A two-hour guided boat trip up the Cherating River takes you through a dense corridor of mangroves. Monitor lizards bask on the banks, otters swim in the shallows, monkeys move through the canopy, and snakes are occasionally spotted in the roots. After dark, the same river becomes one of the best places in Malaysia to see synchronised firefly displays — thousands of fireflies flashing in unison along the riverbank. This is the single best activity in Cherating and worth doing twice: once in the afternoon and once after nightfall.