How To Explore The Historic City Of Margao In Goa

Margao, also known as Madgaon, is the capital of Salcete taluka, and Goa's second largest city. It has always been commercially abuzz. The River Sal, today silted up into a tiny stream, once had boats plying cargo to and from Arabia and Africa, making Margao quite a prosperous settlement even before the advent of the Portuguese. It was an important centre for trade, learning and religious activities. Educational institutions and cultural centres completed the picture. Today the place is obviously commercial. Yet its shaded streets lined with colonial mansions, its bazaars full of the rich produce of Goa with many buys not found anywhere else, Margao is a perfect base from which to venture forth into rural Salcete. Along with Vasco, it is also one of the two major railheads in Goa connecting to major cities in India.