So you’re thinking of Goa in the rains—and someone told you South Goa is “too quiet” this time of year? Good. They’re not entirely wrong. But that’s also why you should go.

There is a version of North Goa that only exists for four months of the year, and almost nobody plans a trip around it on purpose. It starts sometime in June, when the sky changes colour first and the sea follows a few days later. By July, the hills behind Assagao and Siolim have gone from brown to a green so deep it looks unreal in photos. The beach shacks that define North Goa the rest of the year are shuttered and stacked.