Mumbai · Story
The ruins of Bassein, an hour north of the city
A Portuguese capital that the jungle has been eating for three centuries. Inspired by "The Bassein Fort at Vasai" by Sudhagee.
An hour north of the city, the jungle has been quietly eating a Portuguese capital for three hundred years.
01Place in this storyVasai Fort (Bassein)The sprawling ruins of Portuguese Bacaim: churches, gates and ramparts slowly returned to greenery north of the city.Bacaim was once grand enough for cathedrals. Today the Matriz stands roofless, the Jesuit and Dominican churches are shells, and the floor of St. Anthony's is still paved with worn gravestones. Baobabs keep watch at the Sea Gate.
02Place in this storyMatriz Cathedral, Vasai FortThe Cathedral of Nossa Senhora da Vida, the principal church within Vasai Fort, now a roofless shell.04Place in this storyJesuit Church & Monastery, Vasai FortThe remains of the Jesuit church and monastery complex within Vasai Fort.06Place in this storySea Gate, Vasai FortThe sea-facing gate of Vasai Fort, flanked by huge baobab trees.Ruins are the most honest kind of monument — they never pretend the story ended well.
Getting there: the ruins sit about ten kilometres from Vasai railway station. Source: inspired by "The Bassein Fort at Vasai" by Sudhagee — https://sudhagee.com/2014/11/09/the-bassein-fort-at-vasai/