Aura of India: Cities in Maharashtra: Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur and Where to Go

Mumbai's skyline lit up at night across Back Bay

Photo: Cididity Hat, CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped), via Wikimedia Commons

Marine Drive in Mumbai at dusk, as the street lights come on around Back Bay.

Mumbai is where most journeys in Maharashtra begin, and almost every other city in the state is a doorway to something older just outside it.

Mumbai and its region

Mumbai is the state capital and the country's centre of money and film. It now spreads north and across the harbour into Thane and Navi Mumbai. The 2011 Census counted about 18.4 million people in its urban area. For a visitor, the south of the island is the place to stay and walk; the suburbs are for food and the sea front at Bandra.

The suburban trains are fast but crushed at rush hour. The Aqua Line, the city's first underground metro, has run the full 33.5 km from Cuffe Parade to Aarey since October 2025, with stations at both terminals of the main airport. A second airport, Navi Mumbai International, opened for domestic flights in December 2025 and began its first international route in July 2026.

Pune and Kolhapur, the Maratha south

Pune was the seat of the Peshwas, the chief ministers who ran the Maratha state in the eighteenth century. Its old core of peths, or market wards, around Shaniwar Wada still has temples, courtyard houses and sweet shops. Two metro lines run, PCMC to Swargate and Vanaz to Ramwadi; a third, to the Hinjewadi IT park, was built but not yet open in October 2026. Pune is the base for Sinhagad and the other Sahyadri forts.

Kolhapur, in the far south-west, is smaller and slower. It grew around the Mahalakshmi temple, known locally as Ambabai, and was the capital of a Maratha princely state whose New Palace now holds a museum. Panhala fort, a short drive away, is one of the twelve forts UNESCO listed in 2025 as the Maratha Military Landscapes of India.

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Nashik, the plateau cities

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, called Aurangabad until 2023, is the city most visitors reach for Ajanta and Ellora. The caves are not in the city: Ellora is about 30 km away and Ajanta about 100 km, so plan two separate days. The city has its own sights in the Bibi ka Maqbara, the Mughal tomb of Aurangzeb's wife, and the fourteenth-century hill fort of Daulatabad, about 16 km out on the Ellora road.

Nashik, on the upper Godavari, is a temple city ringed by vineyards. The ghats at Ramkund in Panchavati are its heart, and the Jyotirlinga temple of Trimbakeshwar is a short drive into the hills; see Maharashtra's temples. The two towns hold the Simhastha Kumbh Mela, once in twelve years. It opens on 31 October 2026, and its main bathing days, in August and September 2027, bring huge crowds and road closures.

Nagpur and the east

Nagpur is the main city of Vidarbha, the cotton and orange country of the east. At Deekshabhoomi a large white stupa marks where B. R. Ambedkar and his followers became Buddhists in October 1956. Most visitors use Nagpur as a gateway: Tadoba's Moharli gate is about 140 km by road. Since June 2025 the 701 km Samruddhi expressway has linked Nagpur with the Mumbai region in about eight hours, passing Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.

Amravati, further west, is the town for the Melghat forest and Chikhaldara. Solapur, in the south-east, is a mill town near the pilgrim town of Pandharpur.

Linking the cities

A first trip usually joins three cities in about a week: Mumbai, then a flight or train to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar for the caves, a long day on the road south to Pune, and the train back to Mumbai. Nashik fits between Mumbai and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, but avoid it on the Kumbh bathing days of 2027 unless you are going for the Kumbh.

Nagpur sits far from the rest, so most visitors fly in and pair it with Tadoba or Pench. Kolhapur and Solapur suit a southern loop from Pune, with Pandharpur and the Konkan coast.

Cities to know

Mumbai (Mumbai City and Mumbai Suburban): the capital; about 18.4 million in the urban area (2011 Census).
Pune (Pune): the Peshwa city and base for the forts; about 5 million (2011 Census).
Nagpur (Nagpur): Deekshabhoomi and the road to Tadoba; about 2.5 million (2011 Census).
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar): the base for Ajanta and Ellora.
Nashik (Nashik): Godavari ghats, vineyards and the Kumbh.
Kolhapur (Kolhapur): the Mahalakshmi temple and Panhala fort.
Navi Mumbai (Thane and Raigad): the planned city across the harbour, with the new airport.
Amravati (Amravati): the way to Melghat and Chikhaldara.
Solapur (Solapur): a textile town near Pandharpur.

From the harbour at Mumbai to the orange country around Nagpur, Maharashtra's cities are best read as starting points.

Plan your visit

Best season	November to February, when every city is dry and mild. Mumbai is very wet from June to September; Nagpur is very hot from April to June.
How to reach	Mumbai's two airports, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International and the newer Navi Mumbai International; airports also at Pune, Nagpur and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. Main stations: Mumbai CSMT, Lokmanya Tilak Terminus, Pune Junction and Nagpur Junction.
Getting around	Suburban trains and metro in Mumbai, metros in Pune and Nagpur, app cabs and auto-rickshaws everywhere (in Mumbai, autos run only in the suburbs). MSRTC state buses link the towns.
Where to stay	Colaba, Fort or Bandra in Mumbai; Deccan or Koregaon Park in Pune; central Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar; Sitabuldi or Civil Lines in Nagpur; near the Panchavati ghats in Nashik.
How long to spend	Two or three days for Mumbai, two each for Pune and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, a day each for Nashik and Kolhapur, and a night in Nagpur on the way to a tiger reserve. More in our Maharashtra guide.

Open Mumbai, Maharashtra in Google Maps

Questions people ask

Which is the most developed city in Maharashtra?

There is no official ranking of 'developed' cities. Mumbai is by far the largest and Pune the next; for a visitor, the better question is which city puts you closest to what you want to see.

Should I fly into Mumbai's main airport or Navi Mumbai?

Most international flights still use the main airport; a planned move of some to Navi Mumbai has been put back to March 2027. Navi Mumbai, on the mainland near Panvel, can suit trips towards Pune or the Konkan.

Is Aurangabad the same as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar?

Yes. The city was renamed in 2023, but older maps and some signs still say Aurangabad.

When is the Nashik Kumbh Mela?

From 31 October 2026 to July 2028. The main bathing days are 2 and 31 August 2027 in Nashik and Trimbakeshwar, then 11 September in Nashik and 12 September in Trimbakeshwar.

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Cities in Maharashtra: Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur and Where to Go