Rangan Datta Wiki · Aga Khan Palace 1a.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Pune
A Peshwa capital turned university city, at the top of the ghat road from Mumbai.
Pune
Pune sits at the top of the Western Ghats escarpment, a few hours inland from Mumbai and several degrees more comfortable for most of the year. It was the seat of the Peshwas in the eighteenth century, which is why the old city still has wadas and temple streets, and it became a university and cantonment town under the British, which is why the other half of it has avenues and bungalows. The single building most visitors come for is the Aga Khan Palace — built in 1892 as famine relief, and the place where Gandhi, his wife Kasturba and his secretary Mahadev Desai were interned from August 1942 to May 1944. Kasturba and Desai both died there. Most people give Pune a night; two or three is the right answer, especially if the Sahyadri hills are part of the trip.
Explore Pune on the map
City locations, drawn from our published destination data. Attractions, hotels and restaurants are not mapped yet.
The unmissable Pune
What to do in Pune
A compact historic core, a national memorial, and hills within an hour in three directions.
The city
- The Aga Khan Palace — a national memorial since 1969, with a Gandhi museum and the samadhis of Kasturba Gandhi and Mahadev Desai in the grounds.
- Shaniwar Wada, the fortified Peshwa seat in the old city, and the lanes around it.
- The Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum, a single collector’s assembly of everyday Indian objects.
- Pataleshwar, an eighth-century rock-cut cave temple sitting in the middle of a modern street.
Above the city
- Sinhagad fort, on the escarpment edge — a short drive and then a climb, best early.
- Parvati Hill for the temple complex and the view back over the city.
- The Khadakwasla and Panshet lakes, which fill and turn green through the monsoon.
The Sahyadris beyond
- Lonavala and Khandala on the ghat road, roughly midway to Mumbai.
- The Bhaja and Karla rock-cut caves, cut into the same basalt as Ajanta and Ellora but far closer.
- Mahabaleshwar and Panchgani, two to three hours south — hill stations with real elevation.
How long to stay
The memorial and the old city
The Aga Khan Palace in the morning, then Shaniwar Wada, Pataleshwar and the Kelkar Museum.
Sinhagad
Up early for the fort and the escarpment view, back for an afternoon in the cantonment.
The ghat road
Bhaja and Karla caves and Lonavala — or continue down to Mumbai rather than doubling back.
Getting around
Pune is spread out and the sights are not walkable from one another; plan on cabs or a car for the day.
Arriving
- Pune (PNQ) handles domestic flights and some regional international services.
- Mumbai (BOM) is the main international gateway; the road up the ghats is the usual approach.
- Frequent trains and buses run from Mumbai, and the rail journey up the escarpment is the scenic version.
Moving
- App cabs and auto-rickshaws cover the city; a car with driver makes sense for Sinhagad or the caves.
- A metro is in service on part of the city and is useful along the corridors it covers.
- Hill roads to Sinhagad and Lonavala are winding — allow more time than the distance suggests.
Travel intelligence
What actually shapes a Pune trip.
Winter is the comfortable season for the city and the forts. The monsoon is when the Sahyadris are worth the trip — green, running with water, and the reason many people come up from Mumbai at all.
Pune works better as half of a trip than on its own — either with Mumbai below the escarpment, or with Lonavala, Mahabaleshwar and the cave temples around it.
Rock-cut Buddhist caves on the ghat road, far closer than Ajanta and Ellora and a good half day. They are a different scale from those two, not a substitute.
Two for the city, three if you want a fort morning or the caves. Longer if the hill stations are part of it.
Where to stay
The choice is between the historic core and the greener cantonment side; they suit different trips.
Koregaon Park & the cantonment
- Tree-lined, quieter and well supplied with places to eat.
- The usual choice for a short stay and the easiest base without a car.
The old city
- Closest to Shaniwar Wada, the temple streets and the markets.
- Busier and less polished, and the right choice if the Peshwa city is why you came.
Towards the hills
- West of the city, nearer Sinhagad and the lakes.
- Makes sense if you are driving and want the ghats rather than the town.
Where to photograph
The city is low and open, so the light matters more than the vantage point.
Morning
- The Aga Khan Palace frontage across the lawn, before the day warms.
- Sinhagad from the ramparts, when the plateau below is still under mist.
- The old city lanes around Shaniwar Wada as the markets open.
Monsoon
- The ghat road above Lonavala, when the waterfalls are running.
- Khadakwasla and the lakes, which change completely between March and August.
Nearby
Pune is a base as much as a destination.
Frequently asked
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