Fort Aguada sprawls across the headland between Candolim and the Mandovi River, a Portuguese coastal fortress built in the early 17th century. The walls are made from laterite blocks the colour of dried blood, and from the bastions you can see down the full curve of Calangute Bay.
A four-storey lighthouse, originally built in 1864 and one of the oldest in Asia, still stands inside the complex. The fort was never breached during its active life — a track record that almost certainly says more about Goan geopolitics than about military engineering. Today it is free to enter, often quiet in the heat of the day, and worth combining with a sunset walk down to Sinquerim Beach.