Location: 18-km From Panaji, Old Goa
Built By: Portuguese
Built In: 1609-1612
Houses: The Central Jail And A 19th Century Lighthouse
Immediately south of Candolim, a long to laterite peninsula extends in the sea west of Reis Magos, bringing the seven kilometer long Clangute beach an abrupt end. Aguada Fort, which crowns the rocky flattened top of the headland, is the best-preserved Portuguese bastion in Goa. Built in 1612 to protect the northern shores of the Mandovi estuary from Dutch and Maratha raiders, it is home to several natural springs.
A spring within the fort provided water supply to the ships that called there arriving after the long sea voyage from Lisbon, giving it the name 'Aguada' (meaning 'water' in Portuguese). On the northern side, it provides a harbor for local shipping. The Aguada fort, at present, houses the central jail.
On the north side of the fort, a rampart of red-brown laterite juts into the bay to form a jetty between two small sandy coves. This picturesque spot is known as Sinquerim Beach. Fort Aguada Resorts, among the most expensive hotels in India, lords over the beach from the lower slopes of the steep sided peninsula.
There are extensive ruins of the fort which can be reached by road. The fort has a four storey Portuguese lighthouse, erected in the 19th century (1864) and the oldest of its kind in Asia, the lighthouse is situated inside the fortress and looks down over the vast expanse of sea, sand and palm trees of Calangute Beach on one side, and across the mouth of the Mandovi to Cabo Raj Bhavan or The Cabo Palace, and the tip of the Marmagoa peninsula, on the other. In the 70's the Sinquerim beach was singled out by the Taj group of hotels for upmarket tourism. The Taj Village is located there now. Nowadays, much of the site serves as a prison, and is therefore closed to visitors. However, it is worth a visit, if only for the superb views from the top of the hill where the four-storey Portuguese lighthouse is.