The wet, swampy woodlands these rare lightning bugs call home is one of the last standing patches of a type of forest that used to span 30 million acres across the southeastern United States.

As night sets in, the forest transitions into a habitat for wildlife. We are greeted with the sound of the greatest composers known to mankind: crickets and jackals.

The forest is awake but gentle. Watch for fireflies that flicker like fallen stars on the trail. Start at midnight, reach the peak by sunrise, and watch the plains of Coimbatore wake up beneath you.