Located on the western coast of India, in the Konkan coastal belt, Goa is often referred to as the 'Pearl of the Orient' and is a 'tourist's paradise'. Legends have it that Lord Parshuram - an incarnation of the Lord Vishnu - created Goa. Over the ages it has been ruled by several successive kingdoms - the Rashtrakutas, Kadambas, Silaharas, Chalukyas, Bahamani Muslims etc.

However, Goa's most famous rulers have been the Portuguese. On December 19, 1961, Goa was liberated from the Portuguese clutches by the Indian Army and made an Indian Union Territory. It attained Statehood in 1987.

Here are some quick facts on Goa:

Location of Goa: Goa is located on the western coast of the Indian peninsula. It is separated from Maharashtra in the north, Karnataka in the south, the Western Ghats in the east, and the Arabian Sea in the west by the Terekhol River. Geographically, its position is between the latitudes 15°48'00" North to 14°53'54" North and longitudes 74° 20'13" East to 73° 40'33" East.

How to reach Goa: Some of the important and convenient ways to travel to Goa are:

Flights to Goa: Goa is well connected to India via an extremely adept air route and has almost all the major airline operators having flight schedules to Goa.
Roadways to Goa: Goa is also accessible by road as it is connected to all major towns in India by the National Highways Goa NH4A, NH17 and NH17A.
Railways to Goa: the high-speed Konkan Railway, which starts from Mumbai via Miraj and Pune, has a daily train and takes around 8-9 hours to reach. The rail route also has trains which travel past Mumbai - in the north to several areas of India upto Delhi and in the south up to Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala.

Last Updated on 4^th October 2010