"Goa - Welcome to "Beyond the End"" a Goa Travel Page by adite

600 kilometres from Bombay lies the beautiful state of Goa. Its idyllic location, palm-fringed beaches, beautiful countryside and sun-splashed coastline attract travellers from all over the world. Sun, sea, surf and a fun loving people...these are the highlights of Goa. The best time to visit Goa is
between October and January. The Christmas-New Year's week draws huge crowds to Goa - and all-night, seaside parties are a common affair during this time. The carnival too takes place around this time and is an occasion for great revelry both among the local people and those visiting Goa.

Goa lies on the Konkan coast in western India. For centuries it was a trading centre of luxury goods and spices. Among the first rulers of Goa was Emperor Ashoka (who died in 232 BC), the legendary ruler who later gave up conquests and war when he became a Buddhist. During the Ashoka period, Goa was known as
Aparanta which means "Beyond the End". Goa has since been rechristened time and time again by its rulers. But the word Goa comes from Gomantak,which according to Hindu mythology, was the place of
abode of Lord Shiva. In the Hindu epic, Mahabharata, it was known as Gomant and the story goes that Parsurama, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, after a particularly tough battle, sought a place where he could meditate in peace. He shot an arrow from the Western Ghats into the Arabian Sea and with the help of
the god of the sea reclaimed the beautiful land of Gomant. Welcome to the Land "beyond the end".

In the 16th century Goa became a colony of Portugal and it finally reverted to India only in 1961. The Portuguese influence is visible in the churches, the culture, the cuisine of Goa.