Fireflies at Night

Every year, for three weeks in June, verdant valleys across Maharashtra become the mating grounds for swarms of fireflies. Before the swell of the monsoon, millions of these tiny winged beetles, also known as lightning bugs, find themselves a spot on a tree to do the deed. For the past three years, Grassroutes, a Mumbai-based company that organises eco tours and treks across villages in Maharashtra, has been taking people to Purushwadi to see the fireflies in action.

In Purushwadi, located 220kms away from Mumbai in the Western Ghats, you get to experience not only the magical sight of the fireflies but also a slice of village life. You eat meals cooked by the villagers,  and you can either stay at their homes or camp out in the fields at night in tents put up by Grassroutes. During the day, activities include trekking or ploughing through the village fields and if you’re up for it, milking the goats. Come nightfall, a seemingly innumerable amount of the insects simultaneously glow in the dark, giving the impression of rice lights garlanded on forest trees. It’s a surreal view of nature at its most magnificent, one that you can spend hours taking in.

The weekend trip is priced at Rs2,500 per person and includes the cost of travel, food and accommodation. A weekday visit cost Rs1,300 per person, but you will have to arrange for your own transport. As a bonus, 60 per cent of the registration fee is given to the villagers by way of rent for setting up camp on their fields and as a fee for serving as guides and providing food. The next batch will leave on Friday, June 10. To register, call Vijay Khanna on 98201 28208 or Darren Lobo on 81081 33016. See here for more details.