Anjuna Beach

Anjuna is where Goa's counterculture began, and more than half a century later it still trades on that identity. Where most North Goa beaches are broad sweeps of pale sand, Anjuna is defined by its striking black laterite rock — dark volcanic formations, tide pools and low cliffs that fold down to the water and give the beach its unmistakable, slightly wild character. It was here, from the 1960s and '70s, that travelling hippies settled, held gatherings, and — when money ran short — began selling their belongings on the sand, seeding what would become one of Asia's most famous flea markets. In the 1980s the same coast became the cradle of Goa's electronic trance scene, and the cliffside clubs that made Anjuna a byword for nightlife still run today.

The result is a beach with two personalities. By day it's a laid-back sprawl of shacks, loungers and swimmers picking their way over rock, with operators offering parasailing and jet-skis. By night the cliffs above the shore come alive with music, sundowners and crowds. It is emphatically not the place for a quiet family swim — the sea here is often rough and the shoreline rocky — but for atmosphere, people-watching, shopping and sunsets, few Goa beaches compete.

For anyone weighing North Goa as a second-home base, Anjuna sits at the heart of the coast's most established stretch — minutes from Vagator and leafy Assagao, where Avacasa lists 22 homes across 3 developers. Most Goa homes are sold price-on-request; across the wider North Goa cluster, listed prices run to a median of about ₹3.6 crore.