of people hem in. Sometime in the late 1950s, a group of travellers including 'Eight Finger Eddie', touched the sands of Anjuna and a small international psychedelic catena began to frame there to party during the dry season. The mania multiplied over the decades and today, Anjuna Beach enjoys the pleasure of hosting the world-famous full-moon parties that swiftly take one on to a trance trip. Sun, sand, surf, swim, tan, prawn, guitar and fenny are all you can find over here. Yet there is a laid back, 'sussegad' (relaxing) feel tied up to this place. And all this is because, Anjuna, is above all, a Goan beach and then a favoured holiday destination.

The Exotic Enchantments of Anjuna Beach

The ebullient waves of Anjuna really call beach combers from all over the world. The pristine white sands offer ample opportunities to enjoy your hearts out and fill your appetite for leisure. Enjoy a sun bath under the swaying palm trees and gift yourself a new colour on the very first day of your holiday at Anjuna Beach. Scale the 80-feet tower, standing stately over the sun-kissed sands and let yourself fly down with a spine-chilling Bungee Jump. With all the medley of incorrigible rocks in the sea, water sport options in Anjuna are limited. The beach is generally unsafe for swimming because of an unpredictable undertow, except at its southern end off the flea market ground. However, one can enjoy a round of snorkelling around the rocks on calm days. Look out for mullet, parrotfish and groupers, swimming around.

Plan a holiday visit during a full-moon night when the beach springs up to a new life. Be a part of the much-hyped Rave parties, that have an idiosyncratic charm of their own. Only here can you get a chance to enjoy a rendezvous with the hippie culture. Believe it, it is really a fun to dance all night with your loved ones under the vast blue sky lit only by the moonlight. Bang your head with rock and trance music chucked away by powerful sound systems beside campfires that burn bright all through the night. The fun apparantly augments during Christmas and New year carnivals when the whole town pulsates with the rhythm of a newer enjoyment. Experience the fun that poses for a different chapter in your memory.

Charms Beside Sun, Sea And Sand

Tourists Shopping at Anjuna Beach Market
Tourists Shopping at Anjuna Beach Market

A Grand Road Show To Sell

Perhaps the most happening place near Anjuna Beach is the Flea Market. On every Wednesday morning, the otherwise placid locale of Anjuna Town, breaks into a riot of colors. At around 11 am the riot gradually soothes down to shape into a bustling market that attracts hundreds of people from all over the country. Lines of vehicles full of tourists start virtually raising clouds of dust in this whirl of buisness. The flea market began in the 1970s as a place where hippies hawked their possessions, but was later banned because the local church litigated it as a front for drug dealing. Today, you can find the whole of India wrestling to give their best to the guests. Look at those cute looking Kashmiri, Tibetian and Lamani women, adorned in bizarre jewellery, peddling all kinds of trinkets and clothes, cassettes of a noisy brand of music called 'Goa Trance', and psychedelic T-shirts, that eventually become a must buy for every visitor. Wander around the food stalls that see all manner of goodies from yak cheese, hummus and even European snacks! Trim your memory with a photograph of 'sadhu' or with a snake charmer and remember to enjoy an elephant ride before you leap towards Baga Hill.

Walk With The Wilds

The leisure aroma of Anjuna also affords some mindblowing adrenaline activities. From the flea market ground, take the path that winds its way along the Baga-Anjuna hillside and emerges near the retreat house in Baga. This solitary path is a favoured trek route among the holidayers and is often promoted as a leisure activity by Goa Tourism during the festive season. A tour through the greens amidst spectacular views enchants the adventurous and the indolent equally. Enjoy a pleasant time under the chirping of birds and explore the silence far-fetched from the bustle of the Wednesday market.

In the evening, tourists can shake their heels at the Paraiso de Goa (Paradiso), a swinging trance bar that is open till the wee hours. Perched on a hillock next to the beach, Paradisio affors a magnificent view of the ebullient waves crushing on the sea shore. Enjoy a cocktail or two before you walk into the balcony and let the cool sea breeze whiff your hair.

Drive Your Way

The sprawling sands of Anjuna nestle in the north Bardez Taluka, just south of Vagator Beach and 18 km from the State capital at Panjim. The beach is divided into South, Middle and North Anjuna, partly because of topography and rest because of tourists pleasures. You can find much of the action, and many hotel, bars and restaurants clustered off at the North Anjuna Beach. The Dabolim airport is situated at 57 km from the shore. If you are planning to come from Panjim, drive on NH 17 across the Mandovi river until you reach Mapusa (8 km), then turn left at Khorlim to reach Anjuna. Drive past Mazil and Temb vaddos to end in De Mello Vaddo, where there is a parking area to the right. Tourists can also get auto-rickshaws from Mapusa to reach Anjuna. Otherwise this fantastic beach of international interest is well connected by regular state and private buses from Panjim and Mapusa. As a matter of caution, avoid trekking on the Baga-Anjuna Hill after dark, even if you have a torch.

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