Udaipur to Jalore: Lakes, Marble & Granite Forts

It used to be an abandoned tea plantation, but you would definitely not guess it, when observing the beautiful canopy hosting talkative birds and gracious butterflies. Welcome to Ecolanka!

Maharana Sangram Singh II commissioned Saheliyon-ki-Bari around 1710, and the detail worth knowing is that the fountain system operates entirely on gravity-fed water pressure from the lake uphill, without mechanical assistance — a hydraulic arrangement that has been functioning for over three hundred years. The garden is laid out in a formal quadrant plan with marble pavilions at each corner and a central pool. Lotus pools, elephant-shaped fountains, and a small natural history museum sit within a compact space that rewards slow walking rather than a quick circuit. It is a precise, considered piece of garden engineering that happens to be very quiet in the early afternoon.

The island palace of Jag Mandir was begun under Maharana Amar Singh I in 1551 and completed a century later, but its most telling footnote is that Prince Khurram — the future Mughal emperor Shah Jahan — took refuge here in 1623 while rebelling against his father Jahangir. The Mewar rulers gave shelter to their Mughal adversary's son, a political calculation that has outlasted everyone involved. The boat from the Lal Ghat takes about fifteen minutes, crossing water that turns copper and then grey as the sun drops behind the Aravalli ridge. The island itself is a calm place to be at dusk, with views back across to the palace-lined shore.

The temple at Sundha, dated to at least the 8th century based on surviving inscriptions, sits at roughly 1,200 metres on a ridge where the Aravallis begin to flatten into the Thar Desert to the west. The goddess Chamunda in her form as Sundha Mata draws pilgrims from across Marwar and the surrounding districts, particularly during the Navratri festivals in spring and autumn. The ropeway was installed in recent decades and takes about eight minutes, covering the vertical climb that pilgrims otherwise make on foot. At the top, the views run north toward the desert and south over the forested ridgeline. The site is genuinely active as a place of worship — arrive as an observer and the atmosphere is frank rather than performed.

What a better way to initiate your understanding of the country and its inhabitants than by experiencing Buddhism, the majority religion in Sri Lanka? You are cordially invited to spend a moment of your life in a Buddhist monastery.

You would love to spend a day at the farm, to participate in its daily life, but you fear to find it difficult to stay overnight? Follow us, as our little secret place might be able to fulfil your farmer’s dream without sacrificing your comfort…

Coffea arabica was introduced to Coorg in the 17th century by a Sufi saint named Baba Budan, who reportedly carried seven beans from Yemen — Arabia's export-controlled supply — back through the port of Mocha. That single act of smuggling seeded what is now one of India's largest arabica-growing regions. At Evolve Back, the 4x4 plantation tour moves through shade-grown arabica and robusta rows, past pepper vines climbing the same trees, and into the processing sheds where cherry becomes parchment. The guide explains not just what each plant is, but where in the harvest cycle you're standing. The Cauvery River moves below the tree line the whole time.