This 236-YO Villa in Curtorim Is Goa’s Best-Kept Secret for Slow Travel |
The click of a Bakelite switch broke the silence.
It was a small, deliberate sound, the kind that instantly anchors you in another era. As the fan stirred above me, I realised I had entered a Goa far removed from beach shacks, loud playlists, and hurried itineraries. This was a Goa shaped by memory and habit. A Goa that lived in details, and invited you to notice them.
I had come looking for that version of the state. The one that survives in fading photographs and half-remembered family stories. The one my grandparents spoke about when they described village homes, slow afternoons, and conversations that unfolded without the pressure of time. That search led me away from the bustle of the north and deep into South Goa, where life follows a gentler rhythm and history still feels present in everyday corners.
Curtorim was exactly that kind of place. Green and expansive, it felt like a village that had learned to wait.
Curtorim lies around 30 km from Panaji, tucked into South Goa’s hinterland. Known for its lakes, fields, and long-standing agrarian traditions, the village carries a sense of continuity that is increasingly rare. The roads are shaded, the air feels cooler under the trees, and you begin to slow down even before you arrive.
It was here, amid dense greenery and calm waters, that I found Mansão Curtorim.
The 7,000 sq ft Portuguese-era villa sits beside a lake, its perimeter framed by giant old trees that have watched the village change across generations. The first view of the home felt almost like a pause. A whitewashed façade. Arched doorways. A red-tiled roof that looked as though it had settled comfortably into its surroundings.
Inside, the home revealed itself gradually. Antique four-poster beds. Patterned floor tiles worn smooth by time. Restored wooden furniture placed with care. And those original Bakelite switches, still doing their job with an old-world certainty.
I spent two days here, and in that time, the house gently reset my pace. If you are searching for a Goa that speaks softly and steadily, Mansão Curtorim offers a way in.
Mansão Curtorim has stood for nearly two and a half centuries. For generations, it belonged to the Costa family, who lived here until the home gradually fell silent. After remaining unused for close to 50 years, the mansion entered a new phase in 2006, when Bennita and Ganesh........