Amboli

Amboli sits at about 690 metres at the top of a ghat in the southern Western Ghats and receives several thousand millimetres of rain a year, among the highest totals in India, which fills the escarpment with waterfalls through the monsoon and keeps the forest permanently damp. That wetness has made it one of the most productive places in the country for herpetology: a series of frogs, snakes, geckos and caecilians new to science have been described from here in recent decades, including a bush frog and a shieldtail snake named after the village. Night walks with local naturalists are the way to see them.

What you actually see

• The monsoon waterfalls - the escarpment running with water from June.
• The endemic amphibians - frogs and reptiles found only in these hills.
• The night walks - guided searches for the herpetofauna after dark.
• The ghat viewpoints - the drop toward the Konkan from the top.

When to go

June to October for the rain and the frogs, which breed then; October to February is drier and better for walking. The monsoon is genuinely extreme, with visibility often near zero.

Honest expectations

Monsoon here means constant heavy rain, leeches and fog, not showers. Accommodation is basic. Amphibian sightings need a knowledgeable local guide; handling animals is harmful and discouraged.

Nearby

Sawantwadi lies west; Goa is south.