Fort Aguada Goa
 
Fort Aguada is strategically situated at the estuary of the river Mandovi, this fort was constructed in 1612 as a guard
against invasions from the Dutch and the Marathas. The walls
of this fort are 5 mts high and 1.3 mts wide. Little surprise
then that this remains to be the only fort that was not conquered
by any invaders during the 450 yearlong rule of the Portuguese
empire.
"Agua" in Portuguese means water, thus the fort
derived its name "Aguada" to denote a place where
water is accumulated.
The area around the fort housed a large well and a number
of springs that provided fresh drinking water to the voyagers
that arrived by ship.
An interesting feature in the majestic fort is a 13 mt high
lighthouse. This lighthouse, built in 1864, initially used
an oil lamp. It was later renovated and modernised in 1976.
This lighthouse was home to a gigantic bell that was retrieved
from amongst the ruins of the St. Augustus monastery at Old
Goa. However, the bell has now been moved to the Our Lady
of Immaculate Conception church at Panaji.
Though the entire fort is no longer intact, some buildings
that are still in good shape have been converted into a prison.
Interestingly, it happens to be the largest prison in Goa.
En route to the fort, one comes across the church of St.
Lawrence, the saint of the sailors. The Portuguese used to
build churches on the outskirts of the forts to prevent the
enemy from firing at a close range.
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