gINKgo I The RARE Newsletter I Summer of '26 - Part IV Of The RARE Collection I Vol 122 I May 2026
Dear Travellers...
It is the season of our annual sales training with hoteliers, always an exciting time as they share what's new, what has stayed constant, and amid the shifting landscapes and rigours of climate change - how relevant it is to have safe havens that protect forests, preserve heritage, and support communities. With so many pioneering hotels in the collection, we feel privileged to continue telling their stories and protecting their legacy, so they are not lost in the clamour for new hotels in a product-hungry industry.
As we wrap up our hill journeys through the Eastern Himalayas and Western Ghats, a few beguiling details deserve mention. Did you know that while staying at Glenburn Tea Estate, you can cross over to the old royal kingdom of Sikkim via the Manjitar suspension footbridge? If you love hiking and fishing, this excursion is not to be missed - complete with picnic lunches, river crossings, birding and an overnight stay at Glenburn Lodge. A wonderful home-cooked Nepalese lunch during one of the estate walks is a deeply felt ode to the community members who have worked on the plantation for generations. Finally, the 'Story of the East' program that Husna promotes with such fervour can seamlessly continue into Bhutan via one of the prettiest drives I have ever seen. And Nepal is not very far across the border too.
Windermere Estate by Dr. Simon has always been a steady, understated retreat amidst tea and cardamom plantations. It has refused to shift with the clutter of so-called luxury, which so often takes away from the beauty just outside your window. In places like this, nature and its profusion are all the excess you need.
We celebrate Bera, as you will soon see in the news - the original name of this region of indigenous and community-led leopard conservation gets a new lease of life with regulations to be enforced against building new hotels and stricter safari permits. Just for the record, Jawai is the name tourism claimed, when it was the 'shepherds of Bera' who adjusted to the leopards thriving around them.
In northern and central India, this is the beginning of Nautapa - 9 days of intense heat and hot winds that may signal a good monsoon. A similar astrological period called Agni Natchathiram in southern India lasts 25 days and will soon end on May 28, marking the peak of summer.
Finally, the full news and views about SAMHI Hotels' investment in RARE can be read here on Skift.
Stay cool. If you are travelling to escape the heat, plan to stay longer at smaller, off-beat places and leave nothing but a generous tip for the hosting team!
Shoba Rudra
Storyteller & Boutique Hotels OG
Extend Kerala towards Tamil Nadu and Karnataka
To journey through RARE India's southern collection is ideal slow travel across a sequence of beautiful, off-beat places. Begin with an immersive escape to Pepper Trail in Wayanad to live with the rhythms of a 200-acre plantation through coracle rides and mist-veiled spice trails. You may precede Wayanad with Kaav - an elegant wildlife lodge in Kabini - and Neeleshwar Hermitage to make a compelling circuit of wildlife, seaside wellness, and the hill sanctuaries of Wayanad.
Continuing south, you can crossover the hills from Rajakkad Estate near Madurai in Tamil Nadu and ascend to the high-altitude embrace of Windermere Estate in Munnar - a sanctuary where days spent hiking and birdwatching melt into stunning Munnar sunsets and intimate chai breaks. Extend this Kerala odyssey to Windermere River House near the Thattekkad Bird Sanctuary, planning for canoe rides on the Periyar River, yoga and meditation, and guided nature walks. The itinerary can be further lengthened to include the heritage of Fort Kochi and the Muziris story at Cranganor History Café & Riverside Château.
The Story of Bengal to the Himalayas
Begin your journey in the East with a signature Glenburn welcome at Bagdogra Airport - complete with iced tea, cold towels, and refreshments - before being whisked away to the emerald, cloud-veiled ridges of the Glenburn Tea Estate in Darjeeling. Spend a few days immersed in a 1600-acre working tea estate, enjoying guided hikes, tea estate tours, and endless cups of golden brew with the sparkling peaks of Kanchenjunga for company.
From the hills, travel to the cultural heart of Bengal to stay at the Glenburn Penthouse - an elegant residence poised high above the storied avenues of downtown Kolkata. Depending on the season, your journey can drift further eastward into the wild riverine landscapes of Assam for an immersive wilderness safari, or cross into Bhutan to discover the timeless valleys of this ancient Himalayan kingdom with a stay at Zhiwaling Heritage. Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, is also a short flight from Kolkata, opening up RARE's classic three-destination itinerary of Pokhara, Chitwan, and Bhaktapur.
For a river odyssey, one of our favourite Bengal Despatch programs aboard the ABN Rajmahal traverses the Hooghly, calling at Chandernagore, Mayapur, Kalna and Murshidabad, before continuing onwards to Patna, Buxar, Varanasi and Chunar. This final leg is promoted as the 'City of Light: Summer Special' fixed departures, for which advanced booking is highly recommended.
