[4] Agumbe is associated with rainforest conservation efforts, documentation of medicinal plants, tourism (trekking and photography), and the promotion of cottage industry.

The coastal town of Udupi hosts the nearest major railway station approximately 50 km (31 mi).

The nearest airport is at Bajpe near Mangaluru which lies at a distance of approximately 94 km (58 mi).

[1] As part of the Western Ghats mountain range, Agumbe lies in a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Raksha Kavacha Weavers' Cooperative Society represents the beginnings of cottage industry in the village.

[11] Places in the vicinity of Agumbe that tourists visit include the Kundadri and Kodachadri Hills, Udupi, Malpe, Mangalore (for the airport and seaport), Karkala, Kolluru, Sringeri, Chickmagaluru, Shivamogga, Bhadravathi, N.R.

In the summer, a truck can be used to reach Narasimha parvata Sunset View Point rests on one of the highest peaks of the Western Ghats on the Udupi-Agumbe Road.

[16] In the Kannada language, "onake" means 'pounding stick', an instrument used by villagers to pound grains to flour.

[19] Rainforest is a dense, wet, tropical evergreen ecosystem, high in its level of biodiversity.

According to the 'Champion and Seth' classification, Agumbe is an area of "Southern tropical wet evergreen forests" (1A/C4).

Troup, an eminent forester of his day, said, The Agumbe Rainforest Research Station was founded in 2005 by Romulus Whitaker, a herpetologist.

[29] Its purpose is to create a local biodiversity database, encourage individual scientific research, collaborate with India's Department of Forestry and conserve the rainforest of the Western Ghats as well as to educate the residents of the region in the importance of forestry conservation.

The "Foundation for Revitalisation of Local Health Traditions" recorded 371 plant species at Agumbe, of which 182 were medicinal.

[28][30] Endangered plant species in the area include[31] Agumbe provides an environment for large and small mammals such as the endangered lion-tailed macaque,[38][39] tiger,[40] leopard, sambar, giant squirrel, dhole, a wild dog of India, gaur, the Indian bison and barking deer.

In creating funds for conservation of the Agumbe rainforest, the Ophiophagus hannah, king cobra is a 'flagship' species.

[41] An Agumbe-based scientific project to radio-locate rescued king cobras aims to determine whether relocation is helpful to their survival.