Goa is all of 3,800sq. km. It’s a miniscule state, compared to the rest of the country. Perhaps its tiny size has as much to do with Goa have a rather unique flavour, as does its colourful history. Goa tourism holds the attraction of golden beaches and peaceful fishing villages that gives way to colourful markets filled with smiling people, and then to baroque churches, taverns, and shady winding streets, dotted with red-tile-roofed white villas, canopied in bright bougainvillea bushes. The distinct Mediterranean flavour in Goa is a heritage of over four centuries of Portuguese rule. Goa, a tiny emerald land on the west coast of India, the 25th State in the Union of States of India, was liberated from Portuguese rule in 1961. It was part of Union territory of Goa, Daman & Diu till 30 May 1987 when it was carved out to form a separate State.