Capital of Goa

The official name for the capital of Goa is Panaji, though in Konkani it is often pronounced as ‘Ponnji’. The Portuguese name for it was ‘Pongim’, from which originated the other name by which it is known – Panjim. The name Panjim is used mostly by English speaking people. The capital of Goa lies on the banks of the Mandovi estuary, in the district of North Goa. Panaji means ‘the land that does not flood’. Panaji, the capital of Goa, is built around a church facing a prominent square. Panaji has some beautiful Portuguese Baroque style buildings. The riverside too offers a fine view.

Panaji has a population of around 65,000. Panaji is Goa's third largest city after Vasco and Madgaon. The capital of Goa, Panaji, was earlier a small village on the riverfront. In 1843 the city was renamed Nova Goa (Portuguese for ‘New Goa’) when it officially replaced the city of Goa – which is now Old Goa – as the administrative seat of Portuguese India. The viceroy, though, had already moved to Panaji in 1759. Panaji became a state capital on Goa's elevation to statehood in May 1987.

The capital of Goa was once little more than a minor landing stage and customs house – protected by a hilltop fort, and surrounded by stagnant swampland. In 1843 it became the capital after the port at Old Goa had silted up, and its rulers and impoverished inhabitants had fled the plague.