Anjuna

Overview

Wednesday is the day that shapes a visit to Anjuna, a village in Bardez taluka, North Goa district, where the weekly flea market fills the area beside the beach. Anjuna is about 18 km from Panaji and 8 km west of Mapusa, and November to February is the usual time to come. A day is enough for the market and the coast; add a second if you want to take the shoreline slowly.

The market began informally in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when foreign travellers traded clothes, books and music among themselves. A narrow lane near the Anjuna post office leads to it. It has since grown into an organised market selling clothing, jewellery, leather goods, crafts and snacks, and a good share of its customers now come from elsewhere in India. Closing times vary, so check locally on the day.

The beach is one section of the roughly 30 km line of sand between Fort Aguada and Chapora. What marks it out is rock: dark outcrops push into the sea around a cove of pale sand, with palms and soft sand behind, and Chapora Fort is visible along the coast to the north. The village spreads over about five square miles between the sea and the hills behind, with a population of 9,636 at the 2011 census.

Anjuna also has a place in music history. Goa trance, a branch of electronic dance music, is traced back to the village, and parties have been held here in the tourist season, from October to April. Away from the shore, the parish of St Michael's dates its founding to 1595, and the village has three large chapels, at Praias, Mazalvaddo and Grande Chinvar.

Getting here is straightforward, since Anjuna sits only 8 km from Mapusa. Frequent buses link Mapusa with Anjuna, and Dabolim Airport is about 46 km away by road. Thivim, on the Konkan Railway, is the closest station. Calangute and Baga lie to the south and Vagator to the north, each with its own page.

Known for

Clothes, jewellery, crafts and snacks beside the beach