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Pune & Lonavala – 2 Days Summer trip

Pune & Lonavala – The blog revolves around a complete itinerary for a 2 day trip to Pune & Lonavala if you have a weekend to spare. This would be more meaningful for people who will be coming from nearby places like Mumbai, Gujarat etc. However for a broader audience also we will try to complete all required information needed for you to make this weekend trip to both the places if you only have 2 days in your hand.

Pune & Lonavala : History

Before diving into exploring the city, we always suggest our readers to know about the history or background before visiting a particular place. Now coming back to Pune. The history of the place takes us back to 6th century where it is linked to Chatrapati Shvaji Maharaj and the Maratha empire. Its is known that the city of Pune is located at the juncture of the Mula and Muta river. This juncture used to be called Punya, and thus the name Pune came from there. Pune was at one time the “monsoon capital” of the Bombay Presidency of the Britishers. Currently Pune also serves as the headquarters of the Southern Command of the Indian Army. The Pune airport is a dedicated defense airport controlled by the army personnel.

On the other hand, Lonavala is situated in the western part of Maharashtra. The term Lonavala is derived from the Sanskrit word lonavli, which refers to the many caves like Karla Caves, Bhaja Caves and Bedsa that are close to the place. It is a beautiful hill station in the Pune district of Maharashtra situated at a distance of only 67 km from the Pune city. Lonavala was an important Buddhist center in the 2nd century BC, and so, you can find many ancient Buddhist rock-cut cave temples in this area.

Pune & Lonavala : Interesting Facts about Pune

Lets read few interesting facts about the city.

Did you know….

  1. The national defense academy in Pune is the world’s first tri-services academy where members of the three services — the Indian Army, Indian Navy and Indian Air Force — receive academic and technological training.
  2. The word badminton was earlier known as Poona. It is known that the Britishers during their regime invented this sport back then.
  3. The Mumbai-Pune highway was the first six-lane, high-speed toll expressway.
  4. The different Peths in Pune are named after the different days of the week. Peth area is situated in old Pune area.
  5. India’s First Girls’ School was started in Pune in the year 1948
  6. Pune is known as the Oxford of the East as large number of educational institutes in Pune has grown drastically over the years.

Pune & Lonavala : How to reach Pune

There are not many trains directly to Pune barring aside 2,3 trains from the eastern or the norther part of the country. However there are plenty of direct trains to Mumbai and the distance between Mumbai to Pune is only 3 hours by train.

There are numerous flights to Pune directly which can be the quickest way to reach the city.

By Road the distance between Mumbai to Pune city is only around 152km and it take 2.5 – 3 hours max along the Mumbai-Pune highway.

Pune & Lonavala : Pune day trip – Day 1

Pune is comparatively a smaller city compared to Mumbai, Nagpur etc. Hence getting around the city and completing all the places within a day is not a difficult job. The best way to roam around the city is to hire an auto rickshaw or rent a two wheeler. Pune has multiple hotels starting from budget to 4 &5 stars as well.

Shaniwar Wada – After a heavy breakfast hire an auto and head straight towards Shaniwar Wada which is located near Rawivar Peth.

This palace was built by Bajirao I in the 18th century when Bajirao served as the Peshwa of the then king, Chhatrapati Sahu. In the year 1818, the Peshwas lost the fort to the British post the third War of Panipat. Shaniwar Wada, now in ruins, was completely destroyed due to various military attacks and fires over the next 18th and 19th century. Shaniwar Wada still continues to be one of the greatest architectural masterpieces in Indian history.

In the main gate you would see huge spikes on it, to protect the fort from any military attack. Currently what is still left of this place are couple of smaller cannons that were retrieved over the time and the structure itself.

Lal Mahal – Once done if you cross the road and walk for 5 minutes towards Ganesh Road you would witness the famous Lal Mahal.

This place was built by the father of Shivaji Maharaj, Shahaji Bhosale with the intention to revive the destroyed city of Pune in the year 1630. He sent his wife Jijabai along with his son Shivaji to stay here in Lal Mahal. Near the end of the 17th century, with repeated attacks, the Mahal has knocked down. The building was never rebuilt due to repeated attacks. What is now seen is a small version of the building itself and not the actual one.

Shreemant Dagdusheth Halwai Ganpati Mandir – If you walk straight from Lal Mahal taking the main road reach near the Hutatma Chowk, you would get the beautiful Shreemant Dagdusheth Halwai Ganpati Mandir.

It is named after a famous trader and sweet maker, Dagdusheth Halwai, who had moved to Pune from Karnataka and he built the temple in Pune after losing his son to the plague. This temple houses the famous idol of Lord Ganesha. The idol of Dagdusheth Ganpati is bedecked with gold ornaments studded with precious stones.

Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum – From the famous Ganpati temple if you walk or hire an auto around 1 km you would reach Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum.

It was established by Baba Dinkar Kelkar, in the year of 1962. Presently, it is under the control of the the Department of Archaeology, Government of Maharashtra. He created this beautiful collection over a period of several decades which includes around 15,000 objects. Later, he donated his collection to the government in 1975.

Once you are done with the museum, have your lunch and take some rest in the afternoon. Pune has some very nice eateries, so do definitely try out the famous Maharashtrian cuisine.

Aga Khan Palace – Once done hire another rickshaw or use your rented two wheeler to go directly to Aga Khan Palace.

 It was built by Sultan Muhammed Shah Aga Khan III in the year 1892. It is a very distinct place marked during the Indian Independence period. This was the place where Mahatma Gandhi, Kasturba Gandhi, Sarojini Naidu and Mahadev Desai were held prisoners. This place also has the ashes of Mahatma Gandhi buried in its ground, so don’t forget to check that one out.

Although there has been lot of efforts recently to forget the legacy of the Great Mahatma Gandhi, but once you visit this place you will definitely understand the importance and sacrifice that he and his wife made to get Indian Independence during the British rule.

You can enjoy the rest of the evening at leisure. Pune has a lot of microbreweries and pubs, so dont forget to try them. 

Pune & Lonavala : Lonavala day trip – Day 2

On your next day, get up early as you have a train to catch for Lonavala. You can also hire a cab but that would increase your budget to a great extent. What we suggest is board the train Deccan Queen at 7:15 am from Pune station. You would reach Lonavala within an hour.  

To give a brief history, this heritage train was first introduced in 1930. It was the first long distance electric hauled superfast train in India. Also this train has a separate pantry cum dining area coach inside it, which makes it more unique than any other train in the country. So definitely experience this journey.

Once you land in Lonavala, book for yourself a cab package for half day, full day etc sightseeing from Lonavala Cab. The rates might differ from the different types of cab and the duration. Do check their website. The packages are overall nice and within budget that’s what we have understood. You should ideally choose a package from pick up and drop from the railway station. We chose a Full day sight seeing on a 4 wheeler for 5 hours which costed us around Rs 1899. Note the rates differ on weekdays. 

Shree Narayani Dham: Have your breakfast and start the day by visiting the first place i.e. Shree Narayani Dham Temple. 

This place is dedicated to Narayani Devi. She is also worshiped as ‘Rani Sati’ and ‘Dadi’. Besides the idol of the main deity, this temple houses idols of Lord Hanuman, Ganesha, Krishna and Radha.

Lucky’s celebrity wax museum : From there we went to the famous Lucky’s celebrity wax museum. The entry fee to the museum is around Rs 200. It is located on the main road leading to Lonalava. Good place to spend an hour or so. The wax museum is good with statues of popular celebrities and politicians. 

Shooting Point : From there we went to the Shooting Point, from where you can get a great view of the mountain ranges and the meandering roads leading through them.

Khandala Lake : Next was Khandala Lake, which offers an ideal weekend picnic spot. The Lonavala Lake is sourced by the Indrayani River and extends the best version of true natural beauty. 

During the rainy season the lake is filled with water which acts as a great source for agriculture supplies for the locals.

After that we went straight uphill towards the Lions Point. On our way we could see the Lonavala dam, but it was dry during the summers. The view in monsoon is absolutely breathtaking. Don’t forget to click some of the best snaps in this area 

 Lions Point : The Lion’s Point is a mid point located between the Bhushi Dam and Aamby Valley in Lonavala. The view from this place is majestic and panoramic. You could see plenty of waterfalls, lush green hills, and lakes around during monsoon season. You can have your lunch from there enjoying the great view of the mountains.

Bhusi Dam : Upon coming back, we stopped near Bhusi Dam. This is a masonry dam on the Indrayani river. It is owned by Central Railway zone. The lush green hills, with beautiful flowing of water, the nature around and the beautiful weather makes it one of the best places for a great picnic spot.

We spent some time there and came back to the station to return to Pune thus completing the day trip. If you want you can choose to stay for a day also in Lonavala as there are plenty of resorts available there. 

Do check our blog section for more such travel itineraries. Also do read our North Goa blog if you are planning to stay in Maharashtra a little longer.

Conclusion

Few things to conclude and to be kept in mind while planning for a “Pune & Lonavala – 2 Days Summer trip” :

  1. Summers are extremely dry, so carry plenty of water, ors, umbrella and sunglasses with you.
  2. You can always customize the Lonavala itinerary with the cab driver as per your requirements.
  3. Try to take the accommodation closer to the city area of Pune as major attractions are there only.
  4. Majority of the people in Pune accepts online transactions and not deal with cash that much. So be mindful of it if you are relying to much on cash.

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