Mapusa Market

Mapusa, a small town huddled around the Mount (Alto), 13 kms away from Panaji, has been the market hub of North Goa since ancient times even before proper roads were constructed. Mapusa market is also fondly known as 'Mapusa Friday Market' as it takes place every Friday.

Mapusa market was first cited by a Dutch Chronicler in 1580, who described it as The "Bazaar Grande". The town's name evolved from the Konkani words "maap" meaning 'volumes of measure' and "Sa" meaning 'to fill'. This can be taken to mean a place where goods are measured and bought.

The popularity of Mapusa as a market center grew out of ancient festivals in honour of the God Kanakeshwar Baba, revered at the Bodgeshwar Temple. Mapusa's location at the center of commercial activity as well as its proximity to a religious site has caused the Mapusa market to develop to its current size and scope.

A walk through the lively market, gives the visitor a taste of the 'spirit' of the land of Goa. Goanese women from the nearby villages gather to sell their wares. They brawl for a space in the shade of a building and finally settle underneath the shade of a hand-held umbrella if they fail to find any space. Goan customers prefer to buy fresh foodstuffs every few days, thus the Mapusa Market has plenty of fresh fish, a variety of locally produced vegetables, and exotic fruits from jackfruit and mangoes to plantain bananas. Pickles and preserves, spices, earthen pots, glass bangles, channa baskets coir mats, and the famous Goan 'chouricos' (ready spiced Goan pork sausages), dried fish and prawns, clothing, junk jewelry, and the famous Country liquor is all sold at the most reasonable prices one could possibly find.

In recent years new shops have come up to cater to the needs of tourists. Several stalls selling trinkets and other articles often picked up by foreign travelers as souvenirs dot the entrance of the markets. Mapusa Market offers a unique opportunity to peer into the lives of locals and get acquainted with their mundane activities. This colorful and vibrant market usually begins at 8 in the morning and goes on till dusk. Practically everything from fruit and vegetables to toddy kitchenware, clothes and accessories and stuffs of daily requirements can be found in this market.