ARRIVING BY TRAIN

If traveling from within India the best way to come is surely by train (most co-logical and economical as well as supporting the employment of more than 1.6 million people in India).

There are some direct trains to Pondicherry (PDY) from:

Bhubaneshwar in Orrisa
Mangalore in Karnataka (via Kerala)
Bangalore in Karnataka

View all the trains to PDY or book your train online.

If you’re new to Indian Railways (this probably means you’ve not been in India before) then you can read a lot of wonderful information about the railways here.

If you’re not on one of the three lines above then theres a good chance wherever you are in India will have a train to Villapuram (VM) which is just 40-50 minutes from the Somayagya by car. See below to arrange shared cars to pick you up at Villapuram and bring you to Auroville.

A good first step will be to check all the trains coming to Villapuram.

For all railway information, this site is generally the easiest to use before doing your actual booking.

If you do not have a direct train to Villapuram then the next choice is Chennai which surely will have a train from 95% of locations in India as it is the capital of Tamil Nadu where the yagya will be located. The only down side is it’s almost 2 1/2 hours to the North of where you need to be. Once you get to Chennai you can try a taxi share below or use the regular bus service to Pondicherry. You can stay in Pondicherry if you wish as there is ample accommodation there or if you wish to be closer to the action then hop on an auto-rickshaw to Auroville.

If you wish our helpers to help you with a railway booking please contact us and we’ll be glad to help.

ARRIVING BY ROAD

Buses

Buses come from most parts of South India to Auroville. Red Bus is good for online bus bookings. We much prefer you come by train but if you have to you can come by car or bus.

Cars

For cars Auroville has a lot of it’s own transport companies. They are safe and reliable.

• Auroville Transport
• Unity Transport
• Yoga Travels

We highly recommend the Auroville Taxi Share. This helps co-ordinate people coming on the same route it is run by Unity transport and saves pollution and is better for the planet.

Buses are available from Villupuram to Pondy frequently. Taxi charges to pickup from Villupuram to Auroville:

If you must come by car and pollute then consider planting trees to offset the harm done.

If you wish our helpers to help you with a taxi share or car booking please contact us and we’ll be glad to help.

ARRIVING BY FLIGHT

If coming from abroad chances are you took a plane. In which case you will arrive in Anna International Air pot which is in Chennai. For a pickup/taxi share you can see the road transport section above.

If your international flight arrives elsewhere in India you can book a connecting flight here (thought we recommend train if you can).

CLIMATE

Even though it is hid-summer we are expecting it to rain so bring light clothing (though even if you bring less you can get wonderful organic cotton clothing in Auroville).

Generally it will be warm in the day and slightly cooler in the evenings. Auroville is cooler than the surrounding areas mostly due to the abundant forest.

ONWARD TRAVEL

If you prefer to use a travel agent, is that we highly recommend Inside India. If you wish to combine your inner purification at the Somayajna with some other activities – travels or pilgrimages then kindly contact Reema from Auroville’s magnificent travel agency called Inside India.

They can arrange elephants, mountains, backwaters, jungles, palaces, forts, temple, beaches just let them know your requirements and they will take away the stress of organizing your travel.

Inside India
Auroshilpam
605101 Auroville, India
Tel: +91 – 413 – 2622047 / 2622555
Fax: +91 – 413 – 2622375
E-mail: insideindia@auroville.org.in
http://www.inside-india.com/

We wish you a safe and peaceful journey within and to the Shri Somayajna.