Pune is a city of Maharashtra that seems to have no dearth of natural and untamed landscapes around. The lush, misty hills of Pune offer ample scope for adrenaline pumping adventures, while the natural parks, dams, gardens and streams are a beautiful getaway for a peaceful quiet family holiday and a picnic.

We have a list of things you can do in Pune that will make your holiday a memorable one. You could also check out the list of knick knacks you can shop for while in Pune and the delicious local fare of the city for the adventure weary, hungry souls!

A truly memorable adventure awaits the trekking enthusiast, for Pune surrounded by tall mountain ranges of the Sahyadri, has great trekking trails. Check out the Rajmachi (2710 ft), Raigad Fortress (2,700 ft) Tikona or Torna Forts or  the Vichitragad treks. Most of the mountain peaks have ancient citadels and temples built on top that makes the trek all the more worthy of an adventurous tour into history.

Beautiful outdoors around Pune offer great daring activities for you. Try your hand at rappelling and valley crossing at Nagphani or Duke’s Nose hill, paragliding at Kamshet, more rappelling at Madhe Ghat (64 km), bungee jumping and ATV rides at Lonavala (64 km) and white water rafting and kayaking at Kundalika River at Kolad (113 km).

Walk along the long trodden path of history on a guided heritage walk around the city. Explore the forts and ancient temples, get amazed at the beautiful architecture that made the most majestic monuments of yore and listen to the stories of the rise and fall of the empires that went into making the history of Pune.

Also known as Katraj Snake Park, the Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park has a good number of snakes, birds and turtles in the section labelled as a snake park, along with leopards, deer, bears, monkeys and elephants in the zoo. Check out the rescue centre for wounded fauna and the animal adoption centre, where you can adopt a tiger, an elephant or even an owl or a vulture for a period of time.

The park is open from 9.30 am – 6.30 pm and is closed on Wednesdays.

Some of the most scenic locations are the hills of Pune. The Parvati hill (2,100 ft), one of the most touristy places of Pune has ancient hill top temples built during the reign of the Peshwas. There is a temple for Parvati, Devdeveshwara that’s built of black stone and more temples for Kartikeya, Rukmini and Krishna and another shrine for Vishnu. Check out the Peshwa Museum and the tomb of Peshwa Balaji Baji Rao, who spent his last years here.

Shreemath Dagdusheth Halwai Ganpati Temple is one of the foremost pilgrim and tourist centres of Pune. The temple was built in the year 1893 by Dagdusheth Halwai, a sweet maker from Karnataka who had settled down in Pune. Established to rid the sweet maker from the sorrow of losing his sons to plague, Dagdusheth Ganpati has become a popular and favorite icon of Pune.

After sightseeing, shopping is the next best thing to remember your tour by. Every city has its own special memorabilia to carry home and Pune is no different.

Some of Pune’s best buys are Kolhapuri slippers, metal and silver ware, Paithani saris, local handicrafts and Puneri Pagadi or traditional turbans. Foodies could buy packed bakarwadi, chiwdas, mango burfis and peanut chutnies. You could also buy the traditional Maharashtrian saris and kurta dhoties or pearl jewellery.

Pune’s local cuisine is varied, that throws in a lot of love for sweets and street food. Don’t miss out on the scrumptious thalipeeth or pancakes, sabudana khichadi, vada pav, bakarwadi, zhunka bhakri, bun maska with piping hot chai, sabudana vada, mutton or veggie samosas on a monsoon evening, panipuris or dhoklas. Finish it all off with Ukadiche modak, luscious, creamy mastani or amba burfis.