Palolem is one of those places that keeps seducing you after it has already won your heart, and every day you wake up knowing you will fall in love a little more. The beach is framed at each end by verdant cliffs studded with black basalt boulders, and its perfect crescent-shaped, palm tree-fringed dreamscape begs you to take one photo after another. At the northern end lies an estuary that serves as a sanctuary for birds and a reflecting pool for stunning sunsets, and each night the creamy yellow sand is washed clean by a high tide reaching almost to the sea huts at the edge of the beach.
After over a week there, it was still too soon to leave. I was so strung out on Palolem Beach itself that I didn’t get a chance to visit Agonda or Butterfly beaches to the north, nor had I taken a boat ride up the river to Floating Rock to watch birds. Worse still, some of the best restaurants and one very cool club were still closed because the season hadn’t officially started.
Sounds like a good argument to go back, but in the meantime, here are my recommendations for how to enjoy this magical place.
Stay
Bhakti Kutir
296, Colomb Palolem
Set high on a hilltop away from the crowds of Palolem Beach yet only a 10-minute walk through the forest to the southern end of the beach, Bhakti Kutir is a special place. Beautiful Indonesian-style cottages are scattered throughout the lush garden grounds filled with soaring bamboo, gorgeous tropical flowers, and coconut palms. Each unique cottage is equipped with an en-suite bathroom and has a lovely shaded porch with a huge chaise for lounging away the afternoon. There’s no hot water in most huts (#9 being one exception, shhhh), but they can bring you all you need in buckets for showering in the spacious tiled bathrooms. The cottages have an open, natural feeling as most windows are not glassed but covered with wooden shutters that create privacy but also allow the free flow of air. Ceiling fans and mosquito nets ensure a good nights sleep, and you will wake to the sound of the tropical birds as the light begins to poke its way through the canopy.
The restaurant serves up tasty, healthful, and modestly priced breakfast, lunch, and dinner fare, and is open from around 8 in the morning until the guests have finished ordering by late evening. During season, yoga classes, Ayurvedic treatments, and massage are offered on-site, and there are several common areas where folks can gather for yoga practice or community events. There is a well-stocked library next to the restaurant, and free Wi-Fi is available in that area as well.
The staff are unobtrusive, knowledgeable, and friendly, and they will help you to secure transportation or book tours for nearby attractions.
Crystal Goa
Rooms next to Cafe Inn in Palolem, apartments in nearby Patnem Beach
Well managed by the same people running Cafe Inn (see below), these rooms in Palolem and apartment homes in Patnem are designed with Western sensibilities in mind. The rooms are right in the heart of the action in Palolem, and the fact that they mention “free ear plugs” in their advertisements should be a hint as to what sort of stay you will have, while the apartments in nearby yet quieter Patnem are perfect for families or anyone wanting to cook a meal at home occasionally. Amenities include Wi-Fi, AC, television, organic toiletries, and, in the apartments, standard furnishings and a well equipped kitchen.
Pixels Oceanfront
No. 9/241, Palolem Beach, Behind Ciarans
I used booking.com to book my room, and I was told that I had lucked out in getting an AC room for under 1500 rs/night, even in pre-season Palolem. This hotel is very well run and exceptionally clean, and there are fewer than ten rooms (including an adorable free-standing hut), so it’s small and private. Only steps to the beach, it is in the middle of everything but still feels secluded, due in part to the peaceful, shady courtyard that provides a retreat from the party scene. The top floor has stunning views of the beach and is open for guests to watch sunsets or do yoga in the morning. Sunil, the manager, is a wonderful source of help for arranging cabs or recommending things to do.
Eat
Restaurants abound in this area, from the 5-starred to the dirt-floored, and the fare varies from classical Indian to fresh pasta to real espressos brewed in Italian machines. If you like seafood, you’re in luck—fisherman bring in fresh octopi, lobster, fish, crabs, and prawns daily.
Cafe Inn
Just to your right as you turn onto Main Road and are looking toward the beach.
The food is nothing special here but the drinks and the atmosphere more than make up for it. Real coffee drinks, delicious smoothies, and yummy desserts as well as breakfast/lunch/dinner fare. Cool tunes play in the background as a mostly foreign crowd takes advantage of the free and relatively fast wifi.
Dropadi Bar & Restaurant
Directly on the beach to your left as you hit the beach from Main Road.
I ate here almost every day of the week because the food was so consistently good and fresh. Tons of vegetarian choices, with an extensive list of Indian and Continental dishes in addition to seafood specials featuring whatever was caught fresh that day. They have a great reputation, excellent service, and mesmerizing views of the sea to relax your mind as you chow down. You don’t have to give up the feeling of sand in your toes, either, as their floor is a covered in nice, clean sand. They claim to use only bottled (mineral) water to cook their dishes, which will give the wary some peace of mind about eating out.
Magic Italy
260 Main Road, Palolem Beach Street
The owners are Italian and they personally oversee the quality of the food and service. Cute, cosy dining room with a beer and wine bar as well as smoking and people-not-smoking right next to you sections. Homemade pastas that melt in your mouth in addition to a huge selection of wood-fired pizzas and salads. Good service to boot, but bring cash because they don’t take any credit cards.
Play
Silent Noise Club
Palolem Beach, south end, trail head marked by large painting on rocks of a cow wearing headphones
Perched on the promontory at the southern end of Palolem Beach, try to get directions from a local on how best to reach this place. Starting in November, this makeshift club on the rocks south of Palolem gets groovy every Saturday night as celebrity dj’s spin cool tunes that no one can hear—unless you’ve donned one of the pairs of portable headphones they provide, which is how they get around the no-music after 22:00 local ordinance. Lights on the headphones indicate what tunes you’ve selected so you can see who else is sharing in your auditory experience. Full bar, local and international flavors of booze. Don’t fall down the hill on your way home.
Jo-Jo’s Sundowner Bar
Hut at northern most end of the beach, between Monkey Island & the cliff
Most easily reached around sundown when the tide is out, but even then you will need to wade through a foot or so of water where the estuary meets the sea to reach the spot. The view from the rocks is worth it, though. Unfortunately, Jo-Jo passed away last year, but his devotees have vowed to keep it going in his memory.
Yoga
There are plenty of yoga places around during season (October-February), and you only have to walk around to see signs directing you to shalas with drop-in classes.
Aranya Yoga
Palolem Beach Road next to Cafe Coffee Day
Daily drop-in classes offering Ashtanga in the morning and Hatha in the afternoon.
Arunachala Yoga Centre
Palolem Beach Road next to Star Gems
Daily drop-in Kundalini classes as well as healing services. I never made it there because I met the instructor (pictured left) and was somewhat put off by his sales pitch and terrible b.o., but who knows, maybe I missed out.
Kranti Yoga
Kranti Yoga Beach Resort House No 135 Patnem Beach
Take a short walk or even shorter ride to neighboring Patnem Beach to check out one of their two daily drop-in classes or sign up for a course at this acclaimed yoga center.
Ayurveda/Massage
Nothing was in full swing when I was here in late September, but just ask your hotel or host for recommendations. One place I looked into was right next to Pixels Oceanfront, and they offered the standard fare of abhyanga (oil massage with herbs; 1400 rs) and shirodhara (oil poured on forehead; 2000 rs) as well as various panchakarma treatments. They have both male and female massage therapists available, and the owner/manager is Kerala-trained. I heard good things about the massage services at Bhakti Kutir as well; email them to confirm when their massage and Ayurveda specialists will be back on-site and open for business.
A word of caution: while getting a massage or taking a simple treatment (like shirodhara) is fine even if you are not attended by a classically trained practitioner of Ayurveda, I would recommend skipping the deep panchakarma or “detox” treatments altogether. Goa is a place to play, but the Ayurveda spas and clinics there are not known for their authenticity. While there are a few exceptions in Goa, none of those I’ve heard of are in Palolem.
