Fort Aguada

Fort Aguada and its lighthouse is a well-preserved seventeenth-century Portuguese fort standing in Goa, India, on Sinquerim Beach, overlooking the Arabian Sea.

Overlooking the vast expanse of ‘seeming to be endless’ blue waters in front of it, Fort Aguada is one of the most popular tourist destinations of Goa. It receives a lot of tourist traffic all around the year. Reasons are that it’s excellent for sightseeing and also that it stands as a testimony to the glory of Portuguese empire.

Standing on the crumbling ramparts of what was once the most formidable and impregnable of the Portuguese forts in India, one looks out at a panoramic ocean vista, witnessing the confluence of the Mandovi River and Arabian Sea, over which the fort has kept watch for more than four hundred years.

This is so majestic a sight that it is easy to picture a Portuguese galleon or carrack on the horizon, on the last leg of its arduous voyage from far off Portugal around the Cape of Good Hope, finally able to make safe harbour and replenish its supplies.

The Fort Aguada is one of the largest and impressive forts preserved as one of the best known landmarks in Goan history. Its prominence has grown from the fact that its headland on which it is built offers a wonderful site for military architects due to its shielding of the vital sea access from the heart of the Portuguese territory thereby making it an ideal site for seaward as well as landward defense.

History

Construction of the fort was undertaken by the Portuguese in the year 1609 for the purpose of keeping an eye on the movements through the waters and the nearby areas and the structure was finally complete in 1612. Since then, precisely for over more than 400 years, the fort has stood strong (although some parts of it have been ruined) and its magnificence remains intact. The location where the fort was constructed was of strategic importance to the empire and provided it a great defence base.

A freshwater spring within the fort provided water supply to the ships that used to stop by. This is how the fort got its name: Aguada, meaning Water. Crews of passing ships would often visit to replenish their fresh water stores. On the fort stands a four-storey Portuguese lighthouse, erected in 1864 and the oldest of its kind in Asia. Built in 1612, it was once the grandstand of 79 cannons. It has the capacity of storing 2,376,000 gallons of water, one of the biggest freshwater storages of the time in whole of Asia. This fort is divided in two segments: the upper part acted as fort and watering station, while the lower part served as a safe berth for Portuguese ships.

Whereas the upper part has a moat, underground water storage chamber, gunpowder room, light house and bastions, it also has a secret escape passage to use during time of war and emergency. The lighthouse at initial stage is used to emit light once in 7 minutes. In 1834 it was changed to emit light creating eclipse every 30 seconds, however it was abandoned in 1976.

Fort Aguada was the most prized and crucial fort of Portuguese. The fort is so large that it envelops the entire peninsula at the south western tip of Bardez. Built on the mouth of river Mandovi, it was strategically located and was the chief defence of Portuguese against the Dutch and Marathas. During the Salazar Administration, Fort Aguada was repurposed for use as a prison primarily, some claim, for Salazar's political opponents.

Visitor Information

Famous for : History Buffs
Entrance Fee: No entry fee
Visiting Time : 9:30 AM to 6:00 PM on all days of the week
Duration of Visit :2 hours