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.