The Auroville Visitors Centre is a complex designed to welcome and answer to the needs of day visitors and more interested guests alike. The centre houses exhibitions on Auroville, Matrimandir, Auroville's founders Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, as well as Auroville’s Best Practices, Auroville’s International Zone, and an open-air expo on community-driven initiatives for environmental sustainabilit
y. A 20min documentary on Auroville and one on the Matrimandir are screened regularly at the Information Building’s video room and on demand. If you wish to visit the Matrimandir Viewing Point, you are kindly requested to see a ten-minute video on Matrimandir, available in multiple languages, and obtain a free pass at the information building. Access to Matrimandir is on foot, along a 1km shaded path. If you would like to stay in Auroville, our Guest House booking service will help you find accommodation. In addition, the Visitor's Centre provides cycle rentals and maps for day and long-term visitors to be able to explore the community in an environmentally-friendly way. The Visitor’s Centre dining facilities include:
The Cafeteria, the centre’s restaurant, offers a wide variety of dishes, both vegetarian and non-vegetarian, Indian and European, as well as vegan and Jain options. We use organic, locally-grown, Auroville farm products as much as possible, and these make up our signature daily Healthy Plate. The Dreamer’s Café serves a wide range of Aurovilian organic coffees, “Marc’s Coffee,” and a selection of Auroville baked goods, as well as sandwiches and other snacks, beverages and ice-creams. The Kiosk Tea & Crafts Shop also serves, in the evenings only, simple organic Indian fare such as dosas and parathas. The centre also houses a bookshop and three boutiques featuring a wide selection of Auroville products from well-known Auroville brands such as Maroma, Svaram, Shradhanjali, and many other unique and varied creations. Anjali, an outdoor shop, displays quality handicrafts by the bioregion's self-help women's groups who have been inspired and trained by Auroville Units. Our nursery, "Fleurs D'Auroville," is an oasis of green beauty in our parking area, selling seeds, plants and gardening tools from the Auroville Botanical Gardens. The Visitors Centre was conceived and designed as a site that is pleasant, functional and successful, with low or no environmental impact and pollution. It is a showcase for sustainable technology and building techniques, renewable energy, and integrated wastewater management.
