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Goa became famous in the 60’s and 70’s, when Hippies from all around the world discovered this smallest state of India to live a carefree life of love, peace and happiness here.
2 decades later in the early and mid 90’s – Goa Trance Techno Parties were invented here and with the help of Paul Oakenfold and other DJ’s, who went on a spree around the globe, they were introduced and became popular to a world-wide audience.
Over the last couple of years, Goa lost some of its appeal to the Trance crowds, as local police and competing local and Russian Mafia tried to cash in on its success; making official parties more and more difficult. Drugs and other crimes in broad daylight spiralled almost out of hand as a result.
These days there is a ban in place for all parties past 10pm, which obviously makes the whole concept obsolete. Over Christmas and New Year there was a ban on all parties on beaches in the tourist belt in Goa, with only a few exceptions – notably the Sunburn Festival event at Candolim beach – a Ravers magnet for the last few years, this year merely a shadow of itself.
This year the 3-day Sunburn Festival was even interrupted 2 times for hours at a time and risked immediate closure; due to conflicts with local authorities over permits and fees paid to whomever. With all this uncertainty ongoing, ticket sales plummeted and probably only a few hundred Ravers visited the event, compared to a crowd of thousands just a year back.
Where?
Then there is the unofficial Trance and Psych Trance center of Goa – Anjuna. Here is where the parties got started a few years back and where still most part of the action is. Although most of it is taking place unofficially and unannounced, only communicated by word of mouth and on short notice.
In two Beach shacks in South Anjuna, namely Curlies and Shiva Valley, you can party almost every day around sunset, when suddenly the chill-out tunes change to more trancy music, the volume is increased and strange plants are smoked openly all around you. More crowds and better atmosphere is usually on the weekends, especially on Saturday evening. Rarely you’ll see a Cop getting lost to this end of Anjuna, trying to enforce the strict 10pm rules. Also with fewer guest houses around here, there are probably less complaints of citizens and other inhabitants of the area.
The hills around Anjuna Beach and Vagator are the scene for most happenings, with the Hilltop Parties in Anjuna one of the rare fixtures of the scene. The organization is still top-notch, with printed tickets, Q-lines, colorful-lighted trees, top DJ’s, reasonable entrance fees and drink prices, helpers to collect the garbage and local vendors for all legal and illegal needs on the sidelines.
Here you can still join a trance party for 50 Rupees, which even includes a large bottle of mineral water. That’s a far cry from rip-off artists like Club Tito’s in Baga, who charge 500 Rupees for cover charge alone, without any drinks included for some mediocre R&B and disco tunes.
This place is now mainly frequented by rich Mumbai’ers, who throw around their money for overpriced cocktails; also the male-to-female ratio is something around 5:1 in Tito’s.
Other localities for interested Ravers in Anjuna are Westend, Banyan Tree and Prim Rose, but I found the Hilltop parties to be the most thrilling.
When?
Currently most larger Rave and Trance Parties @ Hilltop oddly take place on Sundays. This is probably due to the fact, that mostly the Police enjoys their weekend at home with their families and rarely somebody checks up on parties or flags down bike riders in search for a cheap bribe. Still the parties are as good as a Techno Party can get. They start already around 3pm, with crowds flowing in around sunset.
What?
Besides great music from local and sometimes international DJ’s, the whole scene is surreal. Surrounding trees are painted with fluorescent colors, with black light bulbs above them, so later at night everything is shining in bright colors of the whole rainbow.
Psychedelic paintings are hanging in the trees, featuring Aliens, Spaceships, Mushrooms, Indian Deities and other religious motives among Peace, Freedom, One World, Unity and other Raver messages.
Body or Face paintings are applied and especially before sunset the whole scene has more the appeal of a family picnic, with children running around and patrons mainly standing in front of the stage, slowly moving more like swaying trees in the wind.
The people are the most interesting bunch, very diverse from old sixty-year-old Hippies, over teenage ravers to whole families, classmates or tour groups to single-mothers with kids.
Firedancers entertain the crowds who don’t like to dance but love to enjoy a good show. After sunset the whole scene gets more lively and up to a 1.000 people are dancing to the same tunes.
Want to dance the night away yourself?
The next Hilltop Party is on 25/01/2008 with DJ Nigel. Maybe we’ll bump into each other… 
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Last Sunday, I shot some Pictures and a few short Videos over @ Hilltop. So if you are interested, check out those examples over here at Flickr for a small dose of Goan sounds and sights.
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Hello! I appreciate your site lots of great info about the land of my...
You’re absolutely correct about Tito’s… way, way, way overpriced! And not very, ahem, lively. Although this past year, some of this can be blamed on the area’s response to the Mumbai attacks.
Found this article about arrests for illegal organizing of Rave parties at Mandrem and Morjim. It says that things are moving further North to more isolated spots now, after Anjuna and Vagator are more under police scrutiny. Let’s see tomorrow….
doesn’t look as fun as the full moon party but i hope to get to it one day….goa that is…
It was actually quite good. The first picture above shows the place only before sunset. The real action was a bit later, but my small click-n-shoot camera doesn’t make too good pictures in the dark.
hey….
ll be goin to goa around d end of the month….vent been around much….n being an indian not having gone to goa is shameful….finally ve found tym so i really wanna make d best of it….
ne hilltop parties end feb????
thanks a tonne!!
Aashu, should still be on! Just try it out Sunday evening close to sunset. Maybe we’ll bump into each other…
yea…ll be at anjuna,probably….ll be riding down wid a frnd….these re all nyt parties ryt????
i guess the partytimes are over. i’ve never been in goa, but i was in manali ‘98 and ‘08. worlds apart!
‘98 there were lots of great parties. entrance fee? not existent. there was a box in the middle of the dancefloor for donations, that was it.
‘08… no party. i heard of some parties afterwards, but there was no scene around to spread the word.
times are changing… made me a bit sad, but i can accept it. if there are good parties, they are not in india anymore… or at least you have to search a lot to find them.
anyway, india has sooo much to offer. to go there only for party would be a shame.
wat do u xpect outta a student doin law….this s d only escape n wel yea hopefully within d budget….
Lars, you are probably right. The party scene moved already on to other shores, although there are still some small pockets of resistance in Goa. Plenty of locals (Mumbaiers and from Delhi) still come to Goa to party, but most of that takes place in Tito’s and at the beaches and is far from what you or I would describe as a Trance party. Though it pays to look and ask around a bit and yeah, there are still some available.
Aashu, yep – the Hilltop parties are still all night.
have been living in Delhi for one and half year and looking for some rave scene, but the result is 0. and the same in goa every time go to anjuna for weekend nothing happens. may be just unluck. any idea when some next rave s planned near anjuna???
chris: just read your second name, sounds pretty czech…
jitka, there are always parties ongoing at Hilltop, WestEnd and other places, but it’s hard to plan in advance. Your best bet is when you’re here, just ask around and you will most likely find a place where things are still happening.
Yep. the name sounds czech, the name is actually not that uncommon in Germany. Some heritage from my grandfather, who was from a big town what is today’s Poland (formerly German Waldenburg, now Walbrzych near the czech border). My grandfather even used to drive the old 60’s Skoda Octavia car back in East Germany until the late 80’s; which was really a gem of a car, the shape, the sound, the reliability.
Chris: yeah pack and go is probably the best way, getting mad from delhi, but now it s time for rave parties to shift to himalayas i guess
what you mean by hilltop, never heard
actually skoda cars are quite popular here, skoda has a factory in aurangabad and makes octavia and fabia for indian market, but octavia calls laura here, i saw some also in goa when was there last november
so do not you miss europe???
jitka, Hilltop is the place in Anjuna where there are most of the Trance parties these days in Goa. That’s where I shot the pictures for the article above.
No I don’t miss Europe, especially not the winters.
Only miss my family but see them at least once a year, either somewhere in Asia or I go on a short trip back home.
hmm i miss especially winters, last weekend was skiing in Himalayas Gulmarg, sun and beach is perfect but can become boring little bit… anyway everything s better than delhi…
btw check this, looks like gud stuff : http://www.goatrance.de/goabase/party/details/43192
I freeze already just thinking of winters! Thanks for the link, will check it out.
HI
Im gonna be in goa the next week saturday through tuesday
Could you guys let me know where the raves are happening at the time?
Thanks
Dull Boy, thought I mentioned most of the known places in the article. For others, you would have to ask around in Anjuna/Vagator. Most are happening on short notice.
Thanks Chris…
ive kept the names in mind..
but even if something were to pop up on short notice, whom or where would I be able to inquire?
Dull Boy, you have to ask other travelers in restaurants, beach shacks or elsewhere. Most of these parties are advertised by word of mouth only. Only some have flyers pinned on trees, black boards of shopping marts or around Anjuna/Vagator.
Wow, I am fully thrilled by the artistic beauty that Goa has in offering. Trance parties at its best.
chris, heard the cancelled shanti jatra’s crew is organising a party in hilltop for 3 nights from oct 7 09. Is it true?
btw aint it better to keep the non rave crowd away from the parties rather than sending them there just to quench their curiosity on raves???
vagatore beats, that can well be, but I can’t comment on it first hand; as I left India in May 2009 already. After a short stint to visit my family back in Germany, I live already the last half year in the Philippines. Hope that Goa will still be in full swing soon, as the rainy season should come to an end in a few weeks.
Hi would like to know if there would be any parties or exciting events in GOA between Jan 16, 2010 – Jan 24, 2010. coz i have a trip planned around that time. it would be great if some one could share some information on this. Thanks in advance….
Best rave parties in the world are in Australia. There are the big ones with Government permission oround Melbourne in the Southern summer; or the ‘Bush Doofs’ out in the forest behind Byron Bay most of the year but peaking about once a week in January.
These guys just haul everything in to a forest and put the word out in Byron Bay and Nimbin. 1000+ people, huge sound, worldwide DJ’s, every party substance known to man and virtually no scams violence or busts.
Hello everyone, same as every one coming from lebanon for nice parties in FEB 2010 in any would love to know. Boom.
hey ppl..parties hapnin at curlies: thu n sat..starts at 4p.m ..hill top:sat n sun ..shiva valley: tue ..
Letz all party 2gether..
any parties from the 8th to 15th? please let me know as i will be planning my next trip around that time. thank you (:
wht about 29th to 3rd… curlies n shiva wld def b blowing it everynight…i wanna the scene at morgim further up north….also not so far away…gokanna wld also b exploding…heard tht for the past few yrs gokanna has been rippin the scene
Any parties b/w 23rd to 30th Jan,Please post as i am planning my trip over tht period.
Hey guys heading this weekend to Goa…..U ppl got any ideas of any already happening parties??
Seems the party scene is not very organized or lively anymore in Goa. Oh well!
well i recently returned from goa.. parties happening!! tue at shiva valley, sat-sunday hilltop which i think is not the same as before.. there was a party at aswem last thursday at blue wave shack which was pretty good. 26 hours straight.. there is a 3 day festival “chakra-view” from the 5th-7th feb somewhere in agonda, near butterly beach in a forest. so keep ur eyes open for that. until next time….. booooooooooom
Goa 2010
I have discovered this page in the web accidently.
If anybody ever intends to come to goa for trance parties pls be aware that those small events what they call parties like curlies shiva valley and hilltop, westend are not safe places. What i mean is that if u intend to smoke chillum in the party and to enjoy yourself with other things pls be carefull sinc this events are continuesly observed. Pls be carefull of your belongings too!
Indian male tourist frequent this places ONLY for foreign girls. It means be aware.
They dont come to enjoy the music or the party they only come with one aim in their head. There are some few exceptions.
They see soo much naked skin and they go crazy! Their mentallity is very different and sick!
If u intend to come to goa to enjoy yourself in parties, then wait until u ll get to know about some sudden parties happening around. mostly this kind of parties happen now a days in Morjim or Arambol. Those parties are safer and at the end more fun with only some minority of indian tourists.
I am a foreign girl living in Goa and married to a local for 10 years now.
will be there in goa frm feb 19th.. any trance parties at anjuna ??