Getting There

• Mumbai is such an important economic hub in the region that Pune serves as a commuter town, despite being over three hours away. Local trains take up to five hours to ply the route from Mumbai to Pune, so be sure to book an express train in advance. It's also possible to get to Pune by bus from Mumbai (four hours) and Goa (15 hours). Flights from Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai are available from all the major airlines in India.
  
  

Places To Stay

• If you're coming to Pune to visit the Osho Commune, it makes sense to stay there. As of June 2010, there's 60 rooms, which cost 3,500 rupees ($75) per night for a single or 4,000 rupees ($85) for a double from March through November, and 4,500/5,000 rupees ($95/$105) during the peak season from December through February.
  
  As well as dozens of cheaper hotels around the commune, Pune has some excellent hotels in the center of the city for those not going to the Osho Commune, including the Holiday Inn, Le Meridien, Taj Blue Diamond and Hotel Woodland. Prices start at around $65 for a double room.
  
  

When To Visit

• Time it right and you could be in Pune for part of the 11-day Ganesh Chaturthi festival. Celebrating the famous Hindu elephant God, this festival, which is due to be held from September 11 in 2010, involves huge clay Ganesh figures thrown into the river.
  
  The Sawai Gandharva festival of classical Indian music is held in January.
  
  

Osho Commune

• Pune is perfect for those ready to don a maroon robe and embrace the "science of the inner." Officially known as Osho Rajneesh Dham and founded in the 1960s by Bhagwan Rajneesh (Osho), this beautiful 40-acre ashram is based around his theories on "active meditation techniques." Six meditation sessions are held each day and can be anything from intense yoga and dancing to martial arts and "Zennis". It's a physical way to philosophize, and it's open to anyone willing to present a negative AIDS test (according to Osho, active meditation includes sex) and pay 700 rupees ($15) per day for a "meditation pass", though a popular way for curious travelers to see the commune is by an hour's guided tour and introduction to Osho's theories, which costs 10 rupees. Visitors must leave their inhibitions at the door, though not their Western ways; inside the luxurious facilities include an Italian-style coffee bar, a tea garden, a sauna and plenty of sports facilities.
  
  

Other Things to See

• Those interested in India's colonial history should head to the Gandhi National Memorial, which marks the site -- the Palace of the Aga Khan -- where Mahatma Gandhi was imprisoned for two years after a speech in 1942 where he insisted that the British rulers 'Quit India'.
  
  Pune's main street -- the Mahatma Gandhi (MG) Road -- is also worth a visit to see the almost permanently busy throng of shoppers and students. Notable temples in Pune worth visiting include Panchalesvara Cave, carved from the rock, Parvati Hill, and Saras Baug Ganesh Temple in Peshwa Park.