Travelling to the Dharma Yatra
Mindful Traveling
How we choose to travel from our home to the Yatra can have far reaching effects on the environment. As we all know, planes, trains and cars (even electric ones) rely on fossil fuels which contribute to climate change. An element of comparison is the CO2 emissions per person....
The one way journey from London to the Yatra in France is 1120 km (700 miles). For such a distance a plane produces 234kg, a large car (with 3 people in) 117kg, a small car (with 3 people in) 58kg, a train 79kg, a coach 41kg but a bike or walking 0!
The Yatra is a journey in mindfulness, and getting there is part of the experience. Go slower, enjoy the view.
If you have any tips or wisdom to share about ways to reach the Yatra, or if you discover that the information presented here is incorrect, do contact us.
Below you will find the following details for making your journey:
- The Starting Point and End Point of Yatra
- How to get to the Yatra
- Finding the Parking Place And First Campsite
- Staying before and/or after the Yatra
The Starting Point And End Point Of The Yatra
Note: All the information here is to help you plan your travel to the Yatra area. We will send a full info email by the end of June with links to maps for the starting point and parking spot.
This year we will start near Dionay (38160) in the department of Isère, France. We ask you to arrive between 13.00 (1.00pm) and 14.30 (2.30pm) on the first day so that you can receive arrival information, set up your tent and be ready for dinner at 18.00 (6pm).
The Yatra will end in the same area, with transport provided to the nearest railway station and the Yatra car parking place.
How To Get To The Yatra
There are lots of general tips on cheap travel in Europe at
seat61.com and
moneysavingexpert.com
By Train
The nearest train station to Dionay is Saint-Marcellin.
Within the UK and from the UK to France
Visit Megatrain at uk.megabus.com/megatrain.aspx for seats starting at £1
For regular train tickets use the Train Line at thetrainline.com
Within France
Visit SNCF at voyages-sncf.com. Better deals are available for tickets bought a few months in-advance.
If you travel from UK or the north you'll probably have to pass by Paris.
From UK visit bonjourlafrance.com
There are several trains daily from Paris to Valence or Grenoble then a connecting train to Saint-Marcellin. From the south of France, take the train to Valence and then another train to Saint-Marcellin.
If you contact us in advance with your scheduled arrival time, we can organise lifts between the Saint-Marcellin train station and the campsite. It's not possible to guarantee we will be there exactly as your train arrives. We try to minimize the amount of trips, so you might have to wait. Thank you for your understanding. Please be ready to contribute towards the fuel costs, alternatively you can try hitching.
By Bus
Within the UK
Megabus (seats starting at £1): uk.megabus.com
National Express nationalexpress.com
UK to France
Eurolines: eurolines.co.uk/coach
By Car
Think about offering lifts and hitchers.
Probably the easiest way to find your way to Dionay by car is to use a GPS device. Or search on a maps app, you can print out your itinerary, and they are usually quite accurate. Also Michelin offer a good road map of France.
You can also hitch-hike, especially on the small roads it usually works well!
Car Sharing
You can try these websites for car sharing:
For all of Europe (French website)
http://www.covoiturage.fr
http://www.covoiturage.fr/lang/en (in English)
http://www.covoiturage.com (in French)
UK
http://www.freewheelers.co.uk
http://www.liftshare.com
France
Type ‘covoiturage’ in a search engine you will find there are lots of different websites
Belgium
http://www.karzoo.be
http://www.carpoolplaza.be
Germany
http://www.mitfahren.comhttp://www.mitfahrgelegenheit.de
http://www.nrw.pendlernetz.de
By Plane
The closest airport is Grenoble or Lyon. Both are connected to Saint-Marcellin by train.
To Parking Place And First Campsite
Once you register you will receive a full informative letter along with your confirmation with all you need to know regarding getting to the Yatra parking place and the first camping spot.
Staying After
There are campsites and hostels nearby to Dionay. There are also other events happening before and after the Yatra.
If you're ready to reserve your place please Register your interest.