Palolem Beach

Palolem is a 1.61 km long stretch of beach lying south of Cabo De Rama. The beautiful Palolem Village is right next to the beach. It is also Known as 'Paradise Beach'.

It is situated 2 km from the Market town of Chaudi in Canacona Taluk in the South Goa district of Goa. It is about 37kms from Margoa and 70 kms from Panaji.

At the northern end of the beach is a tiny island and the hillside beyond is thickly forested. The Patnem-Colomb beach is situated very close (around 1 km distance) to the Palolem beach.

A splendid palm fringed beach, Palolem cannot be called as a very peaceful place, but definitely retains its charm, less commercialized and most visitors want to come again.

The beach is a curved stretch of white sand dotted with fishing boats. The water is shallow and gentle, with very little surf and very safe to swim.

Palolem is a place to relax and for small explorations around. At the southern end of the beach one can find a stream and near this stream is a large cup-shaped rock known as Pandava's Drum. People often throw stones on the top of the rock. If they hit in a particular place at the rock, it produces echoes. This area is associated with full of Pandava legends.

Some distance from the beach is Figueiredo House built by the Figueiredo family in the early 20th century as a beach house. It was damaged by vandals and it now houses a hotel called Neptune point.

At the northern end of he Palolem beach is Canacona Island. It is also known as Monkey Island, because it is temporarily ape inhabited. Bounded with rocks, one can reach here, simly by foot or take a ferry or a canoe. During low tide, one can reach here by crossing two water bodies which are not deep. There is a small lovely beach between these two water bodies. One can also observe dolphins from here. There is also a possibility to spot sea urchins, sea missiles, sea cucumbers and some groupers. The rocky terrain here is very fun and adventurous to explore. There’s a great view of the sunset, sea, rocks, sand and sky at the north end of Palolem from here.

Situated just south of Palolem is the combination of two beaches the Colomb beach and the fine Patnem beach about a kilometre long. The beach is good to enjoy the nightlife of Palolem, which is just a 15-minute walk away.

Activities in Palolem

The major activities in Palolem beach are Dolphin watching, swimming, shopping, water sports and other beach activities. There’s a lifeguard at Palolem.

Fishermen from the area organise Dolphin trips in Palolem on canoe rides (Rs 150-400 per head for an hour). While on this trip, don't miss to visit the little Butterfly Beach between Palolem and Agonda beaches. Tourists need to take some precaution because the water here is quite deep.

Apart from canoe rides and dolphin-spotting cruises, enjoy the many water sports and activities including surfing, parasailing, boating etc. The fishermen organises boat trips and usually a 1 hour boat trip costs Rs 1,000 in which 6 people can participate. Aslo one can do a boat trip up the tiny stream for about Rs 100-200 (4 people).