PUNE
Nestled in the Sahyadri mountains ranges at a height of 598 meters, 150 km. south
of Mumbai.Base of the Great maratha emperor Chhatrapati Shivaji maharaj and
the Peshavas the city has been a cultural capital of Maharashtra for centuries.
Patrons of the arts the Peshavas enriched the city with many temples ,gardens .
It is also considered as "Oxford of India" with many research institutes and
educational institutes including for sports, yoga, ayurvedas, culture and social services.
Pune has emerged as one of the modern metros with its glorious heritage been carefully
preserved.
This Queen of Deccan has many places of interest and can be used as convinient base
to visit World famous Ajanta-Ellora caves near Aurangabad.
There are several interesting places to see here:
Lal mahal- of chhatrapati Shivaji maharaj
Shaniwar wada- 18 th century Peshwai splendor
Vishrambaug wada- Historic Peshava mansion
Shindyanci Chatri- Mahadaji Shinde's memorial
Agakhan palace- a memorial of Mahatma Gandhi's wife
Raja kelkar museum
Film institute of India and film archives
Samata bhoomi- monument of Mahatma Phule -a social reformer of 19th century
Around Pune :
Sinhagad fort- excellent for treck.
Lonawala-Khandala- twin hill-stations . just an hour's drive from Pune
Mahabaleshwar-Panchagani- famous hill stations
Alandi- the samadhi of the saint Dnyaneshwar- (a 13 th century) who wrote Bhagwat Gita in marathi.
Ashtvinayak temples- around Pune , eight temples of Lord Ganesha.
Jejuri- the Khandoba's temple ,the deity of Maharashtra.
Kamal-Ali-Darwesh Dargah- a place of pilgrimage for both Hindus and Muslims.
Getting there :
Air- From Mumbai the flying time is only 30 minutes and from Delhi is two hours.
Rail- Trains run at regular intervals between Pune and Mumbai.
Bus- MSRTC, private buses (A/c as well as non-A/c) ply with very good frequency between Pune and Mumbai.
Mumbai-Pune taxi service is also available.
Local transport- Muncipal buses, auto-rickshaws, rental cars are available.