Ponda

Ponda, also known as Fonda, is Goa's quickest developing city. It has also been called "Antruz Mahal" because of its renowned temples and rich cultural legacy. But modern Ponda is also home to numerous manufacturing plants and fast paced industrial growth.

Before its Portuguese conquest, Ponda was administered by the Sonde Rajas under the Vijayanagara Empire and the Bijapur Sultanate. By the sixteenth century, Ponda was a place of refuge for Hindus escaping abuse from the Jesuits and the Portuguese. In 1675, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj seized Ponda from the Bijapur Sultanate and it remained a part of the Maratha Empire until 1764. These different histories find their perfect confluence in Ponda. Today, a large portion of the significant Hindu sanctuaries in Goa are found here. It is also home to the sixteenth century Safa Masjid, among the few Islamic monuments to have survived the Spanish inquisition. Alongside these structures, St Anne's Church and Mount Carmel Chapel also stand as testimony to the city’s Portuguese history.