93: Pune with Shraddha Maheshwari

This week, The Musafir Stories speaks to Pune, with Shraddha Maheshwari - the Shepherd Traveller!

Today's destination: Pune, Maharashtra!

Nearest Airport: Pune International Airport, PNQ

Nearest Railway Station: Pune Junction (PUNE)

Prerequisites : NA

Packing : Make sure to carry your hiking shoes!

Time of the year : Monsoons are the best time to visit, June-Aug

Length of the itinerary:  3-5 days


Itinerary Highlights:
- Shraddha starts off the itinerary by taking us to the iconic Shaniwar Wada, the seat of power of the Peshwas!
- Built during the reign of Peshwa Baji Rao I, the Wada or Estate, served as the palace of the Peshwas, the Prime Ministers of the Chattrapatis or Kings of Pune.
- The Palace has some beautiful fountains and gardens in the premises and has been witness to some important events, good and bad. Guide services are available if you are interested, the light and sound show is another option if you are visiting in the evening.
- From here, we move to the Aga Khan Palace, another iconic monument of Pune built in 1892. This is the place where Mahatma Gandhi and Kasturba Gandhi were placed under house arrest. Kasturba Gandhi breathed her last here in 1944.
- From here we visit some popular hills in Pune, starting with Parvati hill. The hill also has a museum with a number of artifacts from the Peshwas as well as a Shiva temple that was frequented by the Peshwas. Don't forget to catch a beautiful sunset on Parvati hill, the second highest hill in Pune
- From here, we move to the Kelkar museum in Kothrud - this is built on the remains of the Mastani Palace, the second wife of Peshwa Baji Rao. Check out the Bollywood flick Bajirao Mastani to learn more about this love story that raised more than a few eyebrows!
- Pune is home to a lot of other quirky museums like cycle museum, rail museum, blades of glory cricket museum, lokamanya tilak museum, Shivaji Maharaj museum, national war museum among others!
- We also make a trip to two popular temples of Pune - Dagdushet Halwaii temple and Pataleshwar temple.
- The Dagdushet temple is always crowded and specially during Ganesh Chaturti, which is the most popular festival in Pune. The Pataleshwar temple is a beautiful Rashtrakuta cave temple built in the 8th century AD and is dedicated to Lord Shiva!
- Our next pitstop is the Pune University or Savitribai Phule University - named after one of the foremost feminist of India, Savitribai Phule, who started the first girls school of India. The university has some beautiful lawns and stunning architecture.
- We next visit ARAI Hilltop or Vetal Tekdi, one of the highest points in Pune to catch a wonderful sunset. It has a small Vetal temple on the hill as well.
- Another option is to spend time at the beautiful gardens in Pune, Osho Garden and Phule deshpande Garden or Pune Okayama friendship garden are a couple of great places. There is also a 7 wonders garden.
- We can cap off the itinerary by calling out a couple of great trekking options in Pune. The most liked trekking spots are the Sinhagad Fort or Kondana fort and Rajgad fort.
- We also discuss some great food options in Pune from Puneri Misal to Vada pav, Bakarwadi, bahubali thali and Molgapudi idli!
- Also make sure are to visit Lakshmi Rd, MG rd, FC Rd and Tulsi baug for shopping!


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Links:

Shraddha's blog: https://shepherdtraveller.com/
Pune blog: https://shepherdtraveller.com/pune-travel-guide/
IG: https://www.instagram.com/shepherdtraveller/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shepherdtraveler/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/shepherdtravels   

Photo by Kunal Bhate on Unsplash

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