India is a land of contradictions. We know that. Anyone who has plunged into the frenzy of Mumbai or New Delhi experienced those contradictions in the raw. Great wealth and absolute poverty rub shoulders. Modern culture mingles and clashes with ancient traditions.

Bombarded with sensory overload, many foreign visitors find themselves yearning for a simpler, more tranquil version of India. For nearly 50 years, word of mouth has propelled them away from the big cities to an idyllic haven. “Go to Goa,” they urge you. “That’s the real India.”

But is it? How real is a place in which, in some seaside settlements, every other person seems to be a young Western tourist? How Indian is a state ruled for 450 years, until 1961, by the Portuguese?

Goa is located roughly halfway down the subcontinent’s west coast and is the tiniest state in India. You can drive the entire length in about three hours on narrow, palm-lined roads. It’s a journey that reveals another striking difference between this enclave and the wider country: the relative lack of people. Goa’s population is just 1.4 million; there are fewer inhabitants here than in some of the slum districts of Mumbai.

Even within this small state there are stark contrasts. The northern beach strip, geographically centered on Baga, is lively and crowded, while the southern seaboard is much more upmarket, with luxury resorts facing near-deserted swathes of golden sand. Inland, the flat coastlands give way abruptly to the Western Ghats, a 1,000-mile mountain range that ranks as one of the world’s top 10 biodiversity hot spots.

Before heading for the main attractions, we begin in Goa’s nearest approximation to a big city, the state capital of Panjim (aka Panaji). Situated on the Mandovi River, which along with the diverging Zuari River creates the physical divide between north and south Goa, Panjim is a laid-back city of 100,000.

Presiding over the heart of the city is a gleaming white wedding cake of a building, the Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, originally consecrated in 1541. This was the first stop for Portuguese sailors when they made landfall after the long, dangerous voyage from distant Lisbon. Inside on a quiet day you can almost hear their whispered prayers of thanks among the wooden pews. It’s the perfect starting point for an exploration into Goa’s fascinating colonial past.

The logical next stop is the Goa State Museum with its evolving collection of more than 8,000 objects chronicling the multicultural strands of local history. One gallery is entirely devoted to the Christian art of the Portuguese colonialists, including paintings, carved wooden sculptures and, chillingly, some of the artifacts of the 16th-century Goa Inquisition, which aimed to test the faith of recent Hindu and Muslim converts to Catholicism. Anyone whose faith was deemed lapsed was punished, sometimes with death.

Despite the injustices of the Inquisition, and despite periods of resistance against the colonialists (recorded in the museum’s Freedom Struggle gallery), more than four centuries of Portuguese influence are deeply ingrained in modern-day Goa. You see it most obviously in the architecture. Many of the older buildings in Panjim are constructed in the Portuguese style. As you wander around, you can find yourself seesawing between Lisbon and India.

To get a grip on the local architectural style, it is worth visiting the quirky Houses of Goa Museum, which occupies a Noah’s ark-like building designed by contemporary Goan architect Gerard da Cunha. The displays illustrate indigenous domestic architecture in Goa and serve as a rallying call for preservation.

The enduring Portuguese elements of this city are unsurprising, but when we reach the banks of the Mandovi River, we see a foreign transplant that we didn’t anticipate. Moored midstream is what appears to be a 19th-century Mississippi paddle steamer.

In fact, it is one of the stranger manifestations of Goan gambling legislation. Goa is one of the few Indian states in which gambling is legal, though in deference to the national government, most of the casinos are moored on the river, with high-rolling tourists ferried out by speedboat. The paddle steamer turns out to be The Pride of Goa, one of the largest of these glitzy floating casinos.

For more authentic adventures on the river, John Rodrigues runs four- to five-hour “Crocodile Dundee” voyages to the upstream islands of Chorão and Divar, with great opportunities to encounter the rich birdlife of the mangroves as well as fearsome mugger crocodiles basking on the sandbanks. Out in the Arabian Sea, Rodrigues runs dolphin-watching voyages and is the only operator with a no-see/no-pay policy.

About six miles west of Panjim lie the remains of what was once one of the world’s great cities, Old Goa. Until the 18th century, this Portuguese settlement was one of the epicenters of international trade; it was so successful, it grew larger than Lisbon and even London. At its height it was known as the Rome of the East, though that height was short-lived. Outbreaks of cholera and malaria forced the citizens to abandon their city in 1759, relocating to Panjim.

Today, Old Goa is a thriving community. Its cathedral, churches and convents are focal points for Catholic Goans. Their most revered relic is the mummified body of Goa’s patron saint, Francis Xavier (1506–1552), interred in a windowed casket in the Basilica of Bom Jesus. The casket is paraded for the public every 10 years — the next showing is in December 2014.

Parts of Old Goa are every bit as haunting as the body of St. Francis. The walls and towers of the ruined historical city cast their ragged shadows over the present. Collectively, these ruins are designated a UNESCO World Heritage site.

To discover why Old Goa flourished so spectacularly in its heyday, you need only drive a short distance inland, leaving behind the coastal palm trees and entering the dense vegetation at the foot of the Western Ghats. It was here the early Portuguese explorers found an endless source of precious spices.

Piles of colorful spices at Anjuna’s market © David Evison | Dreamstime.com

The Tropical Spice Plantation is one of several farms at which you can see spices such as pepper, nutmeg, cardamom, chili and clove growing in their natural setting. Local guides explain the culinary and medicinal uses of each spice.

Continuing inland, we reconnect with the Mandovi River at the spectacular 1,017-foot Dudhsagar Falls, where the river cascades in four dramatic steps from the mountains toward the coastal plains. The scene is not entirely natural.

Roughly halfway up, the falls are traversed by an arched railway bridge — part of the Konkan Railway, constructed in the 1990s, which overcame the obstacles of terrain and the annual monsoon to forge a route down India’s western coast. The controversial bridge is arguably a picturesque enhancement to the waterfall, especially when a train snakes across.

Dudhsagar Waterfall and railway bridge © Vicspacewalker | Dreamstime.com

The Falls are part of the 93-square-mile Bhagwan Mahaveer Sanctuary and Mollem National Park, a contiguous area protecting a patchwork of montane forest in the foothills of the Western Ghats. Wildlife viewing requires patience. You might make the occasional sighting from the roads and trails (wear long trousers and tuck them into your socks to ward off leeches when you’re on foot), but the best opportunities are afforded at dawn and dusk from an observation platform. Look out for leopards, tigers, deer, gaur (the world’s largest wild cattle species) and monkeys.

From the hinterland, all roads inevitably lead back to the coast and Goa’s famous Arabian Sea beaches. Most tourists congregate on the northern stretch, which runs from Fort Aguada (a 17th-century Portuguese fort built on a headland at the mouth of the Mandovi River) up to popular resorts such as Calangute, Baga, Anjuna and quieter villages like Arambol.

In the 1960s, the north Goan coast was the ultimate destination of the Hippie Trail. Traces of that time and the associated lifestyle persist. But the excesses of the modern world have largely swamped the easy-going idyll of peace and love (which found its indigenous equivalent in the Goan concept of susegado, which refers to a relaxed attitude to life).

So, the downside first. Former hippie bastions, especially Anjuna, initially seem to have been overrun by young, hedonistic partygoers. Where once the travelers sat around beach campfires at night strumming guitars and communing with the stars, now there are noisy raves with flashing lights and the electronic beat of Goa trance music. Drugs are widely available despite being illegal, and as a consequence, many foreigners end up in local jails.

Some veteran travelers contend the old magic of north Goa has evaporated. But spend some time in Anjuna and you discover it remains an eclectic melting pot. There are still a few old hippies clinging to their ideals, along with backpackers, foreign package tourists, Indian tourists, monks, Gujarati tribespeople in their finest regalia, ordinary Goans and businessmen in suits forging the lucrative deals that support the tourist infrastructure.

All these strands come together every Wednesday at Anjuna’s legendary beachside flea market. The market started in the 1960s by hippies who sold handicrafts, or even the clothes off their back, in order to raise funds to prolong their stay in Goa. Although today’s market incorporates stalls selling tacky souvenirs and counterfeit goods, you can still find throwbacks to the old days, including tie-dyed clothing and home-baked hash cookies.

Depending on your point of view, the coastline between Calangute and Baga is either the zenith or the nadir of modern Goan tourism. This is the state’s most developed strip. The beaches, lined with hotels and guesthouses, can become incredibly crowded with a polyglottal conglomeration of Western and local tourists.

Here you will find all the trappings of modern beach tourism. You can jet ski, water ski, scuba dive, have your hands and feet decorated with henna tattoos, enjoy a soothing massage, learn yoga, meditate on the beach, hang out in restaurants or bars, or dance on the beach until sunrise.

As along most of India’s coastline, the sea off Goa should be treated with the utmost respect. Undertows and riptides are common and can overwhelm even the strongest swimmer. On average, 50 foreign tourists drown in Goa each year.

Travelers intent on avoiding mass tourism migrated farther up the coast, but inevitably the masses will follow. For now, the sleepy village of Arambol retains a bohemian ambience, and it’s still possible to stay in a rustic hut right on the beach. But more formal development is already taking hold, and it is only a matter of time before Arambol becomes just another resort.

One final northern outpost is unlikely to cede so easily. Guarding a river mouth at the state’s northernmost point is the Portuguese fortress of Terekhol, which has been converted into the seven-room Fort Tiracol Heritage Hotel. In this timeless bastion, complete with its own 18th-century chapel, the party beaches seem very distant.

Until relatively recently, the beautiful coast of south Goa lay undiscovered by foreign tourists. It was difficult to get to and had few facilities. That changed. High-end developers snapped up the best real estate and established 5-star resorts, each trying to outdo its rivals for sheer luxury and attentive service.

In Goa’s Dabolim International Airport, India’s inherent contradictions extend to the arriving passengers. The young partygoers, the unreformed hippies, the intrepid backpackers and the luxury vacationers momentarily converge before going their separate ways, heading for all parts of this remarkably diverse, constantly surprising corner of India.

Goa Info to Go

All flights arrive at Dabolim International Airport (GOI) in South Goa, 20 miles south of Panjim. There are no direct flights from the United States, but there are regular connections via major Indian cities and Arabian Gulf hubs such as Dubai and Doha, as well as seasonal service from many European cities. Alternatively, you can fly into Mumbai (BOM) and catch the sleeper train to Goa. The journey takes about 12 hours.

Where to Stay in Goa

Casa Britona Occupying a 300-year-old warehouse on a forested riverbank near Panjim, this 10-room boutique hotel is the ideal base for Goa’s natural and cultural attractions. 217 near Charmanos Badem, Central Goa $$

Pousada Tauma Beach House Pousada Tauma is an attractive 13-room boutique hotel near Calangute on the north coast. For the ultimate hideaway, rent the hotel’s private beachfront bungalow. Porba Vaddo, Calangate, North Goa $$$

Taj Exotica Goa Perhaps the most upmarket resort on the upmarket south coast, Taj Exotica features 140 guestrooms set within 56 acres of gardens facing an unspoiled beach. Benaulim, South Goa $$$$

Restaurants in Goa

Jalsa Vegetarian Restaurant Located in the 5-star Resort Rio in Baga, Jalsa is officially the best vegetarian restaurant in Goa, an award bestowed on it in 2012 by The Times of India Good Food Guide. Arpora, North Goa $$

Susegado There are plenty of beach shacks serving food on Goa’s beaches, but this is fine restaurant dining on the sand. Superb seafood. The Leela Goa, Cavelossim, South Goa $$$

The Upper House, Panjim Serving authentic Goan food in the center of Panjim, this is one of the best places to try the state’s most famous specialty, pork vindaloo. Opposite Municipal Garden, Panjim $$