India: Goa – Fort Aguada
To defend their colonial trading posts in Goa, the Portuguese built a massive fort at the southwestern tip of a peninsula at the mouth of the Mandovi River. The fort was established in 1612 and had 79 cannons pointing pretty much in all directions, ready to protect against the sea-attacking Dutch and the land-invading Marathas (Hindu kingdom). Not particularly picturesque (it’s just one massive walled platform – it’s immense nonetheless. Also, there is a water spring inside the fort and a lighthouse/water tower was built to harness the freshwater. When built in 1864, the four-story lighthouse was the largest lighthouse and the largest water tower in Asia. Tons of locals come here to take endless selfies with the whitewashed lighthouse that looks more like a tank of oil.
