Auroville can be a surreal experience on our first visit. It is a mix of forest and urban living. There are many different communities within the ashram which feel disjointed until we understand how it all works. Many first-time visitors may have a tough time in figuring out the place. I feel a little bit of primer is required for this place which many refer to as Utopian in nature.

Why Auroville is So Famous

This utopian ambiance of Auroville is why I would say it is so famous! It is sort of an enigma because unless you immerse yourself in the place, you may not know what exactly it is. On 28th Feb, 1968 along with Mother (Mirra Alfassa, the founder), about 5000 people gathered in the wild plateau barren except for a large banyan tree. Soil from different countries and each state of India was collected into one marble-clad urn – now placed at the Matrimandir Amphitheatre. This was the inauguration ceremony of the upcoming futuristic township of Auroville.

The purpose of Auroville is to unite humanity and elevate individual consciousness! No specific religion is promoted in this township. Spiritual values have been laid down by the founder Mother and Sri Aurobindo.

I visited Auroville and Matri Mandir way back in 2011. (Read my initial impressions). Later I felt like I visited the place in my youtube conversations with Yogini.

On my YouTube channel, I discussed Auroville with Yogini who has been staying there for over 3 months now. One of the key questions I had from my previous visit (and the visits of some of my relatives) was how to have an immersive experience of the place. Beyond simply visiting for a few days and seeing the place.

Here, Yogini gives her views,

After talking to Yogini, I now have more of an idea of how I can visit Auroville in a way that allows an immersive experience.

Here’s the Auroville website section that helps us with the various logistics, What you can do | Auroville

Where to Stay in Auroville?

There is quite a long list of accommodation types in the Auroville center. It looks really exciting, check the list here: https://guesthouses.auroville.org

Many of the guesthouses want a slightly longer stay of a week or so. While others are ok with even a one day booking. So this allows us to choose what suits us. Some have an attached kitchen (great for digital nomads like me who want to stay for longer especially because veg-only restaurants are few). So when you are planning your visit, delve into this guesthouse list and pick one that makes sense for you.

The problem is that the list doesn’t show availability as per dates, so you will need to call each one to ascertain what dates work with which guest house. One workaround this is the to find the Guest house names from the official site and then locate them on Booking.com or Tripadvisor or some such website – and then figure out their availability.

For an immersive visit, I feel one should stay for at least 15 days if longer trips of 1 or 2 months is not possible. Though I visited for a single day in Jan 2024, and it became a fairly immersive visit also in its own way. I lost my car… so quite a vibrant visit. 🙂 Watch the vlog here :

What to Do in Auroville?

There are a whole list of interesting study courses, workshops, therapies, farm work and volunteer opportunities. I think one or a mix and match of a few things should be an interesting experience.

Choose an Activity:

Choosing an activity option is really important I feel because it provides an easy way to interact with different people in Auroville. If we don’t plan or enroll for an activity, we are completely dependent on serendipitious meetings, which may or may not happen. I would suggest enrolling for some activity that lets us involve ourselves further in Auroville, but also gives us enough free time to explore on our own. And leaves us with room to choose another activity later on.

One of the famous places to volunteer in Auroville is the Sadhana forest community. Know more here.

The guest houses we choose may also have some activity options that we can explore. Moreover, if you are staying for longer, then do ensure you get an Auro card which official guesthouses would provide.

Spend Time in Nature:

One of the biggest attractions of Auroville for me is the access to nature and forest areas.

Through nature walks or outdoors volunteering or some other means, I would suggest making the most out of the natural surroundings of Auroville. Taking up an activity like farm work or gardening, we can spend more time amidst the natural environs of Auroville.

Visit Matrimandir

Another activity to plan for is your visit to Matrimandir, the universal consciousness temple in this ashram space. The entry inside this temple is not through the usual means… you need to book your slot via the official email id mmconcentration@auroville.org.in. So, it would require pre-planning.

What is Life in Auroville Like?

The second video of my talk with Yogini is also up. She tells us about her typical day in Auroville, whether there are any spiritual practices or teachings that need to be followed when we are there and so on…

Subscribe to my YouTube channel, InSpirituality for more interesting conversations around spiritual spaces and lifestyle.

Hope this blog post helps you plan a super duper trip to Auroville 🙂