Offbeat Monsoon Escapes are often a great way to see India’s biodiversity. Exploring India’s enchanting rain-soaked destinations must be on your monsoon travel itinerary.

As the monsoon rains quench the scorching summer heat, it is the best time to experience some unusual destinations in India that are off the tourist track. This is India at its unabashed best, throwing up secrets that you would never imagined would have existed. Here are some places that you must see:

Forest bioluminescence at Chorla Ghat, Goa

A forest that glows in the dark in Goa about 60 kilometres from Panjim may sound like someone is joking about Goa being lit as the state is much maligned for its party scene. However, this glow and light comes from the bioluminescent mushrooms, Mycena Genus Fungi that glows in the dark.

Trek to Kaas Pathar, popularly known as Maharashtra’s Valley of Flowers

Popularly known as Maharashtra’s Valley of Flowers, Satara, about 40 km from Mahabaleshwar is home to Kaas Plateau or Kaas Pathar that comes alive in a burst of colour in the monsoons. The area is a volcanic lateritic plateau that is situated 1200 meters above sea level spanning 1000 hectares.

Banswara, a small town about 100 km from Udaipur

A small town that is known as ‘the city of a hundred islands’, Banswara is home to the local Bhil tribals. Located 160 km from Udaipur, the town is named after the ‘bans’ or bamboo trees that once grew here. The adjoining forests are home to teak, mango, date and mahua trees are home to diverse wildlife.

Agumbe, in Karnataka is a serene village off the beaten track

The Cherrapunji of the South, Agumbe is a delight in the monsoon, as the mist envelopes its enchanting hills and surrounding forests. This is also when the ghats are a delight with waterfalls visible all around the hills as they cascade down Western Ghats. This is where the television series, ‘Malgudi Days’ was shot and the home where the scenes were filmed is a popular pit stop.

Read the full story that first appeared on the cover of the July 2023 issue of Spiceroute Magazine here: