Aguada Fort – Quick Guide Aguada Fort – Overview Aguada Fort is located on the banks of Mandovi River and tourists can watch the confluence of Mandovi River and Arabian Sea. The fort was built by Portuguese between 1609 and 1612 in order to protect themselves from the attack of the Dutch and the Marathas. The fort is impressively beautiful which depicts the beauty of the Portuguese architecture. Visiting Hours Aguada Fort is opened for public from 9:30am to 6:00pm. It takes around two hours to visit the fort. There are few monuments inside which the tourists can visit. Tickets There is no entry fee to visit the fort. Tourists can visit the fort without any cost. Where to Stay? There are more than 1400 hotels in Goa where tourists can get their accommodation. The hotels range from inexpensive budget hotels to expensive five-star hotels. Tourists can also stay in resorts and guest houses which provide a comfortable stay. Good service is offered in all kinds of hotels. Best Time to Visit As Goa is situated on the sea shore so tourists can visit Goa and the fort any time. The best time to visit Goa is between October and January but the months of monsoon from June to September make Goa more beautiful. Aguada Fort – History Aguada Fort was built by Portuguese between 1609 and 1612. Most part of the fort has now been ruined but still people come to visit this fort. The fort was built in order to get protection from the invasion of Dutch and Marathas. A fresh water stream inside the fort was used as the water supply for the fort and that’s why the fort was named Aguada as in Portuguese agua means water. Reasons for Building the Fort Portuguese built this fort because the previous forts like Terekhol, Chapora and Rachol could not provide enough protection and could be invaded through water. Portuguese also constructed Reis Magos Fort, Cabo Fort, and Gasper Dias Fort but during the invasion of Dutch in 1604, the combined the forces of the three forts but still it was ineffective. Though Portuguese won the war but they incurred loss of lives as well as military resources. So they built Aguada fort. Construction of the fort Dom Filippe was the ruler of Portugal who provided facilities to build the fort. In order to raise funds, a tax was levied on the people. Portuguese Viceroy Ruy Tavara supervised the construction of the fort. The construction of this fort facilitated the Portuguese to store food supplies and weapons. Sections of the Fort There was a cistern in the fort which has the capacity to store 23,76,000 gallons of water. The fort has been divided into two parts in which the lower part was used to safely bring the ships to the harbour while the upper part was used as watering station and also as fort. Besides having gunpowder room, a big storage system for water, lighthouse and bastions was also there on the upper side. The upper part also has a secret passage to escape during invasion. Aguada Fort – Architecture Laterite stone was used to build the fort. The stone was easily available in Goa and so was used to construct the fort. The height of the wall is 5m while the thickness is 1.3m. The fort has been built on Bardez peninsula and the area of the fort covers the whole peninsula. The fort was built on the basis of Italian designs. Besides having sections for ships and fort, the monument also had prisons, barracks, and living quarters. The walls of the fort were surrounded by bastions having parapets to fire cannons. Mae de Agua or Mother of Water is a spring that exists even today. The fort is square in shape and has bastions on three sides for using artillery. The fourth side has a gate that faces steep towards the river. Lighthouse The lighthouse of the fort is of four storey and was used to emit light through lamps after every seven minutes. Before the construction of this lighthouse, bonfires were used to guide the ships to the harbours. The bonfires were lit on the Hill of Pilots. This lighthouse was abandoned in 1976 and a new lighthouse was constructed. Tourists can climb up the new light house by giving a small amount and can view the surroundings from top. The lighthouse has curving staircase which goes up to the lamp house. A copper plaque is also there in the commemoration of Viceroy Ruy Tavara and architect of the fort. A bell was also there in the lighthouse which later became a part of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception Church in Panaji. Aguada Jail A part of the fort has now been converted into one of the largest jail in Goa. Due to its frequent use, the jail is not opened for public. Salazar administration converted the fort into jail. During the freedom struggle of Goa from Portuguese, many protesters were imprisoned in 1946. There is a statue in front of the jail to commemorate this struggle. In the statue, a mother keeping her male child in her lap breaks the chains is shown. A ceremony to commemorate this struggle is organized on 18th June every year. How to Reach Aguada Fort? Tourists can reach Goa by road, rail and air transport. The airport for Goa is around 29km away from Panaji. Goa doesn’t have its railway station but there are three stations nearby from where tourists can reach Panaji through road transport. Goa is well connected to various cities through road transport. Some of the nearby places with their approximate distance from Goa are as follows − Goa to Hubli By air – 117km By rail – 173km By road – 159km Goa to Kolhapur By air – 154km By rail – 354km By road – 238km Goa to Pune By air – 357km By rail – 492km By road – 473km Goa to