India Travel & Logistics
10 Day Kaivalaya Marga Liberation Retreat in Tiruvannamalai, South India
January 6th - 15th, 2026
(Recommended travel days: Arrival in Tiru January 4th, and Departure no sooner than January 17th)
The Village of Light
Shantimalai Environmental Care Campus
Adi Annamalai, Girivalam Rd, near Mouna Swamy, Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, 606 603
Pricing:
In-Person Attendance: Full Upfront Payment — $3950
In-Person Attendance: 3 Instalments — $1360
Online/Virtual Attendance via Zoom (session recordings available) — $1350
In-Person Price Includes:
10-day retreat tuition
Meals: Lunch and dinner from the 6th till 15th, plus a welcome dinner on the 5th. Meals will be served at the retreat venue. Please let us know in advance about dietary restrictions.
Optional post-retreat brief individual session with Patrick for in person participants.
Optional community gatherings and activities during the two weeks following retreat.
All prices include tax.
Currency note: if the Indian Rupee appreciates more than 5% against the US dollar, USD prices will be adjusted. We will notify everyone if this occurs.
Does Not Include:
Accommodation:
We have selected a range of comfortable 3- to -5 star hotels in Tiruvannamalai, all close to the Village of Light. Please see the hotel link for booking and pay for your hotel in Tiru. You are also welcome to arrange your own lodging (Airbnb or other hotels in Tiru).
AIR TRANSPORTATION: GETTING TO TIRUVANNAMALAI
Closest airports in India:
Bengaluru (BLR) - approximately 5 hours by taxi to Tiru
Chennai (MAA) - approximately 4 hours by taxi to Tiru.
FROM BENGALURU (BLR) to Tiru:
Options:
1. Taxi: about 5 hours.
2. Plane + taxi: Fly BLR →Pondicherry (PNY) with IndiGo (60 minutes duration and one daily flight around 11:00 am), then taxi Pondicherry →Tiru (about 90 minutes). Note the terminal change at BLR (international T2 to domestic T1).
-If international flight lands after 9:00am, we recommend an overnight rest and taking the Pondicherry flight the next day.
-Even if you land before 9:00am, you may still wish to rest for a few hours before continuing by flight or taxi.
-Recommended airport hotel: TAJ AIRPORT BENGALURU (3-5 minutes from the terminals).
3. Private bus/minibus: possible if a group travels together.
Assistance for transportation BLR to Tiru
Contact Jivesh Dugar (coordinates local transport BLR↔Tiru and the BLR→Pondicherry flight, if desired, and taxi to Tiru).
Email: Jiveshdugar@gmail.com
WhatsApp: +91 9724788577
Please share your airline arrival/departure details and whether you are traveling alone or with others on the same flight. Jivesh will inform you of current pricing options.
FROM CHENNAI (MAA) to Tiru
Due to the long drive, if your flight arrives after 4:00 pm, we recommend spending the night near the airport.
Recommended hotels near MAA:
TRIDENT HOTEL (about 10 minutes; airport pickup available)
HILTON HOTEL (about 12 minutes)
Estimated taxi fares (subject to change):
Airport pickup within Chennai airport area: approximately ₹4,000
Pickup from Chennai city: approximately ₹4,600
Assistance for Transportation from Chennai to Tiru:
Contact: Shanti Kumar (Shanti Travels) or Tiago. Retreat participants should contact them directly as soon as possible with airline arrival/departure details (or your Chennai hotel details) and whether you are traveling alone or with others on the same flight. They will confirm booking and pricing.
Email: shantitravels@gmail.com
WhatsApp +919443210235
Important to Note:
It will not be possible to join retreat later than the morning of January 6th or leave before the evening of January 15th, 2025.
We recommend you fly into Bengaluru ( BLR) which is approximately a 5-hour taxi ride to Tiru. You may also consider flying into Chennai (MAA), about 4-hour drive to Tiru.
You will need a passport valid for at least 6 months, and a tourist visa to enter India. details here.
REGISTRATION DEADLINE: November 15th, 2025
Daily schedule:
10:00 am - 7:00 pm, with breaks for mid-morning, lunch and mid- afternoon.
CANCELLATION POLICY:
More than 30 days before retreat start date: Full refund (minus transaction fees).
Within 15 days of retreat start date: 50% refund (minus transaction fees).
Within 7 days of retreat start date: Non-refundable.
Obtaining Travel Visas
You must obtain a travel visa to India (tourist visa) by completing an on-line application. Go to eVISA and follow instructions for “tourist visa” at: https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa/tvoa.html
When completing your Indian tourist visa application, you will be asked to provide a local reference name and address.
If you have not yet applied for your visa, please enter the following information corresponding to the hotel where you will be staying:
ARUNAI ANANTHA: Aanaipirandaan village panchayat, NH 77, Banagalore – Pondicherry, Chengam Road, Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, 606 603. Name: SARAVANAN THANGAVEL. Telephone: +91 7010316996
SANGAM HOUSE: 110/3 R S Nagar, Plot 108, Ramana Ashram Post, Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu 606603. Name: ANTHONY DE ANDRADE. Telephone: +91 9952628312
ASHREYA HOTEL: 9, Ganapathy Nagar,Chengam road, Near GirivalamTiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu 606603. Name: SRINIVASAN. Telephone: +91 9360013511
ELLORA HOTEL: No. 256/4A,Sri Sai Baba Nagar,Kanji Rd., Vengikal,Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, 606604. Mr. Shaik Humayun. Telephone: +91 9042112562
ATHENA HOTEL: #516, Chengam Rd., Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, 606603. Mr Kumar. Telephone # +91 95002 55255
LA WOOD RESORT: #1, Parvathy Nagar, Anaipiranthan Village, Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu 606603. Name: RAMANUJAN. Telephone:+91 9025175305
When completing your online visa form, please enter:
• Place you are going in India: Tiruvannamalai
• Purpose of visit: Tourism
• District: Tiruvannamalai
If you are applying for a 30-day tourist visa, please note that the application can only be submitted within 30 days prior to your departure date.
We also recommend that you bring a printed copy of your visa, your passport, and two passport-size photographs with you when you travel..
If you wish to do some sightseeing or shopping, you may choose to stay a little longer after the retreat concludes.Retreat Preparations
It will not be possible to join the retreat later than the morning of January 6th, or to leave before the evening of January 15th, 2025.
If you arrive earlier, please do not exhaust yourself. We warmly suggest that you do not try to explore “Spiritual India” beforehand. Allow yourself to rest, to enter a space of stillness, prayer, and intention in preparation for retreat.
Please understand that we will not see much of India during the retreat. This is not a tour of South India. Yet, you will have abundant opportunity to be with—and upon—the sacred mountain Arunachala, one of THE portals of Light on this earth plane..
If you would like to do some site seeing or shopping, you may choose to stay a little longer after retreat.
You can easily exchange Rupees either at the airport ATM’s, or upon arrival in Tiru where several ATMs are available.
Retreat itself is a time of deep rest in the Grace of the Spirit. Opening your system to hold greater Light is a profound adjustment, one that involves foundational change. Having plenty of time to rest is essential for integrating this life-changing process of healing and illumination.
You are invited to come with no expectations, armed only with your heart’s intention, ready to dive deep within yourself, and prepared to cross new thresholds in your capacity for joy, love, ease, flow and Grace.
a detailed Logistics information document will be sent in advance of retreat to all registered participants.
“Don’t be satisfied with stories,
How things have gone with others.
Unfold your own myth.”
“You were born with wings,
Why prefer to crawl through life?”
“Your heart knows the way.
Run in that direction.”
“Your task is not to seek for love,
But merely to seek and find all the barriers
Within yourself that you have built against it.”
“Knock, And He’ll open the door
Vanish, And He’ll make you shine like the sun
Fall, And He’ll raise you to the heavens
Become nothing, And He’ll turn you into everything.”
“Exhale only Love."
— Rumi