South-India:
Sacred Arunachala Retreat 
19 - 28 Oktober 2025 
Tiruvannamalai

The sacred mountain of Arunachala, located in Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, has been an important area for meditation, contemplation, and spiritual retreat for centuries. According to scriptures, sages, and saints, this mysterious hill is believed to be the embodiment of Shiva, pure Consciousness. Ramana Maharshi, one of Rolandjan & Ellemarie's main teachers, was irresistibly drawn to Arunachala after his awakening at the age of 16, to continue his pathless inner journey mainly in meditative silence. For the rest of his life he lived in several caves and ashrams in and around Arunachala. 

Surrounding the mystical hill are numerous ashrams, temples, and the tombs of great saints, drawing seekers, practitioners, and devotees from various spiritual paths. They come to experience the elevated vibrational energy, most clearly felt at the Samadhi (tomb) of Sri Ramana Maharshi. The entire hill seems to radiate a profound stillness and Silence, indescribable yet deeply felt. This sacred place has become a sanctuary for devoted seekers, providing the ideal atmosphere for deep meditation and reflection. Many enlightened beings have attained liberation here.

About the Retreat

We will start our retreat together with 4 days (Oct. 19th - 23rd) of silence at the Greenland Ashram, a beautiful and quiet retreat venue outside of town and within close sight and felt presence of Arunachala. We will stay in simple and clean ashram style rooms and there is a wonderful lush garden we can explore. Just being here together will bring us into direct experience of the essence of our true Being. During these first retreat days in mouna (silence) we will practice meditation, self inquiry (who am I?), hatha & yin yoga, some karma yoga (selfless service in the ashram, in the form of small tasks) and our inner journey is supported by 3 nourishing and delicious Indian ashram meals per day. Experience the authentic Indian ashram life!

Here is an impression of how the silent retreat program most likely will be like: 

Daily Rhythm Silent Retreat: 

7.30-8.30 Meditation

8.30-9.30 Breakfast

10.30-12.30 Yoga/ Breathing practice

13.00-14.00 Lunch

14.00-16.15 Rest/ karma yoga (optional small tasks in the garden)

16.15-18.15 Yin yoga & self inquiry

18.15-19.15 Diner

19.30-21.30 Inspirational talk & meditation

21.30 Rest

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After the silent retreat we will move to the Sangham House in Tiruvannamalai on October 23rd. This is a luxurious retreat house with roof terrace which serves as an open-air session space and swimming pool. There are spacious bedrooms and we will be within walking distance from Ramana Ashram, Arunachala hill, most temples, and satsang-teacher Ganga Ma. We will stay here for 5 nights and 6 days. During our stay at Sangam House we will have silent mornings, a morning practice such as meditation, yoga, and / or breathwork. These days we will explore together different caves of Arunachala to sink in deep meditation, visit Ramana Ashram, make an auspicious pilgrimage (girivalam) around Arunachala and attend satsang with Ganga Ma. One day there will be no program so everyone can follow their own flow. 

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Daily Rhythm Sangam House (approx.): 

7.30-8.30 Meditation

8.30-9.30 Breakfast (silent)

10.00-12.00 Satsang/ Yoga/ Breathwork/ visit Ramana Ashram

13.00-14.00 Lunch

14.00-16.00 Free time/ Pool time

16.00-18.00 visit Ramana Ashram/ Arunachala hike

18.30-19.30 Diner 

20.00-21.30 Evening Program: sharing, inspirational talk, etc.

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Retreat Dates and Schedule:

19-10 Check in 1pm in Greenland Ashram in Tiruvannamalai. Start retreat 16pm.

20-10 till 23-10 Silent retreat Greenland Ashram

23-10 Check out Greenland Ashram / Check in Sangam House

23-10 till 28-10 Sangam House

28-10 Check out 11am Sangam House 

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Investment:

€ 1099,- All inclusive ( 9 nights/ 10 days, based on an 2-person shared room) OR 

€ 1000,- if you also join the North-India journey.

Inclusive:

- daily yoga, breathwork and meditation

- excursions

-  three meals a day

- all transport and accommodation

- all entry fees.

Exclusive:

- International flight to Chennai or Bangelore (approx € 750,-,

- Visa (approx. € 40,-)

- Taxi from airport (Chennai or Bangelore) to Tiruvannamalai and back

     (Chennai - Tiruvannamalai, 4hours, R4000 / € 45)

     ( Bangalore - Tiruvannamalai, 5-6 hours, R5600 ( 60)

- If you join both retreats: domestic flight from Chennai to Delhi (around € 40,-)

- Travel insurance

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We will have a document where everyone can put there flight details, so you can see if you can fly together/share a taxi.

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Extra info:

Take into account that from Chennai airport it will take around 4hours with a taxi to Tiruvannamalai, from Bangalore it will take 5-6 hours.

If you arrive earlier then the start of the retreat, you have to arrange accomodation yourself. We can suggest some nice accomodations to stay.​​​​​​

Program

Day 1: Dehli (1 night)

You will be welcomed at the airport with the driver of your taxi and transfer to Zorba the Buddha; a very peaceful, somewhat hidden, Osho-inspired tropical oasis in Delhi. The next morning we take a train at 6.30 AM.

Day 2-6: Rishikesh (5 nights)

We travel by train in 5 hours from Delhi and continue by car to Rishikesh. We arrive at 13.00 at High Bank in Tapovan, a laid-back area next to the rumourous center. During our stay in Rishikesh we will practice yoga & breathwork on beautiful spots, attend puja’s (sacred rituals) and take sacred dips in the Ganges. We will meditate in a special cave where the sage Vashishta meditated and do a 4-hour raft on the spectacular Ganges river. Besides this we will visit Anandamayi Ma's ashram and there will be an Indian cooking class facilitated by 1 of our Indian friends from Karma Animal Trust, the local street animal clinic! There will be one day off-program in Rishikesh.

Day 7: Haridwar

In the afternoon we travel back to Haridwar and attend an impressive ancient evening ritual at the Ganges. Haridwar lies at the foothills of the Himalayas and is a famous pilgrimage place that means “Doorway to God”. In the evening time we take the night train to Varanasi.

Day 8-10: Varanasi (2 nights)

We arrive in our beautiful and cozy homestay (with fabulous kitchen) in Varanasi in the early afternoon. Varanasi is the most ancient city on earth. We will explore the river ghats and visit the impressive cremation grounds by boat and on foot. We make a sunrise boatride in serene silence. We practise yoga and visit some of the main Shiva temples. We stay two nights in Varanasi. (On the second day we make an excursion to Sarnath, the place where Gautama the Buddha gave his first teaching after his Awakening.) 

Day 11 Taj Mahal & back to Delhi 

In the night we travel from Varanasi to Agra where we visit the majestic Taj Mahal in the morning, which is truly impressive. After that as a group we do the closing ceremony and sharing and travel by shared taxis to Delhi.

Investment:

€ 1599,- All inclusive ( 10 nights/ 11 days, based on an 2-person shared room)

Inclusive:

- daily yin & yang yoga, breathwork and meditation

- excursions

- three meals a day

- all transport and accommodation

- all entry fees.

Exclusive:

- International flight to Delhi (approx € 600,-)

- Visa (approx. € 40,-)

- Travel insurance

​If you have any extra questions, or would like to meet us, we can schedula a (zoom)call with you, where we can explain you everything about this Mystical India Journey. Please let us know by sending an email to: rolandjanvm@gmail.com