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Usgalimal Petroglyphs

by | Oct 20, 2026

An ancient bull petroglyph carved into the laterite at Usgalimal, sand settled in its grooves, South Goa
An ancient bull petroglyph carved into the laterite at Usgalimal, sand settled in its grooves, South Goa

Where

Usgalimal, on the Kushavati River, South Goa

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Good to know

  • ASI-signposted, reached by about 1.5 km of unsealed track
  • The site lies in the bed of the Kushavati river — inaccessible and unsafe when the river runs high; never attempt it in spate or heavy rain
  • Please do not walk on the carvings
  • The figures show best with water drizzled into the grooves; a local often helps — tip him
An ancient bull petroglyph carved into the laterite at Usgalimal, sand settled in its grooves, South Goa
Close-up of the ancient carved grooves in the laterite rock at Usgalimal, South Goa

About Usgalimal Petroglyphs

Over 100 prehistoric rock carvings in a laterite riverbed on the Kushavati — bulls, deer, a dancing figure, a peacock, and concentric “triskelion” circles thought to be an early time-measure. Estimates of age range widely (thousands of years); discovered for archaeology only in 1993.

Why visit: possibly the oldest human artwork in Goa — unguarded, almost unvisited, and hiding in plain sight in a riverbed.

Photos: Nijgoykar — CC BY-SA 3.0 — via Wikimedia Commons.