Taj Fort Aguada and its lighthouse – An unconquered fort

Fort Aguada and its lighthouse is the largest and well-preserved seventeenth century Portuguese bastion on Sinquerim beach in Goa, overlooking the Arabian Sea. It was built in 1609-1612 to control the entry into the river Mandovi and to protect Old Goa from potential enemy attacks. A freshwater spring – from where the fort derives its name – within the fort provided water supply to the ships that called there.

“Agua” in Portuguese means water, thus the fort derived its name “Aguada” to denote a place where water is accumulated. Ringed by thick battlements, the heart of the fort was protected by two hundred cannons and deep dry moat which one still has to cross to get inside. This fort was used as a reference point for ships coming from Europe at that time.

This fort is strategically located at the estuary of the river Mandovi and was constructed as a guard against invasions from the Dutch and the Marathas. The walls of this fort is five meters high and 1.3 meters wide. This happens to be the only fort that was not conquered by any invaders during the 450 yearlong rule of the Portuguese empire.
An unusual feature of the fort is a four-storey Portuguese lighthouse, erected in 1864 and the oldest of its kind in Asia. It is 13 meters high and it initially used an oil lamp. It was later renovated and modernised in 1976.
Though the entire fort is no longer intact, some buildings that are still in good shape have been converted into a prison.

It is a good place to visit to see how Portuguese changed the course of history of Goa and ruled there till 1961.