In 2006, the tower was climbed by Alain Robert, a solo urban climber, who was sponsored by Optimus Telecommunications (a Portuguese mobile phone company) as part of a mobile marketing campaign. Instead, it was used for one-off events, like the world premiere of the new Mini car in 2001.īoth the observation deck and the restaurant were closed in October 2004. The base of the building was to be leased for office space after the closing of the Expo, but never found tenants. While they were open, the tower was the tallest structure in Portugal open to the public (excluding bridges). At the base of the tower was a three-story building that served as the European Union Pavilion during the Expo. Like all towns and cities in Goa, Vasco also celebrates the Shigmo and Carnival annually with a street parade where floats from all over Goa participate.The tower was built in 1998 for the Expo '98 World's Fair. Vasco is also famous for the annual Shri Damodar Bhajani Saptah fair held in Shravan month of Hindu lunar calender preceding the festival of Raksha Bandhan. The town is also home to several English bands from Goa namely, Lynx, Heaven's Touch, and Kollectiv Soul. The people from Vasco love fun and music, so it is a matter of fact that Goa's premier musical group, Diamond Orchestra hails from Vasco.
It profiles the evolution and history of Indian naval aviation through aircraft exhibits and rare photographs. However the Naval Aviation Museum nearby the city center is a popular tourist spot and is the only such museum in India. Andrews Church located at the entrance of the city. Khollant (Issorcim) and Baina are two smaller beaches around Vasco.Īpart from the nearby beaches, the city of Vasco is bereft of any major tourist attractions, the salient monument being the 400-year old St.
This beach is quite risky as it has underwater currents and is therefore usually monitored by lifeguards. The Mormugao Port Trust which operates the port is the largest employer in the Vasco region and has a complete mini-township in Headland Sada which includes schools, residential complexes and amenities for employees of the Port.Bogmalo Beach is 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) from Vasco. There are numerous shipping and freight forwarding agents as well as offices of major mining companies based in the city. The port has berthing facilities for large cruise liners as well as a floating dry dock. This includes massive bucket wheel loaders and miles of conveyor belts. Ore which is collected on the port is handled by state-of-the-art machinery called MOHP (Mechanical Ore Handling Plant). Manganese ore mined in interior regions is brought to Marmugoa by barges navigating the rivers Mandovi and Zuari, and then either collected in the Mormugao Port to be loaded onto bulk carrier ships or directly loaded onto the ships using trans-shippers. Vasco is heavily reliant on the port for most of its economic activity. There have been aborted attempts in the past to change the name of the city to Sambhajinagar.Vasco city is well connected by road, rail, sea and air by road by the NH 17A (National Highway), by rail by the South Western Railway, by the sea through the Mormugao Harbour and by air through Dabolim Airport, thus serving as the main hub for most tourists visiting the state of Goa. The Indian Navy's Goa Naval Area (base) is located at Vasco from which it controls Dabolim airport and, in effect, the entire tourism-dependent state of Goa. The place was founded in 1543, and remained in Portuguese hands until 1961, when Goa was annexed to India. The town lies on the western tip of the Mormugao peninsula, at the mouth of the Zuari River, about 30 kilometres (19 mi) from Panaji (Panjim), Goa's capital, and about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) from the Dabolim Airport (GOI).It is the only city in goa which has airport ,seaport ,railway statiostand It is also the headquarters of the Mormugao taluka.
Vasco has Goa's largest population, estimated at over 100,000. It is named after the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama. Vasco da Gama (Konkani: वास्को Vasko, pronounced ) (often shortened to Vasco) is a small city in the state of Goa on the west coast of India.