Pune City Guide

Pune Introduction :-

At an altitude of 598m, Pune, Maharashtra's second largest city, lies close to the Western Ghat mountains (known here as the Sahyadri hills), on the edge of the Deccan plains as they stretch away to the east. The British chose Pune in 1820 as an alternative headquarters for the Bombay Presidency to escape the capital's summer heat and monsoon deluge. Their military cantonment in the northwest of the town is still used by the Indian army, and a number of British buildings, such as the Council Hall and the Deccan College, survive.
Pune is a contrast of history and modernism. Pune is considered as the Oxford of India – with its many educational and research institutions apart from other institutions for sports, yoga, ayurveda, culture and social services.Pune is nowadays also seen as a potential city for massive growth of Information Technology.

History :-

The city was one of the pivotal bases of the 17th century Maratha ruler Chhatrapati Shivaji, who was born at the Shivneri Fort here. Pune became the seat of the enterprising Peshwas, under whom Maratha power rose into a major political force. The Peshwas were renowned patrons of the arts and in their time, enriched the city with temples, gardens and educational institutions. After the Battle of Koregaon in 1818, Pune fell into the hands of the East India Company. It was here that Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak introduced the principle of Swadeshi during the Freedom Movement. The British proposed to transform the city into a 'monsoon capital' but instead developed it into a 19th century Indian army town and renamed it Poona

How to Reach There :-

Air : Indian Airlines and Jet Airways provide regular flights to Pune from Delhi, four flights a week to Chennai and Bangalore and two to three flights daily from Mumbai. Pune city is 12 kms from the Pune Airport.

Road : Pune is easily accessible by bus from any of the major cities of Maharashtra. From Mumbai, regular MSRTC buses and private buses ply to Pune. The bus route also flows through the Western Ghats.

Rail : Regular trains – Deccan Queen, Deccan Express, Indrayani, Pragati and Shatabdi all ply to Pune from Mumbai everyday.