PUNE - BHIMSHANKAR - SHIVNERI FORT (FROM MUMBAI)

At a distance of 6.5 km from Pune Junction, the Aga Khan Palace is a national monument of India's independence movement. It is situated on Pune - Nagar Road and is one of the prominent tourist places in Pune.

Aga Khan Palace is considered to be one of the greatest palaces in Maharashtra, and among the must-visit places as part of Pune tour packages. The Palace was built by Sultan Mohammed Shah Aga Khan III in 1892 AD. The palace was an act of charity by the Sultan who wanted to help the poor in the neighboring areas of Pune, who were drastically hit by famine.

Aga Khan Palace covers an area of 19 acres, out of which 7 acres is the built-up area. It has Italian arches and spacious lawns. The building comprises five halls. The palace captivates the visitors with its magnificence and picturesque architecture. It took 5 years and an estimated budget of .....

At a distance of 6 km from Pune Junction, Chaturshringi Temple is a Hindu temple located on the slope of a hill on Senapati Bapat road in Pune. It is one o fthe best places to visit in Pune.

The presiding deity of the temple is Goddess Chaturshringi, also known as Goddess Ambareshwari. The Goddess Chaturshringi is widely considered as the reigning deity of Pune and is worshipped by hundreds of devotees. It is said to have been built during the reign of the Maratha king Shivaji Maharaj and is one of the popular places of pilgrimage in Pune.

Chaturshrungi is the name of a mountain with four peaks. The temple is 90 feet high and 125 feet wide and is a symbol of power and faith. One has to climb more than 100 steps to reach the shrine of Goddess Chaturshringi. There are also temples of Goddess Durga and Lord Ganesh in the temple premises. This Ganesh shrine includes eight miniature idols of Ashtavinayaka and these small temples are located on four separate hillocks.

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At a distance of 3 km from Pune Junction, Pataleshwar Cave Temple is an ancient rock cut cave temple located on Jangli Maharaj road in Shivajinagar area of Pune. It is one of the top places of sightseeing in Pune and is maintained by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

The temple is also known as Panchaleshvara or Bamburde Temple and is dedicated to Lord Shiva. The rock-cut cave temple was carved out in the 8th century AD, during the Rashtrakutas Period. The cave temple bears resemblance with the rock-cut temples of Ellora. It has been declared as a protected monument by the government of Maharashtra.

Made of basalt rock, the cave temple is believed to have been cut out from a single rock. A linga, the symbol of Shiva, is housed in the sanctum, which is a cube-shaped room about 3 to 4 m high. On each side of the sanctum, two smaller cells are present. A circular Nandi Mandapa, with its umbrella shaped canopy supported by square pillars, is located in front of the cave. This .....

At a distance of 3 km from Pune Junction, Shaniwar Wada is an ancient palace fort situated in the center of Pune in Maharashtra. This one of the most popular historical places to visit in Pune.

Built in 1732 AD, Shaniwar Wada was the seat of the Peshwa rulers of the Maratha Empire until 1818 AD when the Peshwas surrendered to the British after the Third Anglo-Maratha War. Following the rise of the Maratha Empire, the palace became the center of Indian politics in the 18th century. It is one of the must-visit places as part of Pune tour packages.

Shaniwar Wada was originally built as the residence of the Peshwas. The foundation of the mansion was laid by Bajirao I in 1730 AD and the construction was completed in 1732 AD. It is said that the foundation was carried out on a Saturday, hence the palace got the name 'Shaniwar' (Saturday), 'Wada' (residence). .....

At a distance of 4 km from Pune Junction, Dagdusheth Halwai Ganapathi Temple is an ancient Hindu temple situated in Budhwar Pet near Shaniwar Wada in Pune City. This is one of the important Ganesh temples in Maharashtra, and among the must include places in Pune tour packages.

Sri Dagdusheth Temple is dedicated to the Hindu God Ganesh. It is one of the famous places to visit in Pune. The temple was built by Dagdusheth Halwai, a sweet seller. In the late 1800s, he lost his son in a plague epidemic. This caused Dagdusheth and his wife to go into a deep depression. To heal them, he built the Ganesh temple in 1893 AD according to their Guru Sri Madhavnath Maharaj's advice. Every year the Ganapathi festival was celebrated with deep faith and enthusiasm not only by Dagdusheth's family but the entire neighborhood. .....

At a distance of 4 km from Pune Junction and 1.5 km from Shaniwar Wada Fort, Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum is situated on Bajirao Road, Shukrawar Peth in Pune. It is one of the excellent museums in Maharashtra and also one of the top places to visit in Pune City.

The museum was founded by Dr. Dinkar G. Kelkar in remembrance of his only son, Raja Dinkar in 1962. He started gathering artifacts from 1920 to 1960. Initially, he used to exhibit these collections to friends and family. With the help of state government as well as local bodies, his collection started growing further. And in 1975, he handed his entire collection to the Government of Maharashtra.

Raj Dinkar Kelkar Museum houses various sculptures dating back to the 14th century. The three storey museum contains nearly 20,000 objects like paintings, handicrafts, armour-suits, musical instruments and many other objects of art and artifacts collected from all over the world. The building has been designed in a Rajasthani-style, .....

At a distance of 5 km from Pune Junction and 2 km from Dagdusheth Ganapathi Temple, Sarasbaug Ganapathi Temple is an ancient Hindu temple situated at Sarasbaug near Dinkar Kelkar Museum, Pune. The temple is one of the oldest temples in Pune and also one of the top pilgrimage places in Pune.

The Sarasbaug Temple has a rich historical past and has an identity of its own owing to its unique island position. Soon after completion of Shree Devdeveshwar Temple on Parvati hill in 18th century, Shrimant Nanasaheb Peshwa had decided to construct a lake at the foothills of Parvati as a part of beautification. An island of about 25,000 sq. feet area was retained in the middle of this lake. Later on, a beautiful garden was created on this island. In 1784 AD, Shrimant Sawai Madhavrao Peshwa built a small temple in Sarasbaug and installed the idol of Sri Siddhivinayak Gajanan.

Popularly known as the Talyatla Ganapathi because of its island position in the midst of a lake, Sarasbaug Temple .....

At a distance 6 km from Pune Junction, Sri Mahalaxmi Temple is beautiful temple situated at just opposite to Sri Sarasbaug Ganesh Temple in Sarasbaug area of Pune, Maharashtra. It is one of the top pilgrimage places to visit in Pune City.

The temple is dedicated to Goddess Mahalaxmi, Mahakali & Maha Saraswati. It was founded in the year 1972 by Late Sri Bansilal Ramnath Agarwal. It took almost 12 years to complete the work. Entire temple has been developed using white marble that further adds an additional grandeur to this majestic architectural specimen.

The temple was built in Dravidian style of architecture. The shikhar of the Mahalaxmi temple is 55 feet tall and 24 feet wide. The temple possesses 3 magnificent peaks which are masterfully carved with minute carvings and sculptures of several Hindu gods and are perfectly enthroned on the three deities present in the temple. The deities of Goddesses Sri Maha Saraswati, Sri Mahalaxmi and Sri Mahakali are six feet tall and have .....

At a distance of 111 km from Pune, 124 km from Lonavala, 210 km from Nashik, and 224 km from Mumbai, Bhimashankar Temple is an ancient pilgrimage center located near Karjat in the Ghat region of Sahyadri hills in Maharashtra. This is one of the top places of pilgrimage in Maharashtra, and also one of the best pilgrimage places to visit near Pune.

Bhimashankar Temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and is considered one of the 12 holy Jyotirlinga shrines in India, and among the must-visit places as part of Pune tour packages. The other Jyotirlinga shrines in Maharashtra are Vaidyanath near Parli, Trimbakeshwara near Nashik, Grishneshwar near Aurangabad, and Aundha Nagnath Temple in Hingoli. Bhimashankar is also the source of the river Bhima, which flows southeast and merges with the Krishna River near Raichur.

It is .....

At a distance of 94 km from Pune Junction, Shivneri Fort is an ancient fort situated near Junnar in Pune district of Maharashtra. Shivneri Fort is one of the most magnificent as well as historically rich forts of India. It is a famous trekking destination and also a popular weekend picnic destination near Pune. It is also one of the top tourist places in Pune visiting.

The Shivneri Fort was built during the time of Satavahanas. After the Satavahanas, the Shivneri Fort was occupied by the Shilaharas, the Yadavas, and the Bahamanis. In 1599 AD the hill fort was granted to Shivaji's grandfather, Maloji Bhosale and passed down to Shahaji. Jijabai (Shivaji's mother) spent the days of her pregnancy here and this was the birth place of Shivaji, the famous Maratha warrior who was born in 1630 AD. Shivaji spent his childhood in Shivneri Fort and also undertook his military training here.

Shivneri is a triangular shape hill fort and has its entrance from the South-West side of the .....