India

Pune

constanta svg text

Collegiate

Bustling

Engulfed

Polygon Icon
This is some text inside of a div block.
Wada Pav street food ❘ Ajay Kampani/Getty Images
Trishund Ganpati Temple ❘ Vinayak Jagtap/iStockphoto
Shaniwar Wada ❘ Dinodia Photo/Getty Images
Lohagad Fort ❘ Kushagra Dhall/Unsplash
Aga Khan Palace ❘ Dinodia Photo/Getty Images
No items found.

A city surrounded by mountains and waterfalls is full of ancient temples and stories of Gandhi.

While Pune is home to plenty of green space, it’s also an ideal base for exploring the Western Ghats mountain range.

Just a three-hour train ride from Mumbai is Pune (pronounced poon-nuh), a city of 4 million people, centuries-old temples and statues, and deep-fried dumplings. And as it’s surrounded by the Western Ghats, it offers plenty of opportunities for journeys up into the hills for hikes, waterfalls, and crisp mountain air.

Pull up Pune in the Atlas Obscura app, and you’ll find a trove of places to explore. Among the city’s laid-back neighborhoods, there are fortress gates, a temple built of basalt, the stairs of an ancient fort, a 200-year-old temple being swallowed by a tree, a Gothic mansion, and a quartet of Medici lions. Northeast of the city center is Aga Khan Palace, built in the late 19th century by Sultan Aga Khan III, supposedly to provide work for the city’s impoverished residents; 50 years later, the palace was used to imprison Mahatma Gandhi. Today the palace contains the Gandhi National Memorial, which includes photographs and memorabilia from his life, plus gardens all around.

Western Ghats ❘ Getty Images/iStockphoto

While Pune is proud of its history and its wealth of educational institutions, it’s also an excellent food city. It’s famous for vada pav, a deep-fried potato dumpling packed into a fluffy bun and topped with chutney. Grab some at Garden Vada Pav, which has been serving up hot potato sandwiches for over 40 years. Vaidya Upahar Gruha, a restaurant in the city center that’s been open since 1912, has perfected misal pav, a traditional Maharashtrian bean curry. And most corner shops sell bakarwadi, a deep-fried, sweet and spicy, chickpea-dough roll.

While Pune is home to plenty of green space—the Empress Garden, the Pune University gardens, and the Pune-Okayama Friendship Garden—it’s also an ideal base for exploring the Western Ghats mountain range. Hiking, waterfalls, and high-altitude vistas sit within an hour drive. One of the most popular treks in the area is up to Sinhagad Fort, a now-overgrown hillside fortress. From Necklace Point, you can see the oxbow of the Yelwanti River. Farther out of the city are a handful of hill station towns, which provide stopovers between waterfalls, caves, and fortresses. Whether you travel by rail or car, the views will be half the pleasure.

KEEP WANDERING

Additional resources to learn more about Pune

Zapurza Museum of Art & Culture

Sprawling museum with workshops and a vegetarian restaurant.
Learn More

5 Senses Walks

A walking food tour of Pune.
Learn More

Joshi Mini Rail Museum

Heaven for fans of trains and/or miniatures.
Learn More

Treks and Trails

Explore the Western Ghats on foot.
Learn More
Use the arrows to explore outside the Atlas.
Coming Soon BG

Coming soon...

0

days

0

hours

0

minutes

0

seconds

Get ready for an adventure! Delta Airlines and Atlas Obscura will soon unveil the top 24 destinations for 2024. Stay tuned!

Sabah
Market in Kota Kinabalu ❘ Peter Adams/Getty Images
Malaysia

Sabah

Cosmopolitan

Lush

Savory

Polygon Icon
Kigali
Market in Kigali ❘ Kalahari Stuart/Alamy
Rwanda

Kigali

Reinvented

Supportive

Spicy

Polygon Icon
Boardman Scenic Corridor
Natural Bridges ❘ Francesco Vaninetti Photo/Getty Images
Oregon

Boardman Scenic Corridor

Secret

Fried

Immersive

Polygon Icon
Los Ríos
Darwin frog ❘ Courtesy Reserva Biológica Huilo Huilo
Chile

Los Ríos

Volcanic

Arboreal

Serpentine

Polygon Icon
Taipei
Three cup chicken ❘ Dietmar Rauscher/Alamy
Taiwan

Taipei

Steamy

Sleek

Sacral

Polygon Icon
Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City Pride Pridefest parade ❘ Chon Kit Leong/Alamy
Oklahoma

Oklahoma City

Inclusive

Reborn

Proud

Polygon Icon
Tsingy de Bemaraha
Tsingy de Bemaraha National Park ❘ imageBROKER/Konrad Wothe/Getty Images
Madagascar

Tsingy de Bemaraha

Sharp

Rare

Earthy

Polygon Icon
Tallinn
St. Catherine's Passage ❘ Benkrut/Getty Images/iStockphoto
Estonia

Tallinn

Medieval

Creative

Brutalist

Polygon Icon
North Island
Glowworm Cathedral at Waipu Cave ❘ Marcel Strelow/Getty Images/iStockphoto
New Zealand

North Island

Whakamere

Geothermal

Conscious

Polygon Icon
Pune
Wada Pav street food ❘ Ajay Kampani/Getty Images
India

Pune

Collegiate

Bustling

Engulfed

Polygon Icon
Namibia
Abandoned houses near Luderitz ❘ maydays/Getty Images

Namibia

Sere

Haunting

Easy

Polygon Icon
Aguascalientes
Jardín de San Marcos ❘ FERNANDO MACIAS ROMO/Shutterstock
Mexico

Aguascalientes

Macabre

Artsy

Braised

Polygon Icon
Iquitos
Squirrel monkey ❘ Szabi Nemeth/500px/Getty Images
Peru

Iquitos

Evolving

Complex

Insular

Polygon Icon
Sado Island
Senkaku Bay ❘ SOURCENEXT/Alamy
Japan

Sado Island

Isolated

Dramatic

Crafty

Polygon Icon
Mesabi Iron Range
Soudan-Vermilion State Park ❘ Jacob Boomsma/Shutterstock
Minnesota

Mesabi Iron Range

Ferrous

Friendly

Full

Polygon Icon
Constanța
Abandoned casino in Constanța ❘ Kevin C Moore/Getty Images
Romania

Constanța

Slithering

Sunny

Classical

Polygon Icon
Castlemaine
Bromley Collection Museum at Old Castlemaine Gaol ❘ Courtesy Bromley Collection Museum
Australia

Castlemaine

Resilient

Dreamy

Syncretic

Polygon Icon
North Coast
Ring of Brodgar ❘ theasis/Getty Images
Scotland

North Coast

Lithic

Isolated

Maritime

Polygon Icon
Tozeur
Berber rugs in Ouled el-Hadef ❘ Craig Pershouse/Getty Images
Tunisia

Tozeur

Illusory

Galactic

Sticky

Polygon Icon
Newfoundland
Gros Morne National Park ❘ David Purchase Imagery/Shutterstock
Canada

Newfoundland

Windy

Pristine

Crusty

Polygon Icon
Khujand
Old Friday Mosque ❘ Richard Mortel/Flickr/CC BY 2.0 Deed
Tajikistan

Khujand

Intricate

Soviet

Pungent

Polygon Icon
Saint-Malo
Saint-Malo, France ❘ MathieuRivrin/Getty Images
France

Saint-Malo

Buttery

Tidal

Cobblestoned

Polygon Icon
Asturias
Picos de Europa ❘ Anton Petrus/Getty Images
Spain

Asturias

Well Aged

Aerated

intimate

Polygon Icon
Chapada Diamantina
Chapada Diamantina ❘ Rosino/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 2.0 Deed
Brazil

Chapada Diamantina

Stony

Tumbling

Refreshing

Polygon Icon
Use the arrows or scroll through the cards to explore.
Navigate the list by continent.
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
WHERE TO

WAndeR

2024
CTA ImageCTA Image