Fort Aguada

Fort Aguada is a seventeenth-century Portuguese-era fort, built in 1612, along with a lighthouse, standing in Goa, India, on Sinquerim Beach, overlooking the Arabian Sea. It is an ASI protected Monument of National Importance in Goa.

Aguada fort was originally constructed in 1612 to guard against the Dutch. It was a reference point for the vessels coming from Europe at that time. This old Portuguese fort stands on the beach south of Candolim, at the shore of the Mandovi River. It was initially tasked with defense of shipping and the nearby Bardez sub-district.

A freshwater spring within the fort provided water supply to the ships that used to stop by. This is how the fort got its name: Aguada, meaning watery in the Portuguese language. Crews of passing ships would often visit to replenish their freshwater stores. The Aguada Fort Lighthouse erected in 1864 is the oldest of its kind in Asia. Built in 1612, it was once the grandstand of 79 cannons. It has the capacity of storing 2,376,000 gallons of water, one of the biggest freshwater storage of the time in whole of Asia. This fort is divided in two segments: the upper part acted as fort and watering station, while the lower part served as a safe berth for Portuguese ships.

Whereas the upper part has a moat, underground water storage chamber, gunpowder room, lighthouse, and bastions, it also has a secret escape passage to use during time of war and emergency. The lighthouse at the initial stage used to emit light once in 7 minutes.

Fort Aguada was the most prized and crucial fort of Portuguese. The fort is so large that it envelops the entire peninsula at the southwestern tip of Bardez. Built on the mouth of Mandovi River, it was strategically located and was the chief defense of Portuguese against the Dutch.

During the Salazar Administration, Fort Aguada was repurposed for use as a prison primarily, some claim, for Salazar's political opponents.

The Aguada lighthouse was built in 1864 on a hill located on the west to the fort. It is one of the oldest in Asia. It is located across the river from the peninsula encompassing Panaji and just south of Candolim beach. It was replaced by a new lighthouse in 1976 after serving for about a century. There was a large bell on the lighthouse which was found in the ruins of Saint Augustine monastery in Old Goa.It is an ideal place to visit.

Text adapted from “Fort Aguada” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Fort Aguada ranks #1,478 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #58 of the 172 mapped in India. Founded 1612, it is older than 31% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 580 atlas entries founded in the 17th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 4,150 times in the last 60 days, more than 81% of the atlas. 6 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. See how India compares in the castle statistics.

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