The Portuguese Delight - Daman

The love for Travel takes you to varied places in search of contemporary sights, or a new generation illustration of cultures. India is blessed with the most varied setups of edifying civilization. Here, you can find not only the ethnic Indian cultures, but also foreign cultures who visited India like the Parsis, Dutch, French and Portuguese. All these cultures intermingled with each other forming blends of cultures with their unique characteristics. The west coast of India was has a prolonged history of Portuguese reign and many settlements are recorded. These places offers the visitors a complete different outlook of culture, landscaping and people. In this journey, I will be taking you to the most famed destination from Indo-Portuguese history.

Daman, the administrative capital of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (DNHDD), a famed destination on the western coast of India washed by Arabian Sea, lying 171 km from Mumbai, India. The place receives heavy tourists during weekends from Maharashtra and Gujarat. Daman was under Portuguese rule for around 400 years. It was added into Independent India in December, 1961. During these years, the place was converted into a mini Portugal and had seen great cultural mix-up. In present political context, Daman has two administrative territory, Moti-Daman and Nani-Daman, divided by the Daman Ganga River. The Darotha River acts as the southern border, and River Kolak acts the northern border with Gujarat. People born before 20 December, 1961 can apply for citizenship of Portugal, but they need to leave Indian Citizenship. 

Places to Explore

Devka Beach:  

The beach side of Nani-Daman area, mostly known for its landscaping with pebbles and blackish sand. During low tide time, the water recedes quite a good distance. It is commercially developed with beach sports, beach shacks, and beach-side resorts. With rapidly increasing tourism, degradation of Beach has been witnessed.

 

Jampore Beach:  

The beach side of Moti-Daman area. It has golden sandy touch to the beach. The beach is also developed commercially with most beach activities. It seemed more clean compared to Devka. Stay options are less but food stalls are abundant.

Rocky patch of Jampore Beach

St. Jerome Fort:  

The fort located near riverside of Daman Ganga River in Nani Daman area, which is standing tall from Portuguese times. The construction of this fort was initiated by Dom Jeronimo de Azevado, the 12th Portuguese Viceroy of India in 1614, and it was completed during Dom Franciso de Gama in 1672. The entry gate of the fort has a beautiful and nicely intact idol of St. Jerome. The most intact building inside the fort is Church Of Our Lady Of Sea.  

 

Entrance Gate of St. Jerome Fort

Moti Daman Fort: 

The fort has a large area cover of around 30000 sq.m. and is a part of Moti-Daman area. The fort is known for big bastions, two massive entry gates and it houses many canons. Many important landmarks of Daman is encircled inside this fort. You can drive through inside the fort.   

 

Daman Lighthouse: 

It is housed inside the Moti Daman Fort, near the banks of Daman Ganga river and Arabian sea confluence. There you can see the old lighthouse, which is closed and a new lighthouse is constructed which is operational and in use.

 

The Old and New Lighthouses

Dominican Monastery:

The place is presently in ruins and lies inside Moti-daman fort, but is an old church construction dedicated to Saint Dominic and was erected in year 1567. It was an important place of worship in Daman. The place is a classic spot of photography lovers. 

 

Ruins of Convent of the Dominican

The Collector Office: 

The constructions of Moti Daman Fort are well intact and presently, these building are used as the Administrative buildings. Being the capital of DNHDD Union Territory, the place is a busy government office area. The Secretariat and Collector Office are important office buildings.  

 

The Secretariat Building inside Moti Daman Fort

Cathedral of Bom Jesus:  

An old church in Moti daman fort area constructed in 1603. The outer structure is pretty basic, but internally the central area resembles the Old Goa Church. 

 

Church Entrance and Sign Board for Tourists

Mirasol Lake Garden

The Mirasol Lake garden is an artificial setup developed for the entertainment of kids, with facilities like Toy train that circles the lake area, Paddle Boating option for families and food stalls. The basic entry fee is Rs 10, but inside all activities are separately charged. 

 

 

 

Jetty Garden:  

The city garden area built and maintained by the local muncipality. The place offers a beautiful escape beside the river. The view of the bridge is amazing at night. A selfie point is also made for "I love Daman"

 

Captioned at the river side

Confluence of Daman Ganga with Arabian Sea:

The place is near St. Jerome fort. The area is basically a fisherman jetty. But the view is marked by the merging of silent Daman Ganga River with the rapidity of Arabian Sea. It gives a beautiful scene especially early morning. 

 

Daman Ganga merges with Arabian Sea

Mini-Punjab Experience in Daman

Veera da Dhaba is a grand restaurant in Daman, which is externally themed like a fort, and internally it has a well designed setup that resembles Punjab and its culture. The food is good enough. I highly recommend a visit to this place, not for the taste but for the Punjabi ambience. 

Veera da Dhaba

How to Reach:

Daman is well connected with all modes of transport. The nearest railway station is Vapi, which is around 12km from the place and is an important stoppage for most trains running on the west coast line. The roads are pretty good and is nicely connected to Mumbai (180km), Silvassa (27km) and Surat (124Km). Daman itself has an airbase with limited flights. Airport at Mumbai and Surat provides good connectivity to Daman.

Where to Stay:

There are many options for your stay depending on your pocket size. Beach resorts are costly like the Golden Beach Resort, near Devka Beach that can cost you around Rs 5000/- per room. The place has a nice dining area with great food options. The cheaper option that i opted for is Hotel Gurukripa on Seaface road which can cost you around Rs2000/- and its dining area, The Daman Delite is a very satisfying place to eat in an optimum cost. If you are here for weekend relaxation, select Devka Beach area for beach fun, party and good beach stay options.   

 

Hotel Gurukripa

How Many Days:

A visit to Daman can be easily completed in 2 days, one day for Nani Daman and other for Moti Daman.

 

The city of Daman offers an amazing beach experience for the visitors to get a chill feel around every niche of the city. The beaches are well equipped for experiencing everything like beach activities, water sports, and dine on beach shacks. The town offers a laid back atmosphere with colonial time buildings that holds history within it. Many of the construction of Portuguese age are still intact and gives us an idea of their architectural instincts.  The only downside is the massive scale of visitors have led to excessive pollution of the beaches with wine bottles, plastic deposits damaging the aesthetics of the beautiful coasts. Anyone who is reading this, please spread the message of keeping our country's natural beauties intact and safe. Enjoy barrels of drinks, have carton full of chips, booze around with beer but at the end just deposit those things at appropriate garbage cans. This will make your next visit as beautiful as your present. 

 

Happy Traveling and Keep the Beauties Clean !