Where is Auroville?

Auroville -longitude 79°E 48' 38.18", latitude 12°N 0' 25.20"- is located in Villipuram district of Tamil Nadu, close to Pondicherry on the Coromandel Coast of southern India.

It is included in the sub-humid tropics and situated on a plateau region with its maximum elevation of 32 mtr above sea level located in the Matrimandir area.

The annual rainfall average is 1.200 mm mainly from the SW monsoon (June to Sept.) and NE monsoon (Nov to Dec) with a dry period of approx 6 months.

The average maximum temperature is 37.2° C (89.96°F), average minimum 20° C (68 °F).

Auroville is located in south India, 150 kms south of Chennai (Madras) and about 10 kms north of Pondicherry town. The journey from Chennai is about three hours by road. Buses from Chennai are frequent, and cost about IRS 50. A taxi to Auroville from the airport costs up to IRS 1,500; but it is much cheaper and more convenient (IRS 1,050) to book an Auroville taxi to pick you up. Contact your guesthouse directly for the same.

Auroville has a rural ambience. It consists of nearly 100 different settlements, spread out over 25 km² (of which a little over 10 km² so far is owned by the community). Distances between the outlying settlements can be several kilometres. Within the Auroville area there are several villages, and still a lot of village-owned land.

Climate

The climate in Auroville is sub-tropical. From December to March the day-time temperature range is 24 - 30°C (74 - 85ºF) . From April onwards, the temperature rises and can reach a peak of about 40°C (105°F) in May-June; occasional rainfall from July onwards starts to bring the temperature down. The main monsoon period usually starts around mid October and continues to mid December. Nights are generally about 5°C cooler than the days.