About nine miles north from the Goan capital, Calangute – the Queen of Beaches - is a highly commercialized but captivating resort that offers good sunbathing in the quiet solitude of the sea, passable swimming along with great opportunities for feasting on the most delicious food along the coast. Calangute is possibly a distorted form of the local vernacular word—‘Koli-gutti', meaning land of fishermen.The beach stretches for about four miles and is covered with palm trees. There is something about Calangute that attracts people across the globe to it always though it owes its immense popularity to the hippies who discovered this lovely beach in the ‘60s.
This picture of a perfect tourist destination is completed with the beach stretch being lined with shacks and stalls selling a huge variety of things ranging from fried prawns and beer to trinkets made of seashells. One can even find hawkers selling sarongs or astrologers who are ever-ready to read the fortune of visitors.
The Saturday bazar held in the Beach of Calangute, near the post office boasts of a variety of good deals for shoppers. Fish, meat, and grocery are available if you stay there for a long time. You can also come across textiles, pottery, and other provisions.
The road from the town to the beach is packed with shops selling a wide range of items, namely souvenirs, metal crafts, leather items, clothes and jewelry, which are not only from Goa, but from other parts of the country also.
In the center of Calangute, there is a nice Tibetan market. It offers all kinds of gems and silverwork, wooden statues of the Buddha and other Hindu deities. Kashmiri merchants also frequent Goa with carpets, embroidery, and other merchandises. The quality of the goods is generally high. But bargain hard and don't be afraid to walk away from a heavy sales pitch because there is always a chance that you might find the same stuff at one of the other flea markets.
So all tourists having a passion for handicrafts of different genres of art and culture, flock to the market of Calangute Square as there is no dearth of handicraft stalls at this place.
