World > Asia > India > India Cities > Pune

Pune is Maharashtra's second city, which lies close to the Western Ghat Mountains, on the edge of the Deccan plains as they stretch away to the east. Pune is the cultural capital of the Maratha people, which is also known as the "Queen of the Deccan." Pune is a contrast of history and modernism. While it has always been a corporate stopover, Pune has a potpourri of culture which makes for an interesting city! For those into history and architecture, Pune offers a mix of the modern interlaced with the old. Shaniwar Wada, Aga Khan Palace and the Parvati temple are a few attractions without which a visit to the city would be incomplete.

Today the top attraction of the city is the Osho Commune International. Located in Koregaon Park, Bhagwan Rajneesh's ashram established in 1987 and now known as the Osho Commune is one of the hot spots in Pune. The ashram contains a spiritual club, a swimming lagoon, waterfall and a commune restaurant. The commune, 31 acres of meditation space, is described by a Washington Post correspondent as being a mixture between Disney land, a college campus and a. Besides all this, the Nallah Park, made by the Commune, also makes for an interesting visit.