Places to Visit in Pune

3.5 years of staying in Pune and I can leave my job to be your city tour guide(Condition: If I get paid enough :p ). Now that my financial situation is not allowing me to do so, I thought of doing it virtually. If you love to get true flavors of a city and are staying/ planning to come to Pune, this post is totally for you. I thought of writing this one blog post about places with historical values, delicious foods & street shopping places. Guess what? I have planned it in such a way so that you can visit all these places in one day.

Aga Khan Palace

If you are tired of googling places to visit and to eat in Pune, here is one post with all the details (from distance,entry fee to timing). You can adjust timing/routes/destination in accordance with your convenience.

Osho Grden

Osho Garden: Start your day by getting closer to nature and a refreshing morning walk at Osho Garden. Osho Ashram is situated at heart of one of the most happening places in Pune, Koregaon Park. The beauty of Osho Garden is when you enter, the energy of the place can make you distant from all the crowd and noise of the city and can lead you towards calmness and peace.

Timing: 6am-9am and 3pm-6pm.

Entry Fee: NA.

Front view of Aga Khan Palace

Aga Khan Palace: Built by Sultan Muhammed Shah Aga Khan III in 1892 and donated by Aga Khan IV as a mark of respect to Gandhi and his philosophy, Aga Khan Palace stands with memories of Gandhiji. Distance between Aga khan Palace and Osho Garden is 4 kilometers. Mahatma Gandhi and his wife Kasturba Gandhi were confined here from 9 August 1942 to 6 May 1944. During this time, Kasturba Gandhi and Mahadev Desai (Gandhiji’s secretary) died in the palace and their Samadhis can be found here there.

Samadhis of Kasturba Gandhi and Mahadev Desai

Timing:9am-5.30pm.

Entry Fee: Rs.5/-.

Breakfast at Café Good Luck: A good day starts with good breakfast. There is no better option than the oldest Iranian Café (established in 1935) that serves the best Tea and Bun Maska/Bun Cheese Masala Omelette in town. You can have Brain Masala in Lunch as well. It is situated at one of the key locations of Pune: Fargusson College Road aka F.C. Road. Expect it to be crowded but if you reach around 7.30-8 am, you might find it a little less crowded.

Pataleswar Cave and Jangli Maharaj Mandir: I have visited this place thrice and the most remarkable one was when I came here by cycling 20 kilometers for the first time. It is 1.7 kilometers away from Café Good Luck. The incomplete cube-shaped temple, made of Basalt rock is devoted to God Shiva. It was carved in 8^th Century. Jungli Maharaj Temple is adjacent to the cave. It is a very serene place to be.

Timing: 6.30am-8.30pm.

Entry Fee: NA.

Pataleswar Cave

Inside Pataleswar Cave. Photo by: Kanika

Lord Shiva inside Pataleswar Temple

Jangli Maharaj Temle

Jangli Maharaj Temple from outside

Shaniwar Wada

Shaniwar Wada Fort: Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone had made this place famous in Baji Rao Mastani. This was the central fort and residence of Peshwa Baji Rao I, Prime Minister of King of Maratha Empire, Chattrapati Shivaji. Making of the fort was completed on 10^th January 1730 on a Saturday causing it to name Shaniwar (Sature Day) Wada (House). It is situated at a distance of 2 kilometers from Pataleswar Cave.

When we entered in the fort, I was disappointed to see that the place could not retain much of its historical marks. As this place survived British attacks and 7 days long fire break out on 27^th February 1828, currently the ruin of the building carries history in its memory. There was this beautiful garden and the shadows of trees which were pleasant.

Timing: 6am-5.30pm.

Entry Fee: Rs.5/-.

Lal Mahal

Lal Mahal: Lal Mahal is a famous building made by Sahaji Bhosale for his wife Jijabai and his son Shivaji Maharaj who later became the king of Maratha empire. As there were multiple attacks took place in the city, the original Lal Mahal got erased from the map of Pune. The building was made by PMC in the year of 1988. It is very close to Shaniwar Wada.

Lal Mahal

Timing: 9am-6pm.

Entry Fee: I don’t remember the exact amount but it is very less.

Dagdusheth Ganapati Temple: Mr. Dagdusheth Halwai, a successful sweetmeat seller in Pune made this Ganapati temple in the year of 1893. The Ganesh Idol embellished with 40kilometers gold. It is situated at 300 meters from Lal Mahal.

Timing: 6am-11pm.

Enry Fee: NA.

You can catch a breath at Kaka Halwai Sweet Center that has a large variety of sweet and savory food items. It is situated 200 meters away from Dagdusheth Ganapati Temple.

Note: Laxmi Road is famous for street shopping of jewelries. Please note that this place is very crowded. Please stay alert about your money bag/wallet.

Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum: This place will take a while if you are history enthusiast. It is situated at a distance of 800 meters from Kaka Halwai Sweet Centre. Apart from very good collection of musical instruments, statues and textiles, Mastani Mahal has been moved here few years back which makes it a great place of historical value. Photography is not allowed inside the museum.

Timing: 10am-5.30pm.

Entry Fee: Rs.20/-.

Food is Happiness

Lunch at F.C. Road: As F.C. Road is within 3 kilometers and you’ll find many famous restaurants there, I would suggest you to head towards F.C. Road. Chaitanya Paranthas serves the best paranthas in Pune and also you’ll find Bahubali Parathas here at House of Paratha. Apart from these, Wadeshwar(South Indian Food), Vaishali (Pure Veg) or Marrakesh (Middle Eastern Food) will welcome you too.

BTW, Did I mention that F.C. Road is famous for street shopping for clothes?

Pune Okayama Friendship garden

Saras Baug and Pune Okayama Friendship Garden: Saras Baug and Pune Okayama Friendship garden are situated near by places mentioned above. On weekends these places are crowded with parents with kids and college goers. You’ll find a small fair in front of Saras Baug.

Saras Baug

Timing: 6am-9pm.

Entry Fee: NA

Pune Okayama Friendship Garden

Timing: 6am-10.30am and 4pm-7.30pm

Entry Fee: Rs.5/-.

You can visit Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park as well if you are interested. It is situated at Katraj that is almost 7 kilometers away from Saras Baug and around 9 kilometers away from Okayama Friendship Garden.

Timing: 9.30am-7pm

Entry Fee: Rs.15/-.

Parvati Temple

Parvati Hills: The second highest point of Pune, Parvati Hill is 650 meters above sea level. There are 103 steps to reach on the top of this mound. On the top of the mound there are 5 temples of Shiva and Parvati, Kartikeya, Vishnu, Vitthal and Rama. I would highly recommend you visit this place in the evening to have a beautiful view of Pune. Peswa Museum where lies the tomb of Nana Saheb is situated. This place is situated at a distance of 4 kilometers from Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum and is 2.5 kilometers away from Saras Baug.

View from the top

Timing: Peswa Museum 7.30am-8pm

Entry Fee: The ticket price to visit museum is Rs.10/- and to go to the terrace is Rs.5/-.

After a hectic day like this, you deserve good food.

Bombay Pav Bhaji at Cream Craver

Dinner at Yana Sizzlers/Cream Craver: For dinner you can go to Yana Sizzlers or Cream Cravers at Camp that is just 4kms away. Yana serves the best sizzlers in Pune. I’ll recommend you to try “Chicken China Town” (Pocket Pinch: Rs. ~700/- per person). If you are craving for Maharashtrian food flavors, head towards Cream Cravers. Try their “Bombay Pav Bhaji” (Pocket Pinch: Below Rs. 150/-). Also you’ll get a chance to explore another street shopping area, M.G. Road. If you are bargain expert, this place will be heaven for you for cheap yet fancy clothes.

Chicken China Town from Yana Sizzlers

For one day trips you can visit below mentioned places. For details click on the links:

Lavasa: /2017/03/27/lavasa/
Sinhagarh: /2018/01/06/8-reasons-to-visit-sinhagarh-fort-pune/
Kolad: /2018/01/01/kolad-river-rafting/
Bhuleswar: /2018/06/08/bhuleswar-pune/

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