Agumbe in Shivamogga district receives an average rainfall of about 8000 mm and thus called “Cherrapunji of South India”.
For two years now, the peak monsoon rainfall here has been wavering in the range of 5,250 mm-5,500 mm, leading to Agumbe losing its crown to little-known towns in Udupi district.
- Agumbe feeds hundreds of water bodies that nurture scores of rivers originating in the Western Ghats.
- It comprises a large area of forests from Someshwara Wildlife Sanctuary, Kudremukh National Park, Kodachadri and Mookambika hill ranges.
- It is home to the world’s only natural habitat of the King Cobra.
- The view of the Sun setting into the Arabian Sea from Agumbe is not to be missed as it offers a clear line of sight of about 40 km.
- The world-famous herpetologist Romulus Whitaker has set up a tropical research station called the Agumbe Rainforest Research Station (ARRS) to study the endangered King Cobra species, which is also a major attraction.
- The famous TV serial ‘Malgudi Days’ was shot across these areas.