Pune
From World travel guide
Pune is located in Maharashtra, India and is considered the state's cultural capital. The city contains the headquarters of an administrative division officially known as the Pune division which comprises the region known officially as Western Maharashtra
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Understand
Pune is officially a Marathi speaking city, although with the large cosmopolitan presence, English and Hindi are widely spoken. Pune has a very large student population. Pune is the headquarters of the Southern Command of the Indian Army. Many central locations within the city are owned and operated by the army.
Pune used to be the capital of the Maratha empire, which at its peak encompassed all of present day India except the extreme South and East. This was also the last Indian empire before the British took over. You will find that both the place and its people are conscious of the city's history.
Pune is a city with plenty of educational institutions. The University of Pune is one of the most reputed in the country. Pune is often also known as the 'Oxford of the East'.
Get in
Pune is a major transportation hub for Western Maharashtra. It serves as the gateway for the numerous hill stations in Sahyadri Mountains.
By plane
Pune airport is served by almost all Indian carriers. The airport is located in Lohegaon, a little bit away from the main city, and takes about an hour to reach the city centre. The airport has commenced international flights from 12 December, though currently you can fly in only from Dubai.
By train
- The Indian Railways serves Pune with a lot of trains connecting to nearby Mumbai and other major Indian cities.
- Azad Hind Express connects Howrah to Pune. It normally takes 36 hrs to cover the journey.
- There trains to connect all major cities of India such as Delhi,Chennai,Kolkota,Bangalore, Hyderbad.
By car and bus
The first freeway in India was built about 4 years ago to connect Mumbai and Pune. With this roadway in place, now it takes less than 3 hours to get to Pune from Mumbai Airport. Many private and state owned operators ply luxury buses on this route.
Get around
- City has two bus stands
- Shivaji Nagar: This bus stand serves buses for North Maharshtra,Vidarbha,Konkan,Marathwada regions of Maharshtr
- Swargate : This bus stand serves bus for western Maharshtra.
- City buses, though crowded and smoke belching, connect almost all parts of the city. Major City Bus stands are: Shivaji Nagar,Swargate,Kothrud depo,Nigadi,Hadapsar,Katraj
- There is also a huge army of three wheeled rickshaws (taxis). Rickshawalas are very soft spoken and helpful in Pune. They will not try to fool you.
- This city was once known as the bicycle capital of the world, but now it has turned into the motorcycle capital.
See
- Osho Ashram[1] One of the contemporary Guru of India has built a nice ashram here called OSHO Commune.
- Sinhagad and other Forts
- Raj Dinakar Kelkar Museum
- Agakhan Palace
- Parvati Hill
- Mulshi
- Laxmi Road
- Pune University (www.unipune.ernet.in)
- Fergusson College
- IUCAA
- Jain temple at Katraj
- Plus as any Indian city, many many temples! Some actually clean!
Do
- Panshet Water Park At a nearby dam, the tourism department has setup a water sports park.
- Tilak Tank State of the art swimming pool in the heart of the city.
Learn
- University of Pune is a well known centre of education.
- Deccan College and Bhandarkar Institute are major centres of Indological and Archaeological research.
- Fergusson College is one of the most famous colleges in India.
- Brihan Maharashtra College of Commerce"
Work
For long, Pune has been the Detroit of India. Pune is home to Tata Motors, second largest passenger ca manufacturer in india, Bajaj Auto has their two wheeler plant, kinetic motors is locate here,daimler chrysler has their Assembly plant recently Farm equipment Major Jon Deere has entered. It is home to one of largest industrial clusture in asia known as Pimpri-Chinchwad. Mechanical Engineering, and allied businesses abound. Pune is home to world's second largest forging company.
A small but growing software business and call centres add to the recent job opportunities. Many of the world's top MNCs have their offices/development centres in Pune. These include IBM, Wipro, TCS, Infosys and others.
Buy
Eat
Ask a "sadashiv-pethi" to show you more interesting places like bedekar misal or sujata mastani. Also a must try are sweets from the famous Chitale Bandhu Mithaiwale, especially their 'Bakarwadi'.
Budget
- Mathura, on J.M. Road, opposite Sai Service Station serves authentic Maharashtrian thali and nice batata vada.
- Fast food includes the usual McDonald's, Pizza Hut and Dominos galore, including a McD's at the INOX movie complex.
- Vaishali, on Fergusson College Road is a popular youth joint.
- German Bakery in Cantonment area is also a nice place to visit.
- Toons on M.G. Road. A nice local burger place, good music and play pool.
- Coffee House on M.G. Road. Enjoy their Channa Bhathura
- Subhadra on J.M.Road. Nice family restaurant.
- Sheetal near kothrud petrol pump. Enjoy South indian dishes and maharaja thali.
- Kasturi Mastanicheck any dish/cold-drinks they have. Good evening place.
- Kamat Happy Colony, on the way to karvenagar from Kothrud main busstop.
Mid-range
- The Blue Nile has great Iranian (mid-Eastern) fare. Be sure to sit in the 'Family' section if there are females in your party.
- Savera, located across from the main gate of Fergusson College, vegetarian restaurant.
- Mirchi Kola, on M.G. Road
- Mirch Masala, on the way to karvenagar from kothrud Main Bus stop. Get veg.,non-veg.dishes.
- Nisarg, Padale Palace chowk, off karve Road. veg.,non-veg.dishes.
- Khaiber, J.M.Rd., diagonally opposite to Crossword.veg.,non-veg.dishes.
- Olivaopposite Yatri Lodge, near Dashbhuja Ganpati temple on karve Road.
Splurges
- Flags, next to Inox, offers multi-cuisine food. Has a very interesting menu.
- Hotel Blue Diamond,
- Bombay Brasserie
- Chinese Room
- Mainland China
Drink
Nightlife and drinking are mostly restricted to the Cantonment area.
- Ten Downing Street
- Purple Haze
- Thousand Oaks
- Leather Lounge
- Elysium
There are some newer places such as
- Kiwa
- Apache - Fluid Lounge
Sleep
Keep away from most of the places that are close to the City Railway Station as hotels in the western part of the city are comparatively cheaper, and safer.
Budget
- Swaroop Lodge
- Trimurti Lodge Located right across the main gate of Fergusson College, this is a popular lodge for first time travellers, though it it next to impossible for the residents to get a good night's sleep owing to the thick traffic. It's not a very clean lodge.
Mid-range
- Shreyas Lodge, Apte Road, Pune.
- Suyash Lodge, Off Tilak Road, Pune.
- Yatri Lodge, Karve Road,near Aptech, Pune.
- Sadand Residency, Karve Road, near Dashabhuja Ganpati temple, Pune.
- Utsav, located on Pune-Satara road.
- Ashok Lodge, Shivaji Road, Pune
Splurge
- Hotel Blue Diamond
- Le Meridien
- Holiday Inn
- Hotel Presidency
- Hotel Pride
Contact
Phone
Pune is well covered by mobile phone networks.
Idea and Airtel offer GSM based networks, while Reliance offers CDMA connectivity.
Internet
Tons of Internet cafes scattered around the city. Usual charge runs about 15-20 rupees an hour.
Stay safe
Pune is by and large a very safe place. Violent crime is almost unheard of, although it's important to keep an eye on your belongings in public, as petty theft is a fairly common occurrence. Do report any such activity to the police. Keep away from the touts.
Get out
Here are just a few places which make a good day trip from Pune:
These are the weekend getaways:
External links
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