Discover the Traditional Goan Mapusa Friday Market

If you happen to ask any frequent traveler about where to find the real essence of a new city, they will answer you in two simple words ‘market place’. It holds the odds and ends of every city and its secret to customs and traditions. When it’s about exploring the core of Goa cities, then Mapusa Friday Market tops the list.

You will come across a wide variety of items and every inch of this market is completely packed with sellers. They set up regular stalls with various items to sell, some of them even set up stalls with temporary boards. Apart from the regular sellers, you will also come across lottery vegetables, some dried fish, vegetables and other items. There are also interesting places to find Moira banana, Chikkus, mangoes, cabbage, pumpkins depending on seasons. In addition to these items, you will also come across some bakery sections baking fresh bread and Spice Street selling numerous spices.

What to shop in the Mapusa Friday Market?

It’s often a tough decision to make when you are visiting a market place. Visiting the Mapusa Friday market will be incomplete if you haven’t explored every nook and corner of this place. This market has a huge collection of items, and you will be able to get freshly grown fruits to sausages and pottery. However, the specialty of this market starts with spices, strings of Goan home-made chorizo, varieties of nuts, marinated pork, fenny stores, etc. Apart from these items, you will also come across seedless items, vegetables, pickles, cloths, cakes, fresh flowers, jewelry, home-made wines, and much more.

There won’t be any problem in finding the stores because the items are groped accordingly, and you will easily find the clustered stalls. The dried fish market is another very famous attraction of this market and you must buy some of the fresh fishes as well as dried fishes from the market. Along with numerous fishes, you will also find many antiques items and souvenirs that you can take back home.

This market is very famous not just among the tourists but also among the local natives. Mapusa has a very different vibe from any other, Anjuna beach retains the hippie vibe, but Mapusa stands out of this beach because of its Friday market.

What is the best time to visit Mapusa Friday Market?

The shops in Mapusa Friday market opens sharp around 9 am and remain in action until the sunset. This glorious market is open the entire week, but the best day to visit the market is on Friday.

The peak season is a best time to shop in the Mapusa Friday Market, the season when gypsies from Gujarat and Rajasthan enter the market to sell hand-made bags, funky jewelry, shawl, and many other colorful items.

Things to Do in Mapusa Friday Market

• Keep an eye on fresh food products because you will find ample and fresh of them. You will be able to get your hands on pickles, Goan Chorizo, marinated pork and many other items that are specialty of Mapusa Friday Market.

• You will be able to relish the famous Goan desserts like dodol, bebinca, seedless tamarind, cashew nuts, etc.

• Another specialty of this market is the fresh fishes, you will get the fishes in dried form as well, some fishes are only available in Goa and you will not be able to find it anywhere outside Goa.

• Apart from the fishes and other dried items, you will be able to bargain for hand-woven kunbi sarees, pottery, towels, and various antique items.

• This might interest you a little more than the usual items, this market also has a 90-something old seller from who you will be able to hear the stories of ancient times and her love life.

Note: If only she is alive by the time you reach.

• When you are tired after shopping in the entire market and want to stretch a leg, eat and relax, then visit a bar that overlooks a pub called ‘The Pub’. Remember to not take a u-turn from the entrance, because the place is buzzing once you are settled in this place.

• It’s a good place to just chill around and watch the busy market move as you sit and enjoy a chilled beer with snacks.

• After you have successfully got your heart filled with Mapusa market vibe and your shopping bag filled with interesting items, head to the street side of Alankar Movie Theatre.

• This entire street is lit up after sunset and you will enjoy various snack items, they serve some of the best tandoori, Goan delicacies, Chinese, fresh juices, and milkshakes. The portions they serve are good at an affordable price range.

Reaching Mapusa Friday Market

To you a fair example of traveling to Mapusa, let’s pick out Mumbai. When traveling from Mumbai to Goa, the nearest station to Mapusa will be Kadamba Bus Stand. You will find a lot of bus service available from the bus stand that connects to major cities of Goa.

Here are some of the traveling details to the Mapusa:

From Anjuna: INR 15 - 30 minutes

Candolim: INR 20 - 35 minutes

Calangute: INR 15 - 30 minutes

Panaji: INR 30 - 30 minutes

Arambol: INR 40 - one hour

Thivim: INR 15 - 20 minutes

Taxi

You will find many taxi stands, the cabs might get a little expensive but you will have to compromise a bit over privacy and comfort. Here are some details about the places and estimate budget.

Cabs from Anjuna or Calangute cost INR 300
Panaji INR 350
Candolim INR 400
Arambol INR 700
Margao INR 1,100
Dabolim Airport INR 1,150

An auto-rickshaw from Anjuna or Calangute should cost INR 200.

Train

Thivim is around 12km (7.4 miles) away from the northeast of town, it is considered as the nearest train station on the Konkan Railway. An easy way to travel can be an auto-rickshaw to or from Thivim station with only INR 250 for a round trip.

These will help you get to Mapusa Friday Market easily and without any hassle. Don’t forget to carry your camera to click some interesting spots and stuff in the market.