Savista Retreat Blog: Stories of Jaipur, Travel & Culture
Hatha vs. Vinyasa—Which Traditional Practice is Right for Your Retreat?
Hatha vs. Vinyasa—Which Traditional Practice is Right for Your Retreat? Here at Savista, dawn arrives like a slow…
Albert Hall Museum Jaipur — History, Architecture, and What to See
Albert Hall Museum Jaipur — History, Architecture, and What to See Here at Savista, mornings begin softly. Long…
The Ultimate Jaipur Shopping Guide to Traditional Bazaars & Handicrafts
The Ultimate Jaipur Shopping Guide to Traditional Bazaars & Handicrafts Here at the Savista estate, the passing of…
A Mindful Experience of Block Printing in Bagru
A Mindful Experience of Block Printing in Bagru Here at Savista, the morning rhythm is set not by…
The Monsoon Bucket List: 10 Things to Do Near Jaipur When It…
The Monsoon Bucket List: 10 Things to Do Near Jaipur When It Rains Introduction Most travel guides will…
What Savista Looks Like in the Rain: A Photo Journey Through a…
What Savista Looks Like in the Rain: A Photo Journey Through a Monsoon at a Rajput Haveli Introduction…
Why Monsoon is Rajasthan’s Best Kept Secret And Where to Stay
Why Monsoon is Rajasthan’s Best Kept Secret And Where to Stay Introduction Ask most people when they plan…
Monsoon at Savista: Discover Where Your Food Comes From
Monsoon at Savista: Discover Where Your Food Comes From Most of us enjoy food every day without ever…
Come for the Rain. And for the Birds
Come for the Rain. And for the Birds For those who have only ever experienced the monsoon through…
Rajasthan’s Best-Kept Monsoon Secret: Discover a Different Side of the Desert at…
Rajasthan’s Best-Kept Monsoon Secret: Discover a Different Side of the Desert at Savista Retreat Most travellers cross Rajasthan…
JLF 2026: Balance the Festival Buzz with a Blissful Countryside Retreat
JLF 2026: Balance the Festival Buzz with a Blissful Countryside Retreat The Jaipur Literature Festival is a remarkable…
Jaipur Music Stage at JLF 2026: Schedule & Tickets
Jaipur Music Stage at JLF 2026: Schedule & Tickets The literature festival jaipur 2026 is famously energetic on the…
JLF 2026 Speakers and Programme Schedule
Meet the Minds: Jaipur Literature Festival 2026 Speakers and Programme Schedule For the culturally curious traveller, the real…
Jaipur Literature Festival 2026 Registration and Passes
A Guide to Jaipur Literature Festival 2026 Registration and Passes The Jaipur Literature Festival which will be held…
JLF 2026 Dates, Venue & More
The JLF 2026 Dates, Venue & more, that you should know Are You Prepared for JLF 2026? Uncover…
Amer Fort
Amer Fort: A Majestic Gem of Jaipur, Rajasthan Amer Fort The forts of Rajasthan are a unique feature…
Hawa Mahal
Hawa Mahal: The Iconic Jewel in Jaipur’s Royal Crown Hawa Mahal The Hawa Mahal, or Palace of Winds,…
Eco – Responsible Travel Destination
Eco – Responsible Travel Destination If you are concerned about your carbon footprint, be assured that your holiday…
October Supermoon, Seasonal Shifts, Feminine Divine Energy and Farming: The Scene Around…
October Supermoon, Seasonal Shifts, Feminine Divine Energy and Farming: The Scene Around Savista For an authentic and sustainable…
Sambhar Lake And Its Historical Connection With Savista
Sambhar Lake and its Historical Connection with Savista The Sambhar Lake, spread over 220 sq. kms of area…
Food Philosophy And Practices: Offerings From Savista Retreat
Food Philosophy And Practices: Offerings From Savista Retreat The term food evokes, at once, reactions ranging from the…
The Pink City Jaipur
The Pink City: Jaipur Given that Rajasthan is the size of a large European country, where does one…
Exploring The Real Rajasthan
Exploring The Real Rajasthan Rajasthan – the land of royal trappings, chivalry and romance – is a feast…
Jaipur Travel Diary Rest For The Restless Traveller Jessie Bolin On Finding…
Jaipur Travel Diary: “Rest for the Restless Traveller” – Jessie Bolin on Finding Moments of Relaxation in the…
More Signs of Climate Change – The On/Off of Seasons
More Signs of Climate Change – The On/Off of Seasons Following our last post announcing the onset of…
Climate Change Must Definitely Be Happening: A Prematurely Early Summer Has Set…
Climate Change Must Definitely Be Happening: A Prematurely Early Summer Has Set In Just late last week we…
Treewatch: We Are Celebrating! Our Red Silk Cotton Trees Are Finally Blooming!
Treewatch: We Are Celebrating! Our Red Silk Cotton Trees Are Finally Blooming! Red Silk Cotton Tree For the…
Guest Stories: “My Other Trip of a Lifetime”. Robin Tama on her…
Guest Stories: “My Other Trip of a Lifetime”. Robin Tama on her long-cherished dream trip to India. Robin…
Birdwatch at Savista: The Spangled Drongo
Birdwatch at Savista: The Spangled Drongo Spangled Drongo (Blue Drongo) A Rare Sighting Rarely sighted on the Indian…
Jaipur Seasonal Change: The Short Summer is Here
Jaipur Seasonal Change: The Short Summer is Here Between the closure of the monsoons and the onset of…
A Birthing at Savista
A Birthing at Savista We recently welcomed the latest addition to the Savista community. Baiju – the latest…
Summer Solstice, June 20-24 – Celebrating the Fecundity of Life Forms at…
Summer Solstice, June 20-24 – Celebrating the Fecundity of Life Forms at Savista Extreme summer has arrived in…
Guest stories skateboarding metaphor social cultural change rural-india
Guest Stories – Skateboarding as a metaphor for social and cultural change in rural India Girls Skate India…
Blockprinting Textiles Quilting
Guest Stories – Quilting Diversities: Priscilla Knoble on how her immersion into blockprinting added a new dimension to…
Guest Stories Designers Encounter Savista Journey Rajasthan Varanasi
Guest Stories: A Designer’s Encounter with Savista on her Journey Through Rajasthan and Varanasi I first had the…
Travel Leads Volunteering Heddas Story
When Travel Leads to Volunteering: Hedda’s Story How it all began? I had visited India once before. I…
Greenwash and Whitewash: The Monsoon Draws to a Close at Savista
Greenwash and Whitewash: The Monsoon Draws to a Close at Savista Our shrubbery and trees don’t get greener…
Our four-legged residents: Soumya and Sharanya
Our four-legged residents: Soumya and Sharanya Soumya and Sharanya are our two little girls… Our kids… Our goatsies.…
Adriana Velez Savista Retreat Restorative Elixir Changed Entire Approach Travel
Guest Stories: Adriana Velez on How Savista’s Restorative Elixir Changed Her Entire Approach to Travel “If you are…
Ode to a Rajasthani Folk Legend: Tejaji
Ode to a Rajasthani Folk Legend: Tejaji A typical village shrine dedicated to Tejaji Today is celebrated as…
Birdwatch Small Minivet
BIRDWATCH: The Small Minivet Little Minivet The Small Minivet (Pericrocotus cinnamomeus) is listed among the common birds of…
Organic Farming at Savista
Organic Farming at Savista Seeking farm volunteer opportunities, at Savista, we are just entering our kharif agricultural season.…
Of Monsoon Rhythms and Golden Orioles
Of Monsoon Rhythms and Golden Orioles The delayed heavy rains following upon the first pre-monsoon showers that we…
The Rains Have Arrived: A Monsoon Chronicle from Jaipur’s Countryside
The Rains Have Arrived: A Monsoon Chronicle from Jaipur’s Countryside During breaks in the rain, trilling kingfishers have…
An Intense Weekend At Savista Jaipur Sara D
Jaipur Travel Diary: An Intense and Memorable Weekend: Sara D writes about her trip to Savista and Jaipur.…
Savista Guests Ken Janine Story
Savista’s Guests : Ken and Janine’s Story Last year, it was at around this time, when the rains…
Retreating…Tania Han’s reflections on Savista Retreat
Retreating…Tania Han’s reflections on Savista Retreat After two days at the Pushkar Camel Fair, we were desperate for…
Jaipur Seasons – Hello Autumn!
Jaipur Seasons – Hello Autumn! Parijat – The quintessential autumn bloom Today, nature in Jaipur has declared autumn.…
Summer Arrives In Jaipur! At Savista, The Nightingale Starts to Sing!
Summer Arrives In Jaipur! At Savista, The Nightingale Starts to Sing! Asian Koel (Indian nightingale) April 14 was…
Jaipur Seasons: The Golden Tecoma – Trying to Outshine the Sun?
Jaipur Seasons: The Golden Tecoma – Trying to Outshine the Sun? Golden Tecoma Within four days of the…
Savista Salutes the Spring Equinox, New Year, and Nature’s Renewal
Savista Salutes the Spring Equinox, New Year, and Nature’s Renewal Over March 20/21 – when the world in…
Jaipur Travel Diary The Savista And The Infectious Nomad
Jaipur Travel Diary: The Savista and the “Infectious” Nomad! A Home Beyond a Hotel Endorsed by the clatter…
Jaipur: Colours and textures of the northern Indian winter
Jaipur: Colours and textures of the northern Indian winter With late sunrises against cloud speckled backgrounds, velvety orange…
Jaipur Travel Diary Reflections Trip Savista
Jaipur Travel Diary: “Reflections on a Trip to Savista” I went to Savista wanting to time out at…
Jaipur Flowers: Signs of Early Autumn at Savista
Jaipur Flowers: Signs of Early Autumn at Savista It is nearing the end of September, the time of…
Jaipur’s Flowering Shrubs:What’s blooming at Savista?
Jaipur’s Flowering Shrubs: What’s blooming at Savista? – The Season of Bloom Towards the end of the Rajasthan…
Social responsibility at Savista: Symbiotic living with neighbours
Social responsibility at Savista: Symbiotic living with neighbours Savista grounds The pictures here are of women from the…
B.K.S Iyengar (1918-2014)
B.K.S Iyengar (1918-2014) Today we salute the memory of the exemplary teacher of yoga, Shri B.K.S. Iyengar, the…
Peacocks have finally come to live at Savista!
Peacocks have finally come to live at Savista! Two peacocks and two or three peahens have finally taken…
Jaipur monsoon
Jaipur monsoon Across India, the season of annual rains – the Monsoon – enters its peak around the…
Jaipur Travel Diary Norway Love Spring 2014
Jaipur Travel Diary: “From Norway With Love – Spring 2014” Somewhere in Rajasthan… A shaky Scottish/Norwegian couple has…
Savista A Farm-to-Fork Destination: Summertime Super Heroes
Savista A Farm-to-Fork Destination: Summertime Super Heroes Guests cooking at savista Summertime Superheroes from the Kitchen Garden There…
Jaipur Travel Diary Letting Travel Change
Jaipur Travel Diary: Letting Travel Change You In an effort to see as much of India as possible…
Jaipur Travel Diary New Orleans Came Savista Mardi Gras Day
Jaipur Travel Diary: When New Orleans came to Savista, All on a Mardi Gras Day When documentary film…
Jaipur Travel Diary Learning Hand Block Printing
Jaipur Travel Diary: Learning hand blockprinting I traveled to India for the month of August 2013, on the…
Guest Stories: “Another View of Savista“
Guest Stories: “Another View of Savista” Even while Ellie was clicking Savista in exhuberant colour and composing her…
Guest Stories: A Working Holiday at Savista
Guest Stories: A Working Holiday at Savista When Ling Choo Tan wrote to us from China to say…
Guest Stories: Winter Savista 2013
GUEST STORIES: WinterSavista 2013 Beautiful memories inserted into the new Chapter of my guide book. Savista always in Winter,…
Guest Stories: Block Printing on Holiday
Guest Stories: Block Printing on Holiday One of the most memorable holiday trips. A 10-day trip that focused…
Guest Stories: Designing for a More Harmonious World
Guest Stories: Designing for a More Harmonious World Carol Miltimore is one of the many designers travelling through…
Guest Stories: Hiking Trails Around Savista: Art Work by a Young Cartographer
Guest Stories: Hiking Trails Around Savista: Art Work by a Young Cartographer Eleven year old Francesca’s contribution to…
Guest Stories: India-England Cricket Match at Savista Hotel
Guest Stories: India-England Cricket Match at Savista Hotel It was England and India playing cricket at Savista, offering…
Guest Stories: Reflections of a Mind-Body Healing Practitioner
Guest Stories: Reflections of a Mind-Body Healing Practitioner About Stuart Robertson Stuart Robertson runs a yoga-physiotherapy teaching-studio-cum-therapy practice…
Jaipur Flowering Trees: The Winter Flowering Siamese Cassia at Savista
Jaipur Flowering Trees: The Winter Flowering Siamese Cassia at Savista The numerous Siamese Cassia (Senna Siamea) trees on…
In Jaipur Autumn Sets In. And At Savista The Parijat Begins To…
In Jaipur Autumn Sets In. And At Savista The Parijat Begins To Bloom. October and November – the…
Another herald of seasonal change: Rainbow over Savista
Another herald of seasonal change: Rainbow over Savista Yesterday afternoon, the weather changed suddenly. From being hot amd…
Guest Stories: A Journalist’s Reflections on Savista
Guest Stories: A Journalist’s Reflections on Savista When we asked veteran British journalist Richard Horsman to send us…
Foot Reflexology at Savista: another wellness feature
Foot Reflexology at Savista: another wellness feature We are happy to announce that guests staying with us can…
Catching the juicy worm – egrets have a field day at Savista!
Catching the juicy worm – egrets have a field day at Savista! Savista’s annual agricultural calendar has begun.…
Monsoon Exhuberance Brings Peacocks To Savista
Monsoon Exhuberance Brings Peacocks To Savista Savista now has its own resident peacocks (well, almost!). This year, the…
We’re closed for the summer!
We’re closed for the summer! Savista went into its annual summer hibernation around the end of April. For…
Guest Stories: Shutter-bugging With Little Lamas
Guest Stories: Shutter-bugging With Little Lamas One of the things that adds vivacity to life at Savista is…
Guest Stories: The Joys and Insights of Travel
Guest Stories: The Joys and Insights of Travel – Olivier Lacheze-Beer A trip to Savista is a tranquil…
Guest Stories: Straddling multiple creative worlds and emotional landscapes
Guest Stories: Straddling multiple creative worlds and emotional landscapes Within minutes of their arrival at Savista, it felt…
Guest Stories: Woman Of The Year & Restaurant Of The Century
Guest Stories: Woman Of The Year & Restaurant Of The Century For those of you that have allowed…
Rajasthan’s Local Crafts: Handmade Paper Production
Rajasthan’s Local Crafts: Handmade Paper Production With a long history of royal patronage, Jaipur has an impressive tradition…
Guest Stories: Rolling into Savista in a 1923 Rolls Royce
Guest Stories: Rolling into Savista in a 1923 Rolls Royce Guests of Savista come from all over the…
JAIPUR BIRDWATCH: The stork-billed kingfisher and white throated kingfisher
JAIPUR BIRDWATCH: The stork-billed kingfisher and white throated kingfisher Birdwatching never got easier, or more fun. And it…
Spring at Savista and the Spring Festival of Holi in Jaipur
Spring at Savista and the Spring Festival of Holi in Jaipur In villages and cities the streets come…
The Changing Seasons in Eastern Rajasthan
The Changing Seasons in Eastern Rajasthan One of our Team@Savista – a native of the U.S.- remarked with…
‘Earth Living’ at Savista: Following Nature’s Cycles
‘Earth Living’ at Savista: Following Nature’s Cycles ”We cannot have harmony and balance in our lives if we…
Travellers to India can be assured of finding prompt and quality medical…
Travellers to India can be assured of finding prompt and quality medical services in Jaipur Last week one…
TREEING OFF AT SAVISTA: The Babul
TREEING OFF AT SAVISTA: The Babul When trying to dream up ideas of how we could evoke the…
The Countryside Around Savista
The Countryside Around Savista A few weeks ago a couple of us set off to visit one of…
TREEING OFF AT SAVISTA: The Hibiscus
TREEING OFF AT SAVISTA: The Hibiscus This handsome hibiscus is both beautiful and useful. Derived from the Greek…
Festivals of Rajasthan: Diwali
Festivals of Rajasthan: Diwali Today is Diwali, Festival of Lights. Diwali Mubarak! Naya Saal Mubarak! Diwali and New…
TREEING OFF AT SAVISTA: The Neem
TREEING OFF AT SAVISTA: The Neem The neem tree is widespread across the plains of India. It is…
To spray or not to spray?
To spray or not to spray? Marrying hospitality and sustainability is easier some days than others. Sometimes it…
Tour of Bagru’s Block Printing Sector
Tour of Bagru’s Block Printing Sector About a month ago, we had two lovely visitors from the U.A.E.…
Water Bodies Around Savista
Water Bodies Around Savista The rains have been particularly bountiful in Jaipur this monsoon season. And Savista and…
Eid Ul Fitr
Eid Ul Fitr On August 30th., Muslims in Jaipur celebrate with Muslims across the world, the conclusion of…
Festivals of Rajasthan: Ganesh Chaturthi
Festivals of Rajasthan: Ganesh Chaturthi Ganesh Chaturthi – the festival in adoration of Ganesha – was celebrated all…
better late than never….
better late than never…. A few posts have been piling up here at Savista. One on Eid, another…
Sorting at Savista
Sorting at Savista Here at Savista we pride ourselves on our commitment to an environmental ethic. Over the…
Festivals of Rajasthan: Krishna Janmashtami
Krishna Janmashtami Today is one of the most important and loved festivals of the Hindu calendar – the…
TREEING OFF AT SAVISTA: The Khejri
TREEING OFF AT SAVISTA: The Khejri The Khejri trees on the Savista estate that were pruned (and some…
BIRD WATCH: The Purple Sunbird
BIRD WATCH: The Purple Sunbird Sunbirds, starlings and drongos are outshining each other (and other birds) in our…
Festivals of Rajasthan: Teej in the Pink City
Festivals of Rajasthan: Teej in the Pink City The fesitval of Sawan Teej starts tomorrow! Teej is a…
We’re Back!
We’re Back! Although it’s been a while since our last post, Savista continues to thrive in the countryside…
India Culture Beat: World’s 2nd-largest mangrove forest at Pichavaram, Tamil Nadu
India Culture Beat: World’s 2nd-largest mangrove forest at Pichavaram, Tamil Nadu For most of us Indian coastal city-slickers,…
Jaipur Hotel : Welcome to Savista Retreat
Jaipur Hotel : Welcome to Savista Retreat Are you searching for a tranquil place in bustling Jaipur not to…
