Fort Aguada

Fort Aguada is a 17th-century Portuguese fort on the Sinquerim headland at the mouth of the Mandovi River, completed in 1612 to guard against the Dutch and the Marathas. Its name comes from the Portuguese word for water, because a freshwater spring inside the fort supplied ships calling at Goa. The upper fort holds a large cistern and a four-storey lighthouse built in 1864, one of the oldest of its kind in Asia. A newer lighthouse built in 1976 stands nearby and is still in service. The lower fort runs down to the sea and was used for many years as the Aguada Central Jail. That jail was converted into the Aguada Jail Museum, opened in 2021, which tells the story of Goa's freedom fighters who were imprisoned there. Visitors walk the ramparts for views over the river mouth, Sinquerim Beach and the Arabian Sea. It is worth the trip as Goa's best-preserved Portuguese fort, combining military history, a historic lighthouse and the freedom struggle in one site.