Sketch Walk - Bylanes of Fontainhas: With walk leader Darpana Athale, explore the streets of Panjim, discover nuances of the beautiful buildings, and observe people - all with a view to make an urban sketch. You will be sketching as you walk, and walk you sketch on location. No prior drawing skills or training required.
What to bring: Notebook/Sketchbook/blank papers, Pens, markers, crayons, watercolours.
Book with: Urban Sketchers Goa (Instagram: @Urbansketchersgoa)
Secret Food & Tavern Trail, Panjim: Soul Travelling’s walk leader Joshua Abreo /Zahur Virani will take you through the lanes of Panjim for a sweets, savouries, and beverages tour. The names of the eateries as well as the dishes are kept a secret till the time you walk into the café/bar (Hint: A few of them are more than 70 years old). Also included in the trail are some untold stories about the city, and trivia about Goan food, drinks and the food joints.
Book with: Soul Travelling (www.soultravelling.in)
Campal Heritage Walk: Unlike other areas of Panaji, the Campal Heritage Precinct is unique in its nature and characteristics. The area was laid out by the dynamic Portuguese Viceroy Dom Manuel de Portugal e Castro between 1827 and 1835. Walk through the street that was designed in a grid pattern where most of the houses are at least a century old.
Book with: Make it Happen (www.makeithappen.co.in)
Retracing Monte Santo: The heritage walk, Retracing Monte Santo by Museum of Christian Art (MoCA), highlights the unexplored art and architectural treasures located on the Holy Hill in Old Goa: the ruins of St Augustine's Monastery, Royal Chapel of St Anthony, Church of Our Lady of Rosary and the Church of Santa Monica (Chapel of the Weeping Cross) located on the Holy Hill (Monte Santo) + a guided tour of the MoCA.
Book with: Museum of Christian Art, Phone: 8308805399. Instagram: @mocagoaofficial. The walk is held on the second Saturday of every month.
City Signage: Reading the Clues: Walk leader Vishal Rawlley will take you through official signboards, old shop signs, historical plaques, new graffiti, posters for missing cats and ads for curing sexually transmitted diseases. Encoded in these are typography, design, dates, family names and other clues.
Book With: Community Classroom (Vishal Rowlley: 9834245496)
Tree Walk at Bhagwan Mahavir Garden: This walk will look at the fantastic tree species at Jogger’s Park where some trees are native to Goa and some exotic species were brought from various parts of the world. With walk leader Arti Das, learn to identify trees, hear stories about them, find out about their various uses and more.
Book with: Tree Walk Group, Goa
Medicinal Plant Walk: Dr Maryanne Lobo, an experienced Ayurveda practitioner and traditional medicine exponent, will help you identify, know the medicinal properties of plants in your backyard and sidewalks. It's like knowing you have a pharmacy in your backyard. Carry pen, notebook and colour pens or pencil.
Book with: Plant Walks Goa (Instagram: @plantswalkgoa.official)
Miramar Bird Walk: In this walk with Rajiv D’Silva, explore the scrub vegetation, the sand dunes and the water’s edge along the Miramar Beach. Expect to see shorebirds like plovers, sandpipers, whimbrels and curlews, raptors like kites and the majestic White-Bellied Sea Eagle, scrub species like prinias and warblers, and open-country birds like bee-eaters and drongos. And if you are lucky, some of the wintering gulls and terns might still be around. Do not wear bright clothing; greens and earth tones are preferable.
Book with: Goa Bird Conservation Network (www.gbcn.in)
Springs of Panjim: Visit the long-forgotten sites of the perennial springs of Panjim with walk leader Tallulah D’Silva. Walk through underground tunnels and wade through water channels to see the source of freshwater. Learn about their history, structure, mechanism, ecology, biodiversity and related issues.
Wear clothes and footwear that allows you to wade through knee-high water. Having personal transport will be useful as one has to drive to three different sites within Panjim city.
Book With: Community Classroom (Vishal Rowlley: 9834245496)
Also read: 60 things to do in Goa
St Inez Creek Walk: Located in the heart of Panjim, the 3.7 kilometre long St Inez Creek opens into the Mandovi river. According to a Portuguese plaque on one of the culverts, the creek dates back to 1829, although Historian Percival Noronha dates it back to 1647. St Inez Creek is the lifeline of Panjim city, and during the walk, one can see the heritage bridges and embankments on the creek.
Book with: Community Classroom (Vishal Rowlley: 9834245496)
Cholta Cholta: Author, architect and walk leader Pritha Sardessai will walk you through Azad Maidan and the Police headquarters and then along the pavement passing by the Government Printing Press, Casa Dempo, and around the entire block back to the entrance of Institute Menezes Braganza. This trail covers aspects of architecture, art and prominent personalities in Goan history.
The walk borrows its name from the book Cholta Cholta - Walking Tours of Panjim that Sardessai has co-authored. An architect by profession, Sardessai first conducted ‘Cholta Cholta’ heritage walking trails for children through Bookworm, a children’s library based in Panaji.
Raj Bhavan: Home to the Governor of Goa, the sprawling 88-acre estate is located on a cape in Panjim. Known by the name Palacio do Cabo, it hosts a number of residential suites along with the landmarks such as Our Lady of the Cape Church, Grotto, The Estate, The Estate Beach, The Cannon Point and The Jetty. Until recently, these landmarks were not open for the general public; however, now people will can explore the grandeur and architectural beauty of the oldest Raj Bhavan in the country.
Book with: Soul Travelling (www.soultravelling.in)
Statues and Personalities of Panaji: Sawani Shetye, curator, Exclamations Goa, will take you on a journey to know more about the people who turned Panaji from an important trade centre to being declared as the capital of Goa. Many stalwarts have contributed to the making of Panaji, some are remembered by naming roads after them, some by having their busts erected and some in stories.
Book with: Exclamations Goa (Instagram: @exclamationsgoa)
Goa Heritage Festival
Venue: Campal Heritage Precinct (Panjim)
Dates: November 15-19
Entry: Free
Festival includes walks, pop-up bazaar, folk performances, culinary delights, book launches, performances by artists.
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