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Auroville
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Auroville is a small town 6 km north of Pondicherry. This town was a vision of The Mother from Sri Aurobindo Ashram at Pondicherry as it's an international town. She envisioned a town where unity will be celebrated and all will have a spiritual vocation.
The town has 1,700 people from over 35 different nationalities, from which about one third are Indians (more than15% are French and 15% are German).
Auroville's birthday celebration ,There are lots of interesting things to do and see in Auroville, the best way to browse them all is through the Auroville Handbook (100 Rs. can be bought in the visitors center and the bookshops around Auroville) or Auroville's website.
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How to reach
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By Rickshaw (Rs 100) or Taxi (Rs 140) from Pondicherry. Many buses between Chennai and Pondicherry pass the turn off to Auroville - you can get down here and into one of the waiting rickshaws at the junction.
You can also rent scooters in Pondicherry and drive yourself for a day trip or arrange to keep the scooter for a few days or more.
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Roam around auroville
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Best by motorbike, also possible by bicycle. Rickshaws and taxis can be ordered for trips out of the town. If you have a guest card than you can use the community's bus to Pondicherry (for free). You can hire motorbikes for Rs 60-100 per day and in some guesthouses you'll get a bicycle for free with your rent.
The nearest petrol station is on the sea front road just north of the Auroville turnoff. If you find yourself low while in town, a few of the shops have 1 liter water bottles filled with petrol for sale.
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Where to eat
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The Auroville cafeteria is the most popular restaurant in auroville & also the good place to eat, with good snacks and desserts. There's a cafe at the visitor's center also serving good food. Ganesh Bakery is very popular, serving full meals and baked goods, with a well-stocked market attached.
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Quick Links to Other Tourist Places
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Matrimandir
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Matrimandir - Meaning "Temple of the Mother" in Sanskrit, this is the geographical and spiritual heart of Auroville. The outside is plated with gold, while the inside is stark white with a gigantic crystal in the center.
Check with the visitor center if you're interested in seeing the inside of the temple - the rules can be very strict, and it may take 2 days or so before you actually get inside (you've been warned!).
You'll first need a visitors pass for a little guided tour of one of the meditation chambers, and once you've done that you qualify to visit the inside of the main temple the following day. Saturday and Sunday can be particularly busy and you may need to wait in line for 30-40 minutes. Bags, cell phones and cameras are not allowed in the temple.
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Places to visit
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There are a lot of activities in Auroville like Yoga, Tai-Chi, Watsu, different kinds of alternative healing and courses. Thevariety is wider during the visitors' season (December to March). There are a plethora of social/economic/environmental/agricultural projects going on regularly.
Many of them welcome tourists, and many tourists welcome the opportunity to spent a week or more volunteering to get a much more intimate look at what goes inside Auroville.
There are at least 14 farms in Auroville, any of which will take daily volunteers. There are also many schools that can accommodate volunteers, environmental restoration projects, and village action initiatives, just to name a few.
Kottakarai Organic Food Processing Unit is a small little shop that makes things like cookies and pasta from local and organic ingredients in a warm and welcoming atmosphere. It is located next to Ganesh Bakery, a cafe/restaurant that is popular with tourists.
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Where to stay in auroville
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There are more than 450 beds in different guesthouses in Auroville, and many more in the non-Aurovillian hotels around the township, which are generally less expensive. The best way is to go to the visitors' center in Auroville and browse through their book in which you can see the rooms and get details about them. Prices range from Rs 75-2100 per day for a single person.
Overnight guests in Auroville's guest houses are expected to pay a daily contribution of Rs 60 (30 for students), above the guesthouse rate.
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Hotels 