History and nature have joined hands to give Goa, Daman and Diu a charm all their own. These former Portuguese colonies are separated from each other by hundreds of miles. But history lumped the together. Goa in the ancient past was regarded as the `Rome of the Orient’. Old Goan houses still retain their European ambience,antique silverware, ornate portico, carved rosewood furniture and China porcelain. Some of its beaches are well known, but there are several others which only a few have explored. diu is an island of rare beauty. Daman, like Goa, has its woodlands, forts and temples.
Once upon time when the Portuguese power, influence and affluence in Goa were at its apoge the aphorism Quem viu Goa nao precisa de ver Lisoba, which in translation means `Whoever saw Goa need not see Lisbon,’ was coined. The reference was entirely to the wealth and architectural accomplishment of what is now known as old Goa, which was in the 16th century the capital of the Portuguese Estado da India (state of India).
The aphorism which has lost all meaning today did not refer to the natural beauty of Goa, which territory, according to legend, was carved by Goa Parasurama by shooting an arrow into the sea from the Sahyadri Hills and commanding the Ocean to withdraw up to the point where the arrow had fallen. This beauty is God’s most precious possession which, if the Portuguese did not enrich it, it must be said to their credit that they left it alone.