gINKgo I The RARE Newsletter I Happy Deepawali & Happy Tihar I Vol 115 I Oct 2025
Dear Traveller,
Happy Deepawali & Happy Tihar from the RARE Community.
Tihar in Nepal is akin to Deepawali in India with a charming uniqueness. Celebrated with lights for 5 days, Tihar includes curious customs like worshipping cows, crows and dogs. On that note, spare a thought to birds and animals ‒ avoid fire crackers. it also pollutes that the air you will breathe.
Not all light is an earthen lamp lit with oil and a wick. Some spark revolutions, some ignite change, others hold the torch that leads you inward. In this often grey world, a few are beacons cutting through fog, spreading quiet, powerful light.
This is the essence of RARE Hotels, pioneers of exceptional stays, in both design and detail, while empowering artists, craftspeople, communities, and destinations, shining light on these features they promote as experiences.
Shoba Rudra
Laalee and Shahpura Bagh spotlight Pichwai and Phad paintings, building interest and respect for these vibrant art forms. Workshops at Kipling Camp celebrate wildlife through Gond art traditions. Few know that the traditional Ladakhi wood embellishment, Shingshak, became a design statement at The Grand Dragon in Ladakh, helping the craft thrive through tourism.
Beyond traditional safaris, lodges like KAAV offer 'Tiny Safaris,' Svasara includes entomology as an activity to study bugs and beetles, and Snow Leopard Lodge weaves wildflower trails into its spring and summer programs, all designed to bring you closer to the wilderness.
Often an unknowledged design choice, rewilding is deliberate, time-consuming, and requires patience to explain to travelers why a manicured lawn has no place in a wildlife lodge. For wilderness-focused hotels like Ramathra Fort, Jamtara, and The Sarai at Toria, rewilding is a commitment as well as a bold design statement.
Personal stories of heritage preservation, like those of Haveli Dharampura, Chanoud Garh, Nimmu House, Chaplsee, and Bari Kothi, are remarkable examples of preserving not just built heritage, but also how arts, skills, festivals and traditions can define destinations while keeping heritage alive and in-use.
Education, community empowerment through hospitality skilling, and opportunities to showcase local crafts are key to building destination-centric experiences. Hotels like Glenburn Tea Estate, Tiger Mountain Pokhara Lodge, River Cruises by Assam Bengal Navigation, and Virsa Baltistan have a profound impact on local communities, both directly through funding projects and indirectly by promoting the destination narratives the include the local people.
Diwali is a time to spread joy, do look at organisations and support their projects. RARE supports girl child education through Par Dada Par Dadi, wildlife conservation with Wildlife SOS, and waste management initiatives with Waste Warriors.
GIFT AN EXPERIENCE
In a world of excesses, 'experience' is a valuable gift!
Please check gift vouchers by RARE for a perfect festival gift.
