ARAI Hill Stone Quarry

ARAI Hill Stone Quarry Vivek Gadre (Atlas Obscura User)

Pune shares a wonderful relationship with hills. Both within and around the city, there are several lush green hills where visitors can find historic forts, temples, monuments, and caves.

ARAI Hill, also known as Vetal Hill, is the highest point in the city at an elevation of over 2,000 feet. The Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) is located here. A temple of Vetal and a few other temples are also located on the hill. A short distance from ARAI and the temples is a large abandoned stone quarry that has formed a lake.

The quarry is a paradise for nature lovers. Every morning and evening, people visit the hill for walking, jogging, photography, bird watching, yoga, meditation, exploring nature, and watching the city from one of its highest points. The hill is accessible from multiple areas, as there are walking trails from all sides. All the trails converge towards the center at the top, where the stone quarry lake is located.

Some portions of the hill are covered with dense trees, while others are grasslands. The quarry lake, with its marshy areas and shallow waters, has created a wetland with an ecosystem of its own. One can spot several rare and exotic bird species here.

The hill is home to a variety of flora and fauna. The views offered from here are breathtaking. One can see the city stretching into the distance where there are more hills at the horizon.

Know Before You Go

There are multiple walking trails leading to the top of the hill from surrounding areas like Rambaug Colony, Law College Road, Senapati Bapat Road, and Pashan.

From near Paud Phata, a traffic junction to the south of the hill, there is one access road that leads to the ARAI campus at the top of the hill. Near the campus, there is space for public parking along this road.