Pune

In many ways the educational engine that fuels the Maharashtra industrial belt, the city of Pune is a mass of learning institutions and universities that buzzes with all the action and energy you’d expect of India’s answer to the English Oxbridge. That said Pune also stakes claim as a cultural hub, throwing up a curious mix of museums, temples, yearly festivals that blend effortlessly with burgeoning business high-rises, the perfect glimpse into the raw interfacing between the old India and the new.

Start by taking in the vigor of Mahatma Gandhi Road, branching out to have your fill of the temples that dot the city, the immersive Darshan Museum and the Maratha walls of the old Shaniwar Wada Fort. Then, follow the banks of the Mutha to Pune’s backpacker-cum-student hub of Koregaon Park, where European coffee bars abut happening hostels, and the meditative chants of the iconic Osho Ashram tick over amidst the gardens.

And if you’re looking to explore the city’s peripheries a little, consider asking your Pune tour guide about the Malshej Ghat high up in the breath-taking Sahyadri Hills, or about the various trekking routes that weave their way from the historic fort at Sinhgad.