Attractions near Lonavala Pune

Lonavala is one of the best and famous hill stations in Maharashtra near Pune. This place is around 60 km from Pune. Thousands of people visit this place everyday and on the weekend the number gets doubled. Nowadays people come to this place but wander around the city. And the reason for this the increase in the crowd coming to the city. People wish to visit the calm and uncrowded place which we generally do not get a chance to find.

In Lonavala there are some places which are still away from the crown or hidden from the people from city. Some of them are:

Korigad near Aamby Valley: This is one of the best forts in Pune district for trekking. The fort is the best place to visit in a rainy season. The fort is not the ideal place for the history lovers as you will not find many things to see on the forts. However the greenery around the fort makes you forget everything and doesn't allow you to leave the fort in the end of your journey. The height of the fort from the foothill might scare you; but as you start climbing the fort you will understand how easy the climbing is. There are well maintained steps from the foothill to the top of the fort. For more information about the fort see: Korigad Fort Lonavala.

Lohgad fort near Lonavala: This is the second attraction near Pune Lonavala hill station. This fort has really great history to tell you. The fort is just 20 km away from the hill station of Lonavala. The place is totally surround by the greenery of Sahyadri ranges. For more information click: Lohgad near Lonavala

Visapur Fort near Lonavala: This is one of the twin forts near lonavala. They are Lonaala fort and Visapur fort. The place is very popular in the trekkers. As far as trekking is concerned the place is easy for trekking. Malavali station is very near to the fort. For more information about the fort visit: Visapur Fort

Another very famous attraction near Lonavala is Rajmachi Trek. The place has become very famous in the trekkers coming to Lonavala. The fort has a great historical background. The fort is formed by the two different peaks named Shrivardhan and Manaranjan which are also considered as two different forts. For more information about the trekking on the fort visit: Rajmachi Trek near Lonavala.

Hotels and Restaurants in Pune

Pune, the second largest city of Maharashtra and the eighth largest city of India has been attracting people since a long time. This place initially used to be called as a Cultural capital of Maharashtra and the Oxford of the East; however it is still know by these capital names in India. Adding to these qualities, nowadays it is also know as one of the most visited tourist places of India and Maharashtra. Pune is surrounded or environed by most of the forts of Shivaji Maharaj and these forts have been attracting tourists from outside the country also. There are many educational institutions and organizations in Pune. Education in Pune is attracting thousands of students not only from India but also from other countries also. Most importantly many businesses and organizations are well established in Pune. There are thousands of job and career opportunities available in Pune. You just need to be here to get settled in the job and career you want to be in. The city is becoming the IT hub of India after Bangalore.

All these factors have helped much to the hotel industry of Pune to get itself established and nourished or sustained.  People are coming to Pune for education, job, and for many reasons. The number of tourists to Pune is increasing continuously. day by day. To control this traffic of people this hotel industry has been giving their best and will surely be the perfect host to the people who enter in this city as guest.

Here is the list of luxury, five stars, four stars, three stars and budget hotels of Pune. You will also be provided with the list of restaurants, dhabas, and the famous places of this city where people love to eat and spend their time.

Caves in Pune - Bhaja, Bedse and Karla Caves

The main benefit of this trip is that you can visit maximum places in a trip of one day. You can visit the places like- Bedse caves, Pavana Dam, Lohgadh, Lonavla, Bhaja caves, and Karla caves. This trip is especially for the people who love traveling on bike and not traveling by bus or any other vehicle. The important thing you should have with you is energy. If you have energy, you will almost enjoy all the places.

You will certainly get plenteous time to spend at each place, if you leave your home early in the morning. Seven O’ clock in the morning is an ideal time to start the trip. Leaving even earlier will allow you to spend more time at every place. It will also give you a chance to see sunrise from Bedse caves which are facing eastwards.

Bedse Caves: These caves are 35 km from Pune located in the Maval tehsil. This place is on the old Pune-Mumbai highway near Kamshet. It is an ideal place for history lovers to expend their time.

The historical references say that these caves have been there since 1st century B. C. Two caves are there which are facing eastwards. The first one is Chaitya which is a prayer hall and the other one monastery i.e. Vihara. These caves are comparatively less known and visited. Most of the people visit Karla caves and Bhaja caves which are not far from Bedse caves.

Pavana Dam: After contemplating the architecture of Bedse caves, you can move on to Pavana dam. It takes 45 min from Bedse caves to reach to Pavana dam. The road to Pavana dam is quite narrow and not well maintained. Therefore you need to drive slowly and carefully. You will notice that the place is generally found relatively crowded specially on Saturday and Sunday than any other day. This place is close to Lonavla, therefore, people not only from Pune but also from Mumbai love to visit. The availability of boating facility at Pavana dam is attracting more and more people nowadays.

Lohgadh: Another 30 min from Pavana dam through the road of full of greenery will take you to the Lohgadh fort of Shivaji Maharaj. Bike can reach at the foothills of Lohgadh. From the foothills you will have to use the steps to reach the top of the fort. Approximately 500 steps are there which you can use to reach the top. People interested in architecture, archeology, and history would really love visiting this place. Visiting this place in mid-August to mid-September would give you the feeling which you will get after visiting the places like Mahabaleshwar and Matheran.

Karla and Bhaja caves: Bhaja caves are a group of 22 caves which is just 20 min far from Lohgadh. Again the history lovers would love to visit this place. Another group of caves is there in Karli which is located near Lonavala. These caves are the best example of an ancient Buddhist Indian rock-cut architecture.

Other attraction of this trip is that you can also visit Lonavla which is just 20 min away from Karla caves.

Places in and around Pune City

You might wonder, but whoever visits this city, they fall in love with it. There are thousands of things, which you can be engaged in the city. You will find things to get engaged from yoga and spirituality to theater and art. You would also love to visit the various forts, gardens, lakes, places in and around the city. There is something special for everyone in this city.

Here I have tried to cover every spot and sight which you can visit in Pune. If you think that I have missed something, please let me know through your valuable comments.

Shaniwarwada: The mansion of Peshwas, the prime minister of Shivaji Maharaj, was built in the 18^th century by the Peshwas as their residence. Originally it was a 13 storied mansion but now you only get to see the demolished parts of this huge mansion. Still you can imagine the hugeness of this peshwas’ residence by looking at the five huge gates. These are Delhi Darwaza, Mastani Darwaza, Ganesh Darwaza and Narayan Darwaza. Now this place is developed like a garden. So many cultural and other programs are organized in front of Shaniwarwada. Do visit this place in your trip to Pune.

Raja Kelkar Museum: A Rajasthan style building accommodates a personal collection of artifacts of Dr. Kelkar. Dr. Kelkar built this museum in the memory of his son Raja and later he presented this museum to the state government. The museum includes so many valuable things like brass utensils and vessels, paintings, murals, woodcarvings, armors and weaponry, nutcrackers, musical instruments and so on. A replica of Mastani Mahal is also there.

Katraj Snake Park: This snake park is about 8 km from the city towards Satara. The park has been renovated now. Although the place is named as Snake Park, it has a collection of animals like snakes, birds, turtles, crocodiles, tigers, leopards, elephants, bears, antelope, deer and many more rare animals. Now you need not to walk to see the whole park. The facility of small eco-friendly cars is available there. These cars take you to the other end of the park. The important thing you need to take care of is that the park is closed on Wednesday. So please make sure that you do not visit this park on Wednesday.  The place is very famous among kids.

Aga Khan Palace: The palace of Sultan Mohammed Shah Aga constructed in 1892 is on the banks of Mula River. This place is touched by the presence of Mahatma Gandhi. During the time of independence, Mahatma Gandhi with his wife Kasturba and secretary was arrested and kept at this palace by the British. In the memory of Mahatma Gandhi, the Aga Khan family gifted this palace to Pune city. You will get a chance to see the paintings of freedom movement and personal articles of Kasturba. The hand-woven fabric and Khadi fabric, the trademark of Gandhi’s efforts, are sold at the shop in palace.

Pataleshwar Caves: An old temple, which was carved out in the 8th century, is a rock-cut cave temple.  The temple is on J. M. Road of Pune near Jangli Maharaj Temple. This temple is dedicated to the Hindu God Shiva. If you go there, you will notice that the place is very calm and quite in spite of being in the middle of the city.

Osho International Commune: Osho International Commune is now an international meditation resort where thousands of people come and experience meditation every year. The place is located in the middle of the city and made up of marble walkways, waterfalls, gardens which create aura of relaxation and spiritual sensation.  Thousands of foreigners from different countries visit this place every year to take part in the different meditation courses organized by the center. Osho Rajneesh who died in 1990 founded this commune and his memorial is situated in this Ashram only. You can visit this place to rejuvenate your mind and body.

SarasBaug: It is the garden around an artificial lake. This place is now famous for so many things. Aged people visit this place for greenery and fresh air. They also visit this place to be blessed by the God Ganesha. There is Ganesha temple in the middle of garden. Couples visit this place to have privacy in the tension of this cosmopolitan city. Now you decide for which purpose you would want to visit this place. Anyways, this place is one of the inseparable places of Pune. Therefore, missing this place in your tour to Pune will not complete your journey to Pune.

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