reddottours

POV: You’re eating strawberries and oyster mushrooms grown in the Rajasthan desert.

Nobody expects a farm in the Rajasthan desert and that’s exactly what makes Mharo Khet special and worth knowing about. 🌱

45 minutes from Jodhpur, this 40-acre farm grows over 100 varieties of crops, including Brussels sprouts, strawberries, chamomile, figs, moringa and oyster mushrooms, all flourishing in terrain most people assume couldn’t grow anything at all.

You start with a guided walk through the fields, where the farming practices are as interesting as the crops themselves, rooted in tradition and genuinely sustainable rather than just marketed as it. 

Then lunch: a multi-course, plant-forward meal made entirely from what’s just been harvested, each dish designed around the season rather than a fixed menu.

And then, because this place understands what people actually need, you lie on a charpoy under a straw canopy, watch kites circle overhead, and do absolutely nothing for a while.

It’s one of those afternoons that makes Jodhpur feel completely different from any Rajasthan trip you’ve heard about before.

Save this one. And tag someone who needs an afternoon like this 🌾

For us, great holidays don’t end at the airport. They leave something useful behind.

Quite a few of our team are Sri Lankan, and that grounding shapes the way we design trips and the way we try to give back. We favour high quality family-run stays, local guides and small businesses, and we support projects that make a difference where our travellers go.

One of those partners is Tea Leaf Trust. Their classrooms in Sri Lanka’s tea-estate communities offer English, IT and life-skills training that can change a young person’s prospects. Through our partnership, a portion of every Sri Lanka booking is donated to the Trust, which means your holiday helps keep those classrooms open.

If you’re curious how this connects to your own itinerary, or would like to meet some of the young adults who’ve been helped by the project, don’t hesitate to send us a message.

Save this for later • Learn more: tealeaftrust.com 💚

One of the most exclusive leopard experiences in India 👇

It happens here, in the granite boulder landscape of Jawai, Rajasthan, where wild leopards have lived alongside the local Rabari community for as long as anyone can remember.

Sujan Jawai Leopard Camp is ten tents, one extraordinary landscape, and a family who’ve spent nearly 50 years getting to know every corner of it.

The guides have spent years reading this land. Safaris go out small and because the camp is this remote and this intimate, there’s no such thing as a crowded jeep.

When you’re not out tracking, things slow right down with yoga, a heated pool, candlelit dinners that taste better after a day watching leopards move through the rocks (trust us!).

The family behind Sujan have restored 100km² of natural habitat, rehabilitated over 100 wildlife species, and run sanitation programmes that benefit more than 3,000 local households. 80% of their staff are from the surrounding Rajasthani communities.

It pairs beautifully with Jodhpur or Udaipur as part of a wider Rajasthan itinerary, and it’s one of our favourite recommendations for travellers who want serious wildlife without giving up comfort.

DM us if India is calling →

Yala isn’t necessarily Sri Lanka’s best safari. It’s just the most famous.👇

As a predominantly Sri Lankan team, we’ve done our fair share of safaris across the island. They still amaze us every time. But with so many national parks to choose from, we’re often surprised to see Yala National Park topping every “must visit” list.

Yala does have clear advantages. It has one of the highest leopard densities in the country, varied terrain, and sightings can be frequent, particularly at certain times of year. But it’s also the busiest park. In peak season, it’s common for several jeeps to arrive at the same sighting, which isn’t what everyone is looking for.

That’s why we sometimes suggest other parks:

Kumana National Park is a designated bird sanctuary with over 200 recorded species. Visitor numbers are much lower, which allows more time to observe wildlife behaviour rather than move between sightings. We usually recommend Kumana to travellers who are interested in birdlife, enjoy quieter conditions, and don’t mind spending longer in one area.

Gal Oya National Park operates in a completely different way. Safaris are done by boat, elephants regularly swim across the reservoir, and local communities are directly involved in guiding and conservation. There are fewer vehicles, and more of the spend remains close to the park. We tend to recommend Gal Oya to travellers who value context, community involvement, and a different safari format.

If your priority is seeing as much wildlife as possible in a short amount of time, Yala may still be the right choice. But if you care more about space, observation, and how a safari feels overall, Kumana or Gal Oya might make more sense.

Still not sure which park would suit you best? Leave us a comment, send us a DM, or drop us an email.
And if you’ve already done a safari in Sri Lanka, where did you go, and what was it like?

Blessings by Hindu priests happen every day in Varanasi, but many visitors don’t realise they can receive one themselves. Here’s how 👇

Varanasi is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, and it feels like it. Life, death, devotion, and daily routine all exist side by side along the Ganges. You’ll see families bathing at sunrise, pilgrims praying on the ghats, funeral pyres burning, and children weaving through it all on their way to school. It can feel intense, confronting, and deeply moving all at once, which is why so many people describe it as haunting. There’s nowhere to hide from the reality of life here.

Although it might feel intimidating at first, we recommend receiving a blessing from a Hindu priest while you’re there. Many travellers only observe these rituals from a distance, without realising that participation is possible. When you travel with us, we can arrange a private puja with a respected priest. 🪔

The ritual itself is simple. You sit, listen, and follow along as the priest performs the puja, offering prayers that can be tailored to your intentions, whether that’s wellbeing, marking a life moment, or simply asking for guidance.

As with all experiences we curate, this is done carefully and respectfully. Because our team works with trusted local partners on the ground, we make sure the ritual is authentic, not performative, and that it happens in a way that honours both the priest and the place.

If you’re curious about visiting Varanasi, ask us anything in the comments. And if you’d like help mapping out a trip to India that goes beyond surface-level experiences, head to the link in our bio to request a proposal.