Travelling is something which gives new experiences and helps us, humans, to get on a journey of exploration of new cultures, diverse traditions and distinguishing lifestyles. It was travelling only which helped Vasco da Gama to find India. His investigations helped the world to know the sea route to the Indian continent.
As you search for newly found cultures, you find a way to relive the life and appreciate the diversity and incredibility of our Indian traditions. Travel is a stress buster which helps you re-discover yourself while creating everlasting memories.
This pleasure of adventure strengthens your relationships and enables you to get great exploration ideas through which you can even do new businesses. Travel and tourism are a huge part of any state’s revenue while giving it a unique worldwide presence. You feel rejuvenated and also enjoy the pleasure of planning travel plans.
Out of 28 states and eight union territories, Maharashtra is the third largest state by area in India. Visitors have always praised its Marathi tradition. Moreover, Marathi’s unique lifestyle and food habits have worldwide recognition.
One of the major cities to visit in Maharashtra is the city of Pune. The city was known as Poona and has been home to various industrial and educational expeditions. Situated within the greenery of the Western Ghats, whereby surrounding mountains and hill forts, this educational capital of Maharashtra will give you travel lovers a vibrant nightlife consisting of pubs and clubs and various flavorful dining locations with a variety of cuisines.
It has various tourist attractions and is home to many museums, parks and zoos. Places to visit in pune are:
- Rock-cut Pataleshwar cave temple
- Shaniwar Wada
- Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum
- Aga Khan Palace
- Sreemant Dagadusheth Halwai Temple
- Okayama Friendship Garden
- Sinhagad Fort
- Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park
- Iskon NVCC Pune
- Koregaon Park
These are some top ten places which you can visit in the city along with your family and friends. Of course, the best way to reach the town depends on where you travel. It has all sorts of accessibility where you can either board a flight, a car or a bus or can take a car on rent in pune and enjoy visiting these places. Moving further, we will now have a brief idea of these places and what you can best do here.
Rock-cut Pataleshwar Cave Temple
It is a rock-cut cave temple from the Rashtrakuta period located in the city, mainly dedicated to Lord Shiva. Its monumental excavation featured it as a three-rock-cut cave shrine that initially advised having Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva rock cuts. It is now dedicated to Parvati, Shiva and Ganesha.
Shaniwar Wada
Dangling modifier, this beautiful masterpiece known as Shaniwar Wada was built in 1732 and was a great seat of the Peshwas of the Maratha Empire. Destroyed by an unexpected fire, the fort now serves as a tourist place.
The fort was attacked by British artillery during british raj or we can say british rule in india, and all the top six stories collapsed, leaving only the stone base, which remained resistant to the attack. The building has five gates, namely: Delhi Darwaja (Delhi Gate), Mastani Darwaja (Mastani’s Gate), Khadka Darwaja (Window Gate), Ganesh Darwaja (Ganesh Gate) and Jambul Darwaja or Narayan Darwaja. Its main attraction is a lotus-shaped fountain, the Hazari Karanja.
Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum
This museum building contains assembles of Dr Dinkar G. Kelkar and is dedicated to the memory of his son, Raja. The museum has numerous historical Door frames, ornaments, vessels, different paintings, Musical instruments and carvings representing exemplary examples of Marathi art. The musical wing of its collection includes those instruments which belonged to the late industrialist Chandrashekhar Agashe who had a keen interest in Indian music and culture. For music lovers, this place can prove to be worthy enough to make their day.
Aga Khan Palace
Built by the 48th Imam of the Nazari Ismaili sect of Islam, Sultan Muhammed Shah Aga Khan III, the palace was made for charity by Nazari Ismaili Muslim spiritual leaders. The castle has historical connection to the Indian freedom movement where once Mahatma Gandhi and his wife, his secretary Mahadev Desai and Sarojini Naidu were there in the prison. It is an attraction to photography lovers with various kinds of architectural buildings, green space and required photography lighting.
Shreemant Dagadusheth Halwai Temple
The Dagadusheth shrine is a 130-year-old construction dedicated to Lord Ganesha, which has a footfall of thousands of devotees every year. It hosts one of the biggest Ganeshotsav festivals of the Maharashtra state and is a center of attraction for its devotees. It’s simple construction gives it a much richer look while giving way to various cultural activities in the temple complex. If you are visiting the city, the temple is worth visiting to make your trip memorable and peaceful.
Okayama Friendship Garden
Named among some of the largest gardens in the city of Pune, Okayama Friendship Garden is home to a naturally flowing waterway connected to a canal and built on about acres of land area. A well-known Marathi writer Pu La Deshpande has this garden in his name. It’s an attraction to many Bollywood shoots. One can easily visit this place because of its easy reach and accessibility to travel by bus or auto rickshaw.
Sinhagad Fort
Sinhagad Fort, known as Kondhana, was linked to the Battle of Sinhagad held in 1670. Its steep slopes provided protection from the enemies, and it was counted as one of the significant forts designed critically for Maratha warriors’ defence.
The fort offers a place for trekking enthusiasts as it holds the seating on a high hill mountain area. It has a temple dedicated to Goddess Kali. Pune local government transport authority runs a bus service from many locations within the city to the fort.
Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park
Managed by PMC (Pune Municipal Corporation), the Rajiv Gandhi Zoo is spread over 130 acres with three parts: a snake park, an animal orphanage and a zoo.
It also includes an element of Katraj Lake. The zoo has a collection of birds, reptiles and mammals. Its Asiatic lions and snake cobra are among the park’s main attractions. It is worth visiting if you are an animal lover and love spending time with nature.
ISKCON NVCC Pune
ISKCON NVCC (New Vedic Cultural Centre) is a Gaudiya Vaishnavism temple dedicated to Lord Radha Krishna. It is placed among the most significant temples of Pune city. The temple is situated along the Mumbai- Bengaluru Highway.
It is 10 km from the railway station of Pune city. One can travel by any means here and can board any bus, car or auto rickshaw. If you are travelling by air, the nearest route to the airport will give you a ride of 18 km. ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) has created awareness among humanity of the Hare Krishna movement.
Koregaon Park
Koregaon Park is an international meditation spot hosting trendy nightlife and a dining facility. It has a range of Indian and European restaurants. For entertainment, one can visit its music bars.
They even host live music shows. Street shopping lovers are welcomed here with a variety of Osho slippers with a range of designer fashion wear to home decor utilities. The Osho Teerth Park has a peaceful stream running through it.
How can you rent a vehicle for your visit and make your travel hassle free?
Many local rental services are available when you get into the city. But the best way to make your trip to Pune memorable is to hire a certified rental service to make you go through the city tour.
From four-wheelers to Two wheelers, it offers you all sorts of rental vehicles to make your trip enjoyable. Check if they have certified vehicles which are properly maintained as per RTO guidelines.
Always carry your Driving license if you wish travel with self-ride commute.
We wish you to have a wonderful stay in the city.