Aguada - meaning water, the beauty of Aguada Fort attracts a number of tourists and is one of the Portuguese fort standing in Goa on Sinquerim Beach which was constructed in 1612 to guard against the Dutch and the Marathas. During the Salazar administration, Fort Aguada was repurposed for use as a prison primarily, some claim, for Salazar's political opponents. Many of its inmates are Western tourists serving time for drug-related crimes.
The solidity of the Aguada fort can be seen from the fact that neither this one has any delicate turrets nor the battlement lines are bisected by any towers. The citadel gateway being narrow is also blocked by heavy and iron studded doors thereby preventing easy access. The narrow bridge over the ditch makes it all the more difficult while the ramp into the fort inside the gateway curves off at a sharp angle and the steep steps up to the battlements do not make access any easier either. The 1st lighthouse was built here two and half centuries later. The main gate has a magazine adjacent to it, which has a unique half round design in order to deflect any enemy shots. On the north side of the fort, a rampart of red-brown laterite juts into the bay to form a jetty between two small sandy coves.
An interesting feature in the precinct of the fort is a 13 meter high lighthouse. This lighthouse, built in 1864, initially used an oil lamp. It was later renovated and modernized in 1976.
This lighthouse was home to a gigantic bell that was retrieved from amongst the ruins of the St. Augustus monastery at Old Goa. However, the bell has now been moved to the Our Lady of Immaculate Conception church at Panaji. Steps lead down from the middle of the courtyard within to an enormous vaulted cistern capable of storing ten million litres of fresh water. The other unusual feature of the fort is a four-stored Portuguese lighthouse, erected in 1864 and the oldest of its kind in Asia.
This lighthouse was home to a gigantic bell that was retrieved from amongst the ruins of the St. Augustus monastery at Old Goa. However, the bell has now been moved to the Our Lady of Immaculate Conception church at Panaji. Steps lead down from the middle of the courtyard within to an enormous vaulted cistern capable of storing ten million litres of fresh water. The other unusual feature of the fort is a four-stored Portuguese lighthouse, erected in 1864 and the oldest of its kind in Asia.
Beautiful place and can be in your must-visit list of destinations
