5 Must Visit Weekend Destinations From Pune

Pune is a city in Maharashtra that’s near Mumbai. Some also call Mumbai and Pune twin cities. While Pune itself has a rich history and cultural heritage, there are several tourist locations near Pune that make for excellent weekend retreats from the city with everything from forts to public gardens as tourist spots. Here’s a quick list of all the weekend destinations from Pune. Never go to these places without a prior booking if you plan to stay for the weekend.

# Lonavala

Lonavala is one of the few hill stations that line the Konkan coast and a popular weekend destination from Pune. It is just 65 km away from Pune and therefore makes for an excellent weekend retreat from the city, once known as ‘Cycle city’. Lonavala has several hilltops, valleys, and places of tourist interest to keep you interested for a day or two. One of the most popular tourist destinations in Lonavala is the Tiger’s Leap, a clifftop that gives you a mesmerizing view of the city below.

The other clifftop point you can go to is Echo Point and get another view of the valley below. Lonavala is a hill station, so there are several hotels here that offer you accommodation. The farther you are from the market, the lower the rates of accommodation. Tourists flock to Lonavala for the low temperatures, the mesmerizing beauty of greenery all around, and the home-away-from-home feeling it gives to Punekars. Several hotels are available within Lonavala’s vicinity. Because this is a tourist location, the hotels here are a bit pricier, with accommodation beginning from 1500 rupees per day and goes higher. Lonavala makes an excellent quick weekend getaway from Pune because it is just 60 km away from Pune, which is an hour’s drive on a good day.

# Matheran

Matheran is another smaller hill station that’s near Pune and is a two-hour drive. Matheran is one of the cleaner, more natural hill stations because tourists cannot take private cars inside Matheran, you have to park them at Dasturi. The hill station is many things for many people. For some, it’s a quaint outing from Pune where one can enjoy nature and greenery. For others, it is a trekking location that’s perfect for beginner trekkers and even veterans looking for a light trek.

Matheran is the perfect weekend trip from Pune, as it about 150 km away from Pune, quenching the Punekar’s yearning for a road trip as well as a nature retreat. Like all tourist spots near Pune, Matheran has several hotels, them jostling for space all around. The accommodation charges here range from 700 rupees to 5000 rupees, depending on the amenities and quality of stay.

# Mahabaleshwar

Mahabaleshwar completes the trio of hill stations in this area. Mahabaleshwar has several places that you can visit, and most of them are spots on the hill that give you an excellent view of the valley below. Mahabaleshwar is famous for its strawberries. The hill station has entire strawberry farms that are tourist locations and offer some of the choicest strawberries to customers.

Mahabaleshwar also offers cheap go-karting, people from Mumbai and Pune should give it a try – the charges are less compared to the go-karting options in Mumbai or Pune. Mahabaleshwar is about 120 km away from Pune. Again, as Mahabaleshwar is a popular tourist location and a weekend destination from Pune, you will find a clump of hotels all around, and the charges range from 1000 rupees to 7000 per night

# Bhandardara

Bhandardara is the latest adventure spot famous among tourists. Just 160 KM away from Pune, Bhandardara is famous for waterfalls and the lush greenery it offers. The best time to visit Bhandardara is during the monsoon season when it is in its full bloom. You see plenty of water bodies and need to choose which one you want to take a dip in and which waterfall seems the most beautiful to have a memorable stay. Bhandardara is about 160 km away from Pune. Several hotels offer accommodation all over, and the prices can vary from 1000 rupees to 5000 rupees. You have the hotel Prachitee, the Krushnai Niwas, the Hotel Sonali. The MTDC hotel there, the Gondke Niwas offers accommodation in the 4000 to 6000 range.

Bhandardara is also famous for its lakeside camping, and you will see several resorts that have lakeside camping. Some of them even have programs that allow you to spend two days at the camping site as a package deal. The lakeside camping sites are available at Lake Arthur in Bhandardara.

# Kolad

Another name that’s becoming famous among nature, adventure, and thrill lovers in the area is Kolad. Kolad is around 115 km away from Pune and has several organizations that offer adventure sports, like river rafting, kayaking, parasailing, etc. But Kolad isn’t just about adventure sports and thrills.

Several lakeside resorts offer camping experiences in Kolad, an interesting weekend destination from Pune. There are resorts, hotels, and camping locations all over, you will have to take your pick.