Lenyadri Caves Ashtavinayak Temple
The Lenyadri cave complex is a series of Buddhist rock-cut caves (like Karla, Bhaja), but also happens to have the only Ashtavinayak temple on a mountain! So, an easy climb to a beautiful cave...
Places near Pune and Mumbai Blog
Parsi point and Sydney point in Panchgani
There are tons of viewpoints in Panchgani and Mahabaleshwar, but trying to fit in all of them on a day trip is just not possible. Some of the remote ones like Arthur’s seat (which...
Jarsheshwar Temple near Khadakwasla
A suggestion by a reader of my blog took me to this place. A small temple in a remote location with a wonderful lavasa-type access road made it a great half-day trip. To my...
Kelshi beach on the konkan coast
Kelshi is a small village to the south of Velas. It is not very high on the tourist circuit and hence less crowded. I had visited Velas during the ‘Holi weekend’ and had visited...
Aba Bagul Garden near swargate
Pune may seem a very crowded city with chaotic traffic, but in the middle of all this chaos Pune has many small yet beautiful gardens. These gardens provide the much needed evening break. Aba...
Grishneshwar Jyotirlinga Temple at Ellora, Aurangabad
Grishneshwar Temple in Ellora near Aurangabad is the 12th of the jyotirlingas. The temple has an interesting legend which you can read on the wiki page . A visit to this temple can be...
Malhargad – Sonori Fort – near Dive Ghat
Malhargad, also known as Sonori fort, is a relatively unknown fort very close to Pune city. This is supposed to be last fort built under the Maratha empire. The fort is named after Malhari,...
Mayureshwar Wildlife Sanctuary near Supe
At 5 sq.km, Mayureshwar Wildlife Sanctuary is supposed to be the smallest sanctuary in India. Maybe someone decided that a small patch of dry forest would gain prominence if made into a sanctuary! Nevertheless,...
A short drive to Narayanpur Balaji Temple
My first trip after coming to Pune in 2009 was to the Balaji temple near Narayanpur. This also qualified as the first outing for Akshara (she was around 8 months old then). So, i...
Four places near Pune to visit this December
The winter is on. The temperature is low and the mornings are misty. This is a great time to visit places which are usually not on the radar during the monsoons. Here are 4...
Ganpati Mandal Photo Walk
It is that time of the year when the city comes alive in festive fervour. It is Ganesh Chaturthi. Lord Ganesha becomes the palette for the innovative creations of the hundreds of Mitra Mandals...
A white-road trip to Delawadi Khandoba temple
We were making plans for a Sunday trip. This is how the discussion went: Let’s go to a temple we haven’t been to before. Let’s go along a river as it would be full...