Discover Oxel

When looking for a hotel in Oxel, it helps to consider the place’s specific points of reference. Our Lady of the Sea Church brings together a long parish history and a later church building; from the church, you can look across a valley towards the Arabian Sea. Other points of interest include the Chapora River, Waidoongar and seven heritage springs. These topics offer two different ways to approach your travel decision: history and religious buildings on the one hand, and landscape and water on the other. This can help you first decide which aspects of Oxel matter most for your trip.

Church and festival in Oxel

Our Lady of the Sea Church was built in 1661; the parish had already been established at least a few years earlier. The present church building was constructed in 1899. This makes it possible to distinguish between the parish history and the building’s history, rather than reducing both to a single date.

The feast of Our Lady of the Sea Church is celebrated every year on the second Sunday in May. Since the date is tied to a day of the week, it does not fall on the same calendar date every year. If you are planning your trip around the feast, check the specific date for the year in question.

Landscape and local points of reference

From the church, you can look across the valley towards the Arabian Sea. Oxel also has seven state-designated heritage springs, whose mineral-rich water is used for drinking and cooking. If you are looking at Oxel in terms of its natural features, you can distinguish between the view across the valley to the sea and the springs with their stated uses.

The Chapora River flows through Oxel, while Waidoongar is a hill on the eastern edge of the place. These describe two different spatial relationships: the river runs through the place, while the hill lies on its eastern side. Together with the valley view and the springs, they provide a geographical picture without any one feature having to represent all of Oxel.

A temple dedicated to Shri Dev Brahman is located in Oxel. The Devtali pond lies in front of the Brahman Dev Temple. This adds another religious site alongside the church and connects the pond to a specifically named building. The church and the temple are thus two separate named sites; Devtali is located by its position in front of the temple.

If you compare destinations mainly by their cultural points of reference, the construction dates, parish history and festival schedule offer specific points to consider. The landscape, by contrast, is represented by the valley view, river, hill and springs, each with different spatial relationships. On this basis, you can decide whether Oxel’s historical or geographical features suit your travel interests before looking for hotels in Oxel.

Discover more destinations: Mapusa, Arambol, Calangute, Ribandar, Candolim, Curca, Arpora, Mandrem.

For the broader travel overview: North Goa.