Places in and around Pune

[Marcus878]

Hi all

I will be visiting Pune for my friend’s wedding and would love to see places in and around the city. I will be in India for 10 days only and I do not want to go far from Pune so does anyone have any suggestions for me, what to do, where to go?
Any suggestion will be appreciated.

Thanks
Marc

 

[Deven]

There is plenty to do in Pune, your question is very vague, please can you mention what kind of things you are interested in, or what kind of things you want to see or do i.e, shopping, sight seeing, adventures.

 

[Prits]

There is an endless amount of things to see and do in Pune, it all depends on what your interests are. Just for some idea for sight seeing you can go to Western Ghats, Sinhagad Fort, Aga Khan Palace, Bhimashankar Temple and many other places like this. You can get nature & wildlife and historical & heritage tours which would give you a mixture of things to see.

 

[Raffy01]

You can visit some hill stations like Lonavala or Khandala, which are popular tourist spots. Also dont forget to visit the Lohagad Fort and Ryewood Park which are must sees.

 

[AswinDas]

Lonavala is a must see place and is not too far out, it is around 65km from Pune. It would be a good idea to leave early from Pune so you can miss out on any traffic that there maybe.

 

[Jatin Hullyalkar]

Pune is an awesome place to be! Was there for a week. Simply loved Pune city!!!!!

Here's a list of places I was. Hope you like them too
Tourist places:
Panshet,
Mulshi,
Sinhagad,
Bhaja caves.

Restaurants in Pune:
Malaka spice,
1000 oaks,
121 Kitchen : BarBQ
The Ship.

 

[briannagodess]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

Pune is known by the titles "Cultural Capital of Maharashtra" and "Oxford of the East." Pune is a fast-growing city, it is becoming one of the leading IT hubs of India as well. There's lots to see here, both traditional and modern attractions. There's something for anyone here. Some famous attractions in Pune are:

Temples

• Katraj Jain Temple. By the name, you can locate this temple in Katraj in Pune. You can see idols of Parshwanath Bhagwan and Lord Mahavir in this temple.

• Pataleshwar Cave Temple. This is located in the Jungli Maharaja Road. A rock-cut temple dating back to the 8th Century, this is dedicated to the Lord Shiva.

• Chaturshringi Temple. You can find this in the sloping hill of Senapati Bapat Road. Although this temple is dedicated to Goddess Chaturshringi, you can also find shrines dedicated to Goddess Durga and Lord Ganesh in here.

• Omkareshwar Temple. Owing to the beautiful carvings of this temple, this is one of the most visited attractions in Pune. You can find these carvings in the huge dome in the temple.

Gardens

• Bund Garden. Supposed to be, this garden provided water to the poorer communities for farming. Now, it's one of the most beautiful gardens in Pune. There's even a boating facility inside the garden that you can enjoy.

• Okayama Friendship Garden. As the name suggests, this garden is a symbol of the friendship between the cities of Okayama and Pune. The garden itself represents the harmonious ways of the Japanese.

• PL Deshpande Garden. They say this is the most maintained garden in Pune. You can find ponds, waterfalls, beautiful landscapes and colourful flowers in here.

• Empress Garden. This is also known as the "Soldier's Garden" since it was mostly the soldiers who used this for recreation. Now, it's a place teeming with flowers, plants and even mango trees!

Museums

• Mahatma Phule Museum. You can find a variety of artefacts here: jewelries, armoires, weaponries and other handicrafts.

• Raj Dinakar Kelkar Museum. This museum has various collections of ancient items collected by Dr. DG Kelkar. Potteries, paintings and carved sculptures are also usual finds in here.

• Darshan Museum. The museums offers interactive videos which are quite interesting to watch. Best of all, they're free to watch! Travel back in time and enjoy the history of the country through the videos here.

• Tribal Museum. For the history buff in you, explore the artefacts and weaponries used by the ancient tribes of Marai, Bahiram, Wagdheo and Danteswari.

Palaces

• Aga Khan Palace. Although this is a palace, this place is also known as where Mahatma Gandhi and his wife, Kasturba Gandhi were detained.

• Lal Palace. This was built by Sahaji Bhonsale. Now, it's a popular tourist attraction for its beautiful garden.

Now, for some places near Pune you can visit:

1. Kamshet. This is just about 52 kms from Pune. Although best known for its adventure activities, there are some attractions worth visiting here as well:

• Bedsa Caves. These caves date back to the 60th Century BC and are regarded as the oldest caves in Maharashtra. It's a steep climb though so you need to be physically fit before trying to reach the caves.

• Bhandar Dongar Temple. This temple dates back to the medieval period and is dedicated to Saint Tukaram.

• Kondeshwar Temple. A temple dedicated to Lord Shiva amidst lush greenery.

2. Lavasa. This is just 57 kms from Pune. This is the first planned city in India and there's a variety of water sports you can do here. Some attractions here:

• Temghar Dam. This is the main water source of the city. The views here are amazing and it's perfect for a picnic.

• Lakeside Promenade. You can enjoy boating here or just enjoy the views from the lakeside.

3. Rajmachi. This is just 80 kms from Pune. This is a trekker's paradise because of the amazing hikes you can do here. Some places to see are:

• Manranjan Fort and Shrivardhan Fort. You can find temples, water tanks and even Buddhist caves in here.

• Rajmachi Wildlife Sanctuary. This is the home of the Giant Indian Squirrel and other species of animals.

I hope this helps!

 

[Dybbuk Jones]

The Bhaja Caves are really beautiful. They are Buddhist caves that were carved out thousands of years ago and most of the artwork is still embedded in the walls. They truly represent an achievement in human ingenuity (even though that's kind of not the point of Buddhism). Definitely go to the Bhaja Caves. They will literally take your breath away.