Traveling Anjuna
Click here for a Photo Feature on Anjuna Beach

Of Goa's forty odd beaches, Anjuna is one among the more popular beaches. About eight kilometres from Mapusa, this beach was once home to the hippies who came by the carload in the mid sixties. Full moon parties, drugs and nude sun basked bodies dominated this beach, until local outrage forced the government to enforce a ban on all hippie activities. Today most of its 'alternative' reputation has been wiped out, but you will still find more nude sun bathers here than on any other beaches.

Of course the best part about Anjuna, is its excellent beach. The coconut palms fringed soft white sand is better than most of North Goa's beaches. It is also safe swimming here with little rip currents. Even safer is the southern end where a rocky headland keeps the sea calm and the undertow to a minimum. A word of warning to tourists - though Goan beaches look tame and beautiful, it is not really safe to swim there.

Anjuna is famous through all of Goa for its Wednesday Flea market. People from all over come here on Wednesdays and you can buy just about anything - cameras to clothes. It is literally an anthropologist's dream come true with people from all over and different races converging here to sell goods brought from their homelands. Initially, the scene at this weekly market was not that exciting with only second hand books, junk jewellery and clothes to be sold, and groups of stoned tourists hanging around. Today however the scene is mighty different. Migrant hawkers from all over can be found in organised groups, with each region or culture sticking together. From the Indian lot, most noticeable are the Lambani women from Karnataka selling traditional, colourfully woven tribal clothes, bags and jewellery. The others are Kashmiri hawkers selling silver jewellery, papier-mache boxes, and Tibetians selling turquoise bracelets, praying wheels, and Himalayan caps and curios. You will also come across Rajasthani mirror worked, block printed bedspreads, Kerala wood carvings, Gujarathi artefacts, etc. There are also western hawkers selling backpacking essentials, musical instruments, and Indonesian hawkers selling Balinese batiks and designer beach wear.

However, you will have to be good at haggling if you want your money's worth. Most of the stuff sold at the flea market will be priced exorbitantly. This isn't a surprise considering unaware western tourists are ready to shell out the cheap Indian currency.

Accommodation in Anjuna may be a problem if you haven't booked well in advance. And if you arrive in the peak season (peak season is mid-December to mid-January) it will be virtually impossible to find any accommodation at all! Anjuna has some not-so-well furnished guest houses and hotels, and you will find that owners are generally reluctant to let out accommodation if you aren't planning to stay long term. You will find inexpensive accommodation at Coutinho's Nest, Hilton, Martha's, etc. Moderate to expensive are the Anjuna beach resort, White Negro, Hill View and others.

Eating and drinking in Anjuna is pretty good though you won't find beach shacks like the ones in Calangute. The food here specialises in fish like elsewhere in Goa and western food. German Bakery serves delicious meals, herbal teas and Expresso coffee. It is a little expensive but worth it and is a great place to relax. The budget traveler's choice could be Lafranza, Rose Garden Motel and Sea Breeze. You can expect good proportions of delicious food at reasonable prices. Some of the best places to dunk a few beers, watch the sun go down and stay up till the wee hours are the Shore Bar and Paraiso de Anjuna (popularly called Paradiso).

There are other things to do in Anjuna. You can take take yoga classes, have yourself massaged the Ayurvedic way or study homeopathy. The best place for this is the Orgasmic New Health Centre near the Palacete Rodrigues hotel. The best way to travel is by hiring motor bikes or the motor bike taxi. There are buses as well to take to Panjim and back, and to the nearby beaches of Baga and Calangute.

Well of course the best way to know more about Anjuna is to go there yourself. So here's wishing you a great time in Anjuna!

Click here for a Photo Feature on Anjuna Beach

Click here for Interactive Map of Goa

-Mischelle Rebello