Cabo de Rama

Halfway between Varca and Palolem in south Goa, a cape juts out into the sea. This is what the Portuguese called Cabo de Rama, from the old Konkani name Rama for the cape. It was not only far from the highway, the winding road also took us into picturesque forested parts of Goa which have no network. Our target was an old fort which stood on the cape, and commanded a view from Colva in the north to Canacona in the south (see the featured photo, taken from the southern ramparts). Few tourists visit this place. We parked in a small lot outside the fort, crossed an old moat and walked in through the main gate of the fort. It was about 2 in the afternoon. A ticket office told us that we were the 50th and 51st people to visit on that day.

Immediately inside the entrance was a chapel. Dedicated to St. Anthony, this is probably the largest standing structure in the fort. As far as I could find, there was a fort here for more than 400 years, and it changed hands between local kings who were at perpetual war with each other. The Konkan coast of India has long had trade across the ocean with African and Arab powers, so navies have been well developed. A sea-facing fort made sense. In 1763 CE the King of Sunda gave the fort to the newest naval power in these waters, the Portuguese, in exchange for help in his war against the King of Mysore.

Between the chapel and the walls of the fort were a line of graves marked with crosses. Off to one side was a picturesque shrine, decorated with pebbles of various colours. The fort and the structures inside were made from block of volcanic tuff, and easy material to cut, but one that is unlikely to stand up to cannon fire. The fort was probably never attacked, and was used mainly to garrison armies and keep watch over the sea. It eventually turned into a prison, and was used as such until 1955.

We walked past the open area towards the sea-facing ramparts. Through a gate in the wall we discovered stairs going down to a pebbly beach. The monsoon winds made the sea here very rough, but I could see a young couple down there with a young child, trying to wet their feet. We walked part of the way down for a view. From here we could look north across several stretches of sandy beaches. Someone had tried creating terraced gardens here, with borders of succulents and palm trees guarding smaller beds of flowers. They were overgrown in the monsoon, but looked like they would thrive in winter.

Afterwards we took a walk along the ramparts back to the gate. In parts the walls had tumbled down, but the view to the south was gorgeous. I’m sure this place looks lovely in winter too, but the stormy monsoon weather is probably the most dramatic view you will get from here. The Family said, “I’m glad we came here.” I was too. But now it was time to look for lunch.