Pune: Car rentals surge to hill stations, pilgrim hotspots too in demand

PUNE: Car rental companies appear to be doing brisk business, with most of their clientele opting for hill stations or pilgrimage spots.
On the hotlist for travellers from Pune are Lonavla, Mahabaleshwar, Lavasa and Khopoli (Adlabs Imagica, the popular theme park), while Shirdi, Nashik, and Bhima Shankar are the most-travelled-to pilgrimage spots, reveal travel trends.
According to travel operators, the demand has been especially fierce this monsoon. “From Pune, people in thousands head each day to destinations like Lonavla and Mahabaleshwar, where hotels are currently booked to capacity. Same-day school trips, meanwhile, make a beeline for destinations like Lavasa. Weekends show a double surge in such bookings,” Girish Makhijani, the owner of Hare Krishna Travels.
Apart from Shirdi — which is famous around the world for its Sai Baba temple — Nashik too has risen in popularity, thanks to its Trimbakeshwar temple as well as being a place for ‘asthi visarjan dham’ (the act of immersing ashes after cremation).
Kedar Kasar, proprietor, K K Travels, said travellers from Mumbai and even other states opt for Matheran, Mahabaleshwar, Kolhapur and Nashik during the weekends. “This monsoon, we saw a 25% surge in bookings for Lonavla (Bhushi dam), Alibaug and Dapoli. Travellers coming to Pune from other states, meanwhile, opt for Shirdi,” said Kasar.
Data from Ola Outstation, the cab aggregators rental service, revealed similar trends. Sources from the company said the car service is mostly used for one-way drops from Pune to Mumbai. “As per our data, the Pune-Mumbai expressway is among the most-travelled expressways in the country, with the top weekend mini-vacation destinations being Lonavla, Lavasa, Mahabaleshwar and Khopoli. Shirdi is the most travelled pilgrimage centre from Pune, followed by Bhima Shankar,” an Ola spokesperson said.