PUNE CITY | TOURISM, TOURIST PLACES TO VISIT & TOUR PACKAGES

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 in Pune and also one of the top tourist places in Pune City.

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.

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). Influenced by Mughal design and architecture, Shaniwar Wada represents the skillful craftsmanship of Maratha artisans and boasts about 21 feet tall .....

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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 a majestic building and is considered to be one of the greatest palaces in Maharashtra. 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 neighbouring 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 1.2 million rupees to construct the palace. It was donated to Government of India by the Prince Karim El Husseni, Aga Khan IV, in 1969 AD, in the memory of Mahatma .....

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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 also one of the popular tourist places in Pune.

Sri Dagdusheth Temple is dedicated to the Hindu God Ganesh. The temple was built by Dagdusheth Halwai, a sweet seller. In late 1800s, he lost his son in a plague epidemic. This caused Dagdusheth and his wife to go into 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 neighbourhood. Later, Lokmanya Tilak made Ganapathi festival a public celebration to bring people together for the freedom struggle.

The temple is simple and yet beautiful, that allows the devotees to catch a glimpse of the Ganesh idol and watch .....

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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.

According .....

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At a distance of 32 km from Pune Junction, Sinhagad or Sinhagarh means the Lion Fort, is a fortress located southwest of Pune City. Sinhagad Fort is one of the popular places of trekking in Pune and also one of the top places to visit near Pune City.

Previously called Kondana, the fort has been the site of many important battles, most notably the Battle of Sinhagad in 1671 CE. According to history, the fort was built 2,000 years ago and it is said that the name Kondana was derived from sage Kaundinya. Mohammed bin Tughalak captured the fort from the Koli tribal chieftain, Nag Naik in 1340 CE. And in 1496 CE, Malik Ahmad, the founder of the Nizam Shahi dynasty took control of the fort.

Nearly 200 years later, the Maratha leader Shahaji Bhonsale captured the fort. In 1647 CE, Shivaji held the stronghold and renamed it Sinhagad. In 1665 CE, as per the Treaty of Purandar, Shivaji handed over Sinhagad to the Mughals and again captured .....

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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 .....

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At a distance of 111 km from Pune, 124 km from Lonavala, 210 km from Nashik and 224 km from Mumbai, Bhimashankar Temple is 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 in Pune.

Bhimashankar Temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and is considered as one of the 12 holy Jyotirlinga shrines in India, and five in Maharashtra. 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 believed that the original temple of Bhimashankar was built in 12th century CE. However, there is no evidence remains dating to that period have been found. The temple was renovated by Chimaji Antaji Bhide Naik .....

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At a distance of 11 km from Pune Junction and 6 km from Saras Baug, Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park, commonly known as Rajiv Gandhi Zoo, is located at Katraj in Pune. It is one of the famous tourist places in Pune and is managed by the Pune Municipal Corporation.

The Pune Municipal Corporation created Peshwe Park in 1953 on about 7 acres. In 1986, Mr. Neelam Kumar Khaire with assistance from the Pune Municipal Corporation created the Katraj Snake Park on the same land. In 1997, in order to create a more modern zoo, the municipality selected a site in Katraj and started developing a new zoo. The zoo opened in 1999 as the Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park & Wildlife Research Centre. The park initially included only the Reptile Park, sambars, spotted deer, and monkeys. Although it took until 2005, all of the animals from Peshwe Park were eventually moved to the new site, and Peshwe Park was closed.

The 130 acre zoo is divided into three parts: an animal orphanage, a snake park, and .....

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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, .....

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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 .....

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