Introduction
Netravali is the Goa that does not appear in the airline advertisements. No beach, no shacks, no sunset playlist. What you get instead is 211 square kilometres of moist deciduous and semi-evergreen forest in Sanguem taluka, two waterfalls at opposite ends of the effort scale, and a pond that bubbles when you clap at it.
The Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary trek is really three separate outings that most people stitch into one day. Savri Falls is a short, steep descent that a reasonably fit family can do. Mainapi Falls is a proper 5 km forest walk each way. Budbudyanchi Tali is a five-minute stroll from a parked car. Knowing which is which before you arrive saves you the disappointment of driving 50 km from Margao and finding out you have three hours of walking ahead of you in flip-flops.
This guide covers what the Goa Forest Department publishes, what the tourism department publishes, and where the two go quiet.
Table of Contents
- Quick Overview
- Where Netravali Is
- The Three Trails
- Permits & Booking
- How to Reach from Mumbai
- How to Reach from Pune
- Itinerary Options
- The Monsoon Question and the Leech Problem
- Accommodation
- Food
- Nearby Attractions
- Budget Breakdown
- Practical Tips
- Safety Tips
- Common Mistakes
- Best Time to Visit
- FAQ
- Conclusion
- Sources
Quick Overview
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Location | Netravali, Sanguem taluka, South Goa |
| Area | 211.05 sq km (Goa Forest Department) |
| Boundaries | Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary to the east, Bhagwan Mahaveer Wildlife Sanctuary to the north |
| Forest type | Predominantly moist deciduous with semi-evergreen patches in the valleys |
| Notable fauna | Leopard, Indian giant squirrel, mouse deer, Nilgiri wood pigeon, Sri Lanka frogmouth |
| Distance from Margao | About 50 km |
| Distance from Panaji | About 80 km |
| Best season | October to March (Forest Department); October to January for the falls specifically |
| Managing office | Dy. Conservator of Forests, Wildlife & Eco-tourism (South), Margao — 0832-2756980 |
The high hill areas inside the sanctuary have natural grassy patches, which is why the herbivore population here is healthy and why the leopard population has something to eat. You will not see a leopard. You have a decent chance of seeing a giant squirrel, and if you know the call, a very good chance of hearing a Sri Lanka frogmouth at dusk.
Where Netravali Is
Sanguem taluka, South Goa, in the far interior against the Karnataka border. It is the southernmost of Goa's big protected areas along with Cotigao, and it forms part of a continuous protected belt with Bhagwan Mahaveer Sanctuary to the north.
Do not confuse Netravali the village with Netravali the sanctuary. The village is where the bubbling lake and the Gopinath temple are. The sanctuary trails start from separate points. Savri Falls is also called Neturlem or Netravali Falls, which is the single most common source of navigation confusion here. Set your map to the specific waterfall name, not to "Netravali".
The nearest towns of any size are Sanguem and Curchorem. Margao is the nearest place with a railway station worth using.
The Three Trails
Savri Falls (Neturlem Falls)
The accessible one. From the parking and entry point it is roughly a 1 km walk plus around 250 steps down to the falls. Reported times are about 15 minutes down through the steps and about 30 minutes back up. The climb back is the part people underestimate; those steps are uneven, wet and mossy at the edges, and there is no handrail on the whole descent.
The falls drop into a pool that is swimmable in the dry months. A forest officer is stationed at the falls.
Do this one if you have children, older parents, or two hours.
Mainapi Falls
The real walk. Roughly 5 km one way through the forest, generally reported as 2 to 3 hours to reach and 1 to 2 hours back. The gradient is not brutal but it is sustained, and the trail crosses streams. Last entry towards Mainapi is reported as 2 pm, which is the Forest Department's way of making sure nobody is still on the trail at dusk.
The forest along the Mainapi trail is the best of the sanctuary. Semi-evergreen valley sections, big trees, a lot of birdsong, and almost nobody else on the path on a weekday.
A forest officer is posted at the falls here too.
Budget a full half-day for Mainapi. Do not stack it with Savri on the same morning unless you start at 8 am sharp.
Budbudyanchi Tali (the bubbling lake)
Barely a walk. A short stroll from where you park, in Netravali village itself, in front of the Gopinath temple.
It is not really a lake. GTDC's own description calls it more of a pond, with granite steps leading down to it and a large granite pedestal in the middle. Bubbles rise continuously to the surface at several points, and GTDC notes that they appear to respond to sound and rise faster if you clap. Whether that is gas dynamics or acoustics or coincidence, it is genuinely odd to watch, and it takes ten minutes.
The site has religious significance for local residents, tied to the pond and the adjacent Gopinath temple. Behave accordingly. Shoes off where indicated, no swimming, no drone.
Which needs a guide? The Forest Department stations officers at both waterfalls and the GFDC runs guided nature safaris and nature trails in the sanctuary. For Savri and the bubbling lake, a guide is not the practical requirement. For Mainapi, take one. The trail branches, the stream crossings shift with the season, and there is no network. I could not find a Goa Forest Department page that states a formal compulsory-guide rule for any specific Netravali trail, so ask at the gate rather than assuming. The GFDC nature safari programme is the official guided option and it is bookable through the same South Goa wildlife office.
Permits & Booking
Short version: you register and pay at the gate, in cash, on the day. There is no elaborate online system for Netravali the way there now is for Dudhsagar.
Gate registration. You enter your details at the forest check post at the entry point. Carry photo ID. Vehicles are logged separately from people.
Timings. Widely reported sanctuary timings are 8 am to 4 pm, with last entry towards Mainapi Falls at 2 pm. These timings appear consistently across travel sources but I could not verify them on an official Goa Forest Department page, so confirm on the phone before you drive 50 km from Margao.
Entry fee. This is where I have to be straight with you. Commonly quoted rates are:
- Rs 100 per adult
- Rs 30 per child or student, student ID mandatory
- Rs 50 for a two-wheeler or three-wheeler
- Rs 100 for a four-wheeler
- Additional charges for cameras
None of these figures appear on forest.goa.gov.in or goa-tourism.com. They come from travel sites. The Goa Forest Department's own Netravali page lists the sanctuary's area, flora and fauna, rest house booking contact and eco-tourism enquiry contact, and no tariff. A general Goa eco-tourism reference mentions much lower legacy rates of Rs 10 per adult, Rs 5 per child and Rs 3 per student for certain areas, which suggests the fee schedule has been revised at some point without a public notification being posted online.
So: carry Rs 500 to Rs 800 in cash per couple, expect the counter rate to be the rate, and take the receipt. Anyone who tells you the exact 2026 Netravali entry fee to the rupee is guessing.
Who to call before you go.
- Dy. Conservator of Forests, Wildlife & Eco-tourism (South), Forest Complex, Margao 403601 — 0832-2756980, [email protected]
- Dy. Conservator of Forests (South Goa), Margao, for Forest Rest House booking — 0832-2756309
Both numbers are published on the Goa Forest Department's Netravali page. Use them. A two-minute call tells you whether the trails are open that week.
Closures happen without warning. Goa's government has imposed blanket bans on waterfall trails and trekking activity in the past following drowning incidents, including a statewide ban on entry to waterfalls and water bodies reported by O Heraldo after two people drowned at Mainapi Falls at Netravali. Those orders come and go. Check.
How to Reach from Mumbai
By train, which is the right answer. Konkan Railway from Mumbai to Madgaon. CSMT, LTT and Panvel all have services depending on the day; the Konkan line runs 756 km from Roha to Thokur and Madgaon is the principal Goa halt. Overnight is the norm.
From Madgaon it is roughly 50 km by road to Netravali. Taxi or a hired car with driver, about an hour and a half on interior roads that get narrow past Curchorem. Kadamba Transport Corporation buses run to Sanguem; onward to Netravali village you are looking at a local bus or an auto, and the frequency is not friendly. If you are doing Netravali without your own vehicle, hire a car for the day from Margao. Public transport to the trailheads is theoretically possible and practically a waste of your holiday.
By air. Mumbai to Dabolim (GOI) is the closer of Goa's two airports for the south. Mopa (GOX) in the north adds well over an hour of driving.
By road. Mumbai to Margao on NH-66 is a twelve-hour day when the road behaves. Overnight sleeper buses run from Mumbai to Margao every evening.
How to Reach from Pune
By road, which is the right answer here. Pune to Netravali via Kolhapur and Amboli, or via NH-4 to Belagavi and then across, is roughly 470 to 500 km depending on which pass you take. It is a long day but a good one, and having your own vehicle at the Netravali end changes the trip completely.
The Belagavi approach is worth thinking about. Netravali sits close to the Karnataka border, and coming in from the east via Chorla or Anmod puts you in the Ghats for the last two hours rather than crossing all of Goa.
By train. Pune to Madgaon or Pune to Vasco da Gama, via Miraj and Londa. Then a car from Madgaon as above.
By air. Pune to Dabolim direct, about an hour and a quarter, most days. Then a hired car south.
Itinerary Options
Option A — The half day. Budbudyanchi Tali first thing, Savri Falls after. Back in Margao for lunch. This is the version for people who are otherwise on a beach holiday and want one interior morning.
Option B — The full day (my pick). Reach the gate at 8 am. Mainapi Falls trek, out and back, finishing early afternoon. Late lunch. Savri Falls in the late afternoon when the light is good. Budbudyanchi Tali on the drive out. Long day, three completely different experiences.
Option C — Two days with Dudhsagar and Tambdi Surla. Day 1: Dudhsagar from Collem in the morning, Tambdi Surla in the afternoon, night at Molem or Sanguem. Day 2: Netravali. This is the proper interior Goa trip. See the Dudhsagar waterfall trek guide and the Tambdi Surla temple and waterfall trek guide.
The Monsoon Question and the Leech Problem
Goa's monsoon typically arrives in the first ten days of June and does not let go until late September.
Netravali in monsoon is spectacular and largely off-limits. The falls are at their most violent, which is exactly why access gets restricted. Underneath-the-falls access is closed when flow is high. The Mainapi trail turns to mud and the stream crossings become genuinely dangerous. Forest activity across Goa gets suspended on IMD red and orange alert days.
And there are leeches. Not a few. A lot.
Specific leech precautions for the Netravali trails:
- Leech socks are the only thing that properly works. Knee-length, tight weave, worn over your trousers and tied off below the knee. Buy them before you leave Mumbai or Pune. Nobody in Sanguem sells them.
- Tape the ankle join. Trousers into socks, then a wrap of masking tape or duct tape around the join. Two minutes, and it stops the commonest entry route.
- Tobacco and lime paste on the outside of shoes and lower socks. Reapply after every stream crossing on the Mainapi trail, because there are several and the paste washes off.
- Do not sit down on wet leaf litter. That is where they are, in numbers, waiting. Stand on rock at halts.
- Check at every halt, and check the waistband. Leeches climb. The bites people find at the end of the day are usually above the knee.
- Do not pull one off mid-bite. Flick it off at the narrow end or use salt. Tearing the mouthparts out leaves you with an infected puncture.
- Expect the bite to bleed for an hour or more. That is the anticoagulant, not a medical emergency. Clean, antiseptic, plaster, move on.
The full monsoon kit list is in our monsoon trek backpack packing guide, and if the Mainapi stream crossings are running high, read safe river and stream crossings in monsoon before you attempt one. Or better: go in November instead.
Accommodation
Forest Rest House, Sanguem. Listed by the Goa Forest Department as the stay option for Netravali. Booking through Dy. Conservator of Forests (South Goa), Margao, on 0832-2756309. Basic, well-located, and not bookable online. Call weeks ahead.
Netravali and Sanguem homestays. A small but growing number of village homestays. Simple rooms, home-cooked Goan food, and hosts who know the trails better than any guidebook. This is the best value in the area.
Curchorem and Sanguem town lodges. Functional. Cheap. Fine for one night.
Margao. The comfortable base if you are not committed to sleeping in the interior. Full hotel range, and an hour and a half from the sanctuary gate.
Palolem and Agonda. About an hour and a half to two hours south-west. If you want to combine forest and beach, this is the pairing that works, and it is more sensible than driving up from Calangute.
Food
Netravali village has very little. A tea stall or two. Do not plan a meal here.
Sanguem and Curchorem have proper Goan eateries. Fish curry rice, chicken xacuti, sorpotel on a good day, sol kadhi to finish. Prices are what Goans pay, not what Calangute charges.
For the Mainapi trek, carry everything. Two litres of water minimum per person, something with salt in it, and fruit. There is no shop on the trail and no reliable water source you should be drinking from.
Carry your waste out. This is a wildlife sanctuary and there is no bin at the falls.
Nearby Attractions
- Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary — Netravali's eastern neighbour, with a canopy walkway and a quieter set of trails.
- Tambdi Surla Mahadev Temple — the oldest surviving temple in Goa, north of here at the foot of Anmod Ghat.
- Dudhsagar Falls — reachable legally only via the Collem forest gate, roughly 60 km north.
- Salaulim Dam and Botanical Garden — the GFDC runs the garden here; the dam's stepped spillway is a genuine sight when it overflows.
- Palolem and Agonda beaches — the good end of South Goa's coast.
- Chandranath Hill, Paroda — a short climb to a hilltop temple with a view across the Zuari basin.
If you are planning a longer Western Ghats run southward, the Kerala tour guide with places, packages and season picks up where Goa's interior leaves off.
Budget Breakdown
Two people, one full day at Netravali, based in Margao. Indicative.
| Item | Budget (₹) | Mid-range (₹) |
|---|---|---|
| Margao–Netravali return, hired car with driver | 2,500 | 4,000 |
| Sanctuary entry, per person (commonly quoted, unverified officially) | 100 | 100 |
| Vehicle entry (four-wheeler, commonly quoted) | 100 | 100 |
| Camera fee | 50 | 150 |
| Guide for the Mainapi trail (negotiated locally) | 500 | 1,000 |
| Food and water, per person | 300 | 600 |
| Forest Rest House, Sanguem, per night | 1,000 | 1,500 |
The entry and vehicle figures are the numbers travel sources consistently report. They are not published on any official Goa Forest Department page I could find. Treat the table as a planning estimate, not a tariff.
Practical Tips
Reach the gate by 8 am if Mainapi is the plan. The 2 pm last-entry cutoff for Mainapi is real, and starting late means finishing in fading forest light.
Cash. There is no card machine at a forest check post in Sanguem taluka.
Mobile network is patchy from Sanguem onwards and gone inside the sanctuary. Download your offline map before you leave Margao.
Set your navigation to the specific waterfall, not to "Netravali". Savri, Neturlem and Netravali Falls are the same place under three names, and your map app will happily send you to a different one.
Footwear with grip. The 250 steps down to Savri are mossy at the edges even in December, and the Mainapi trail has slick rock at every stream. The reasoning in our trekking footwear guide for Sahyadri terrain transfers directly; this is the same laterite-and-basalt problem.
Do not feed the macaques. There are troops near the Savri parking and they have been conditioned. Why you should not feed wildlife on Sahyadri forts covers what this does over time.
Start Mainapi early for the birds. The frogmouth and the Nilgiri wood pigeon are dawn-and-dusk propositions.
No drones. Protected area.
Safety Tips
The water. People have drowned at Mainapi. O Heraldo reported that a statewide ban on entry to waterfalls and water bodies in Goa followed the drowning of two persons at Mainapi Falls at Netravali. Pools below waterfalls have circulation you cannot see from the bank. Do not swim below a fall in high flow, do not swim alone, and do not swim after drinking. Read safe trekking near waterfalls and cliffs.
The steps at Savri. Around 250 of them, uneven, no handrail, wet. This is where ankles go. Go down slowly.
Stream crossings on the Mainapi trail. In and immediately after the monsoon these move fast and the rock underneath is round and slick. If the water is above mid-shin and moving, turn round.
Wildlife. Leopard, gaur, and a good snake population including king cobra in this belt. Almost nobody encounters any of it. Stay on the trail, make some noise on blind corners, do not step over logs blindly. General principles in wildlife safety on Sahyadri treks.
Heat. March to May in interior Goa is hot and humid in a way that catches Mumbai people out. Two litres per person is a floor, not a target.
No network. Tell the gate staff which trail you are on and when you expect to be back. That is what the register is for.
First aid. Leech bites, blisters, twisted ankles and cuts on wet rock. Nothing exotic. Our first aid kit for Sahyadri treks list is exactly right for Netravali.
Turning back. If the gate says a trail is closed, it is closed. When to cancel or turn back from a trek is a useful read before you find yourself negotiating with a forest guard.
Emergency numbers. Police 112. Goa Tourism helpline 1364. Dy. Conservator of Forests, Wildlife & Eco-tourism (South), Margao: 0832-2756980.
Common Mistakes
Thinking Mainapi is a short walk. Five kilometres each way, two to three hours up. It is a proper trek.
Arriving after 2 pm and expecting to do Mainapi. Last entry closes it off.
Turning up in monsoon expecting full access. Underneath-the-falls access closes when the flow is high, trails get muddy and dangerous, and blanket state orders can shut everything.
Not carrying cash. No cards, no UPI reliability.
Relying on buses. You will spend the day waiting at Sanguem bus stand.
Wearing sandals to Savri. Two hundred and fifty wet steps.
Confusing the village with the sanctuary. Budbudyanchi Tali is in the village. The waterfalls are not next door to it.
Best Time to Visit
October to January — the best window and it is not close. The monsoon has finished, the waterfalls are still carrying real volume, the forest is green, and the temperature is workable. The Goa Forest Department itself names October to March as the best time for Netravali; the falls specifically are at their best from October through January.
February and March — still good. Drier, flow reducing, excellent for birding and for the Mainapi walk because the trail is firm and the stream crossings are trivial.
April and May — hot, and the falls thin out. Go at dawn or skip it. Interior Goa in May is genuinely unpleasant by mid-morning.
June to September — the monsoon. Wonderful to look at, restricted to access, leech-heavy, and periodically closed outright by government order. If you go, go with a guide, expect not to reach the base of the falls, and read monsoon trekking safety in the Sahyadri first.
FAQ
Q: Where exactly is Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary? A: In Sanguem taluka, South Goa, spread over 211.05 sq km according to the Goa Forest Department. It is bounded by Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary to the east and Bhagwan Mahaveer Wildlife Sanctuary to the north. About 50 km from Margao and 80 km from Panaji.
Q: What is the entry fee for Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary? A: Travel sources consistently report Rs 100 per adult, Rs 30 per child or student with ID, Rs 50 for two and three-wheelers and Rs 100 for four-wheelers, plus camera charges. These figures are not published on the Goa Forest Department or GTDC websites. Carry cash and expect the counter rate to apply. Confirm on 0832-2756980.
Q: How long is the Mainapi waterfall trek? A: About 5 km one way. Reported timings are 2 to 3 hours to reach the falls and 1 to 2 hours to return. Last entry towards Mainapi is reported as 2 pm.
Q: How hard is the Savri waterfall trek? A: Easy by comparison. Roughly 1 km of walking plus around 250 steps down, about 15 minutes descending and 30 minutes climbing back. The steps are uneven and unprotected, so it is not a flip-flop walk.
Q: What is Budbudyanchi Tali? A: A pond in Netravali village, in front of the Gopinath temple, known as the bubbling lake. GTDC describes it as more pond than lake, with granite steps and a large granite pedestal in the centre, and notes that the bubbles appear to rise faster in response to sound such as clapping. It has religious significance locally.
Q: Do I need a guide at Netravali? A: Forest officers are posted at both waterfalls, and GFDC runs official guided nature safaris and nature trails in the sanctuary. For Savri and the bubbling lake you can manage without. For Mainapi, take a guide. No official Goa Forest Department page I could find states a formal compulsory-guide rule for a specific trail, so ask at the gate.
Q: Is Netravali open in the monsoon? A: Access is restricted. High flow closes off the base of the falls, trails become dangerous, and Goa has previously imposed blanket bans on waterfall trails and trekking following drowning incidents, including one reported after two people drowned at Mainapi. Check before you travel.
Q: How do I reach Netravali from Mumbai without a car? A: Konkan Railway to Madgaon, then hire a car with driver for the day. Buses run to Sanguem but onward connections to the trailheads are sparse enough to eat your day.
Conclusion
Netravali is the best argument against the idea that Goa is only a coastline. Two hundred and eleven square kilometres of Western Ghats forest, a five-kilometre walk to a waterfall almost nobody else is at, and a pond that reacts when you clap.
Go in November or December. Do Mainapi properly with an early start and a guide, not as an afterthought bolted onto a beach day. Carry cash, because the counter takes nothing else. And ring the Margao wildlife office before you drive out, because in Goa a trail can be closed by an order issued the previous week and nobody will have updated a website.
Skip it entirely in May. Go in monsoon only if you accept you are going to look at the falls from a distance, through rain, covered in leech socks.
Call to Action
Building a two-day interior Goa trip? Pair Netravali with the Dudhsagar waterfall trek and the Tambdi Surla temple and waterfall trek. And before any Western Ghats waterfall in the rains, read safe trekking near waterfalls and cliffs.
Image Alt Text Suggestions
- Savri Falls dropping into its pool, Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary, South Goa
- Stone steps descending to Savri waterfall through forest
- Mainapi Falls at the end of the five-kilometre forest trail
- Semi-evergreen valley forest on the Mainapi trek route, Sanguem taluka
- Budbudyanchi Tali bubbling lake with granite steps and central pedestal
- Gopinath temple beside the bubbling lake at Netravali village
- Indian giant squirrel in the canopy, Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary
- Forest check post and entry register at Netravali sanctuary gate
- Stream crossing on the Mainapi waterfall trail after the monsoon
- Trekker wearing leech socks on a wet Netravali forest path
Sources
- Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary — Goa Forest Department: https://forest.goa.gov.in/node/1192
- Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary — Goa Forest Department (department page): https://www.forest.goa.gov.in/netravali/
- Netravali Lake (Budbudyanche Taley) — GTDC: https://goa-tourism.com/water-bodies/netravali-lake-budbudyanche-taley/
- Lakes of Goa — GTDC: https://goa-tourism.com/nature/lakes-of-goa/
- Nature Safari — Goa Forest Development Corporation: https://goafdc.goa.gov.in/nature-safari/
- Wild Life Management — Goa Forest Department: https://www.forest.goa.gov.in/wild-life-management
- Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary — Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netravali_Wildlife_Sanctuary
- Netravali (village) — Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netravali
- "Govt declares temporary ban on waterfall trails, trekking activities" — O Heraldo: https://heraldgoa.in/goa/govt-declares-temporary-ban-on-waterfall-trails-trekking-activities/223398
- Citizen's Charter of the Goa Forest Department: https://forest.goa.gov.in/sites/default/files/2022-05/cc_0.pdf
- Konkan Railway zone — Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konkan_Railway
Entry fees and trail timings at Netravali are not published online by the Goa Forest Department. Confirm with the Dy. Conservator of Forests, Wildlife & Eco-tourism (South), Margao on 0832-2756980 before you travel.
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