BAT ISLAND / GRANDE ISLAND GOA

BAT ISLAND / GRANDE ISLAND

Lonely yet an exciting place to visit. The bat island also known as the Grande Island or the Pequeno Island offers you with beautiful beaches and scenery. This island is mainly meant for adventure seekers, fun lovers, nature lovers and photo fanatics. This beautiful island is located off the shores of vasco-da-Gama. 

Clean pleasant water and a good underwater visibility make Grande island a perfect destination for snorkeling. It is very famous for snorkeling in the whole of Goa. The island is surrounded by varied coral reef and while snorkeling you will encounter fishes like parrot fish, angel fish, sea cucumbers, squirrel fish, butterfly fish, groupers, snappers, trigger fish, lobsters, sea urchins and if you are lucky you may even get to see hawksbill turtles and even dolphins.

There are many other attention-grabbing things on this island. Firstly, there is this big lighthouse right on top of the island which grabs the attention of almost all. The adventurous journey up to the top is very thrilling, I’m sure you wouldn’t want to miss it. While you go on top you’ll find many broken houses as the Indian naval officers used to stay here years back and the island belongs to the navy. There is a helipad on top of the island and many more things to see. 

When you reach on the island you will see a broken shipwreck, people now use it for diving and fishing from over it.
 There are two big crosses on the island both on two separate beaches. There is also one temple; this signifies the devotional side of the island.

HOW TO REACH TO THE ISLAND

If you want to visit the island then you can ask your tour operators to make arrangements for you. If you are in Goa all by yourself then you can hire a boat from any of the northern beaches e.g. baga, palolem,  to take you there. They provide you with the whole snorkeling kit so you don’t have to carry one, they also provide you with life jackets to ensure your safety. If you are new to this kind of water sport then they even train you. If you go from the northern beaches then you’ll get a chance to see dolphins at no extra cost. But if you want to save both time and money, then hiring a boat from vasco is the best option for you.

If you want to enjoy the adventure side of the island then you can drop by on any ordinary day thus you get a private little beach of your own.

But if you want to see the devotional side of the island then you should visit the place on the day of the tulsi vivah. This island floods with people on the occasion of tulsi vivah. A big celebration takes place on the island. The Hindus celebrate the tulsi puja and the Christians offer litany to the cross simultaneously, after which they exchange sugarcane and puffed rice and grams with each other this shows the love and unity among the two religions.

It is a very interesting and an exciting place to visit. I feel every person should visit this place at least ones. I’m sure, you’ll love it.