Coorinates: 12°00′N 79°29′E / 12, 79.48 Auroville (City of Dawn) is an experimental township in Viluppuram district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India near Puducherry in South India, whose stated purpose is to realize human unity in diversity. It is a popular tourist destination, and has been described as a "New Age metropolis conceived as an alternative exercise in ecological and spiritual living." The township starkly stands out from the surrounding traditional Indian villages and farms.