Vetal Hill
| Vetal Hill | |
|---|---|
Vetal Hill
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| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 2,600 ft (790 m) |
| Geography | |
| Location |
 Pune, Maharashtra, India
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| Parent range | Western Ghats |
Vetal Hill (Marathi: वेताळ टेकडी ) is a prominent hill in the city limits of Pune, India. The hill is the highest point within the city limits, with an elevation of 2600 ft. There is a temple of Vetala located on the top of the hill from which the hill derives its name. The place is an excellent getaway from the hustle and bustle of the city and provides a great morning trek location for the weekends. The Indian Forest Department maintains an observation deck near the temple. The hill is also known by its Marathi name, Vetal Tekdi. One can view the whole of Pune from the top on a clear day.
Vetal Hill is a part of Bhamburda Van Vihar located on the western side of Pune Municipal Corporation within the city limits. Vetal Tekdi is prominent and is visible from Pashan, Panchavati, Chatturshrungi and other parts of the city. It has two spurs, Fergusson College Hill and Chatturshrungi Hill. The geographical area is 180 30’ to 180 32’ N and 730 49’ to 730 52’ E covering an area of 10.5 square kilometres (4.1 sq mi).
It runs North-South with some spurs running perpendicular to this hill. Vetal hill runs across areas like MIT College, SNDT Women's University, ILS Law College, Gokhale Nagar, Symbiosis Society and Chatturshrungi..
There is one access road leading up the hill from the south. This can be used to access the Automotive Research Association of India campus located on the hill. There is a public parking lot also located along this road, however access is restricted to this between 8:30 am and 5:30 pm.
Summers are hot and dry on the hill. The summit is difficult to climb during the monsoon season and is usually foggy. Winter days are also cool and foggy. Sunrise and sunset at Vetal hill attracts many photographers.
The area shares almost same climatic conditions as that of Pune.
The forest type in this area is dry-deciduous as that of hills around Pune. Medium-sized trees along with shrubs constitute majority of the vegetation. Diversity of herbaceous species is at its peak in monsoon months. Some parasites like Dendropthoe and Striga are also reported in the area. One important characteristic of the area is total absent of epiphytic species. Detailed Floristic Study of Vetal Hill was carried out by V. N. Joshi and M. S. Kumbhojakar of Agharkar Research Institute, Pune in 1997. They enumerated occurrence of 416 species of angiosperms belonging to 101 families, 2 pteridophytes and one Bryophyte.
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