Between the village of Talaulim and the Ponda bypass lies a sixteenth century paved Portuguese road. It was built to link the former capital Govapuri with Old Goa. The presence of carefully positioned laterite blocks over a wide surface area along the three kilometre road suggests that it saw much traffic, particularly carriages and horses. Much of the road is now in a state of disrepair with the laterite blocks only visible in a few isolated places. Every few metres, small pieces of Ming dynasty pottery, encrusted in the earth, testify to this road's ancient commercial importance. There may have been a few shops along the way as the climb up the Kadamba plateau and the continuation on to Old Goa would have made for a rather tiring journey. Strewn pieces of broken and collapsed laterite blocks in certain places confirms the presence of some small edifices along the road.
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