Cabo De Rama Fort

Cabo de Rama fort 

Ive heard of many forts in Goa and visited some from the north. The Tiracol fort ,the Aguada fort , the Vagator fort, the Vasco Headland fort, now nearly unrecognizable! And then deep south, in Cancona -the  largest (at least to my mind) fort; named CABO DE RAMA.
It lies on the west coast of Goa, 25kms from Margao, and while all the other forts have no linkage  to Indian-ness. The very name "Cabo De Rama", raises a question as to the origin of that name. Well yes, a superficial research says that the fort was also known as Cape Rama and was the refuge and abode of Lord Rama and his wife Sita for 14 years of his exile, which , makes this fort an ancient one.

The Hindu rulers who annexed their empire were supposedly the very first occupants of the fort and  their occupancy changed  due to long and bloody battles between them, Muslim leaders and then the Portuguese who were the last occupants.  The Portuguese established their powerhouse of the deep south Goa , here, around 1763,  that protected both the land and sea routes strongly, but  they later abandoned this fort for a period of time until it was decided to house a Government prision  here till 1955.

The forts great walls though crumbling on the northern, southen and western sides are testimony  to the massive  strenght  of structure.  A deep moat runs  around  these ramparts thats made approach /crossing difficult and hazardous.

cannons  of the Cabo de Rama fort 

 The westwall boasts of a massive door with gun turrets  and cannons guarding the  entrance. This rampart on both sides of this door are stil standing tall and approximately 5-7 meters wide, tales are told that there are/were  secret getaway paths within these walls!

The great door must have been serviced with a draw bridge  but now has a permanant wooden bridge . Apparently in the old days the entire village was housed within these strong walls along with the military barracks and vestiges  of old structures still remain, the structure that's in excellent condition upto date is the "Copela de Santa Antonio"that we learnt was attached to the commandants quaters of the Portuguese.

Copela de Santa Antonio

Nowadays the village has grown outside the forts walls but all the devotees still use  this Chapel.
The northwest and southwest portion of the fort ends in craggy beach with lots of the massive fort stone walls having rolled down  in those years  of ingenuity the occupiers had great big  tanks for water harvesting and quiet a few wells strategically located and despite its proximity  to the sea  the water did not taste so brackish.

Its hard to go around the entire fort due to an overgrowth of shrubs and bush but when one does find a way to see both the northern and southern sides, the picture of blue green Arabian sea meeting a blue cloud spotted sky with a waywerd breeze whistling through the palms is ironically peaceful and tranquil for such a violent historic site .

a view from the fort 

The beaches around the area are virgin white with a few rocky outcrops and wonderful for fishing the villagers here are a typically Goan hospitable and pleasant lot and love to share intreating tales of the ghosts of the fort .