Goa Tourism Season: Best Time for Goa Holidays

Goa has a rich heritage of various racial stocks due to its long and chequered past. Everything about Goa including its climate, sightseeing spots, beaches and performing arts is exotic and unusual which is why Goa is one of the top tourist destinations in India. This interesting article contains all the information, facts and trivia about Goa and its holiday season.

Goa is one of the most popular tourist destinations of India and ever year thousands of tourists from India and abroad flock the place. The peak season of Goa commences from the middle of December to middle of January as the weather is pleasant with balmy skies and cool breezes. However the prices are sky high during this time as Christmas time means party time in Goa. There are hundreds of parties, celebrations, week-long music programs and rock shows along with gala feasts held in this time. If you want to go to Goa in Christmas and/ or New Year you will have to book your hotel months in advance as all the hotels in Goa fill up their advance bookings by late October or early November.

Goa Carnival

The merry making and fun that reaches a crescendo around New Year in Goa keeps up its pace and then hikes up again in March with the fantastic Goa carnival. The carnival sweeps across the entire state of Goa and it happens at dates that are fixes 6 months in advance. This year it happened from 1st March to 5th March. Tourists find out the dates in advance and book their accommodation for the Goa carnival. Every year this carnival happens in the month of March so Goa is fully booked in the whole of March.

Goa experiences heavy rainfall in June and July but the month of August comes up with a completely new side of the beauty of Goa. The vegetation is lush and green and there are light showers all around. Though you cannot swim in the sea the breathtaking loveliness of Goa in the monsoon compensates for it all. This is off-season in Goa so not many tourists come up and the prices too hit bottom. Target coming to Goa in the monsoons if you want to have a really different experience.

The History of Goa Carnival

The Goa carnival has hedonistic roots as they were inspired from the Pagan feasts that were held in Greece and Rome. The festivals were hedonistic as they encouraged eating, drinking, singing, dancing and PDA (Public display of affection). The festivals slowly started spreading to Spanish and Portuguese colonies which is why Goa imbibed them. Incidentally, Goa is the only State/Union Territory of India where such a festival is held. King Momo returns to the capital city of Panaji on the eve of the Carnival amidst a grand free flowing parade called the Carnival Float Parade. The Goa Carnival precedes the Lent and practically the whole population of Goa along with thousands of other tourists joins in the festivities.

Climate of Goa

Goa being located along the coast has a warm and humid climate for most days of the year. The temperature doesn’t vary much because of the temperate coastal climate that Goa is blessed with. In the summers the temperature hovers around 28 degrees to 34 degrees. There is heavy rainfall in the monsoons in Goa and tourists are expressly forbidden to swim in the Sea. As much as 52 inches of daily rainfall happens in Goa during the month of July and though the showers taper off in August there are still mild rains. November to February is completely dry and this is when the peak tourist season starts in Goa.

The Culture and Cuisine of Goa

Goa as you must be aware of was a Portuguese colony and some towns like Vasco De Gama follow the Portuguese culture quite rigorously. The people of Goa are quite friendly and also quite inclined towards religion. Goa has a lot of beautiful churches bearing evidence of the Catholic and the Portugal style of architecture. In modern Goa there is an almost equal mix of Hindus, Muslims and Christians and all these races co-exist together in perfect harmony.

People of Goa are very fond of the performing arts i.e. Dance, drama and soul music. The economy is predominantly dependant on fishing and tourism.

The Konkan, Bahmani Nawabi and the cuisine of Portugal are 3 major influencers of the Goan palette. The staple food found here is fish and rice. Prawns, Oysters, Crabs and Mussels are all integral part of the Goan cuisine.