Running Tracks in Pune: Tekdi Trails, the Balewadi Track and When to Run

Pune’s tekdis: hill running inside the city

What sets running in Pune apart from Mumbai or Bengaluru is that the city has real hills inside its limits. The Pune city article on Wikipedia describes Hanuman, Vetal and Taljai hills as protected nature reserves within the city, and locals call them tekdis. Pune itself sits at about 560 m above sea level, so a tekdi run gives you a climb of a couple of hundred metres before breakfast, on dirt and rock rather than traffic. If you train on them through the winter, every flat road race afterwards feels easier.

The table below lists the main options. Distances on the hills come from route apps and running blogs, not official surveys, and they disagree, so treat them as rough guides and measure your own route once with GPS.

Vetal Tekdi and ARAI hill: Pune’s highest running ground

Vetal Tekdi is the highest point within Pune’s city limits, at about 800 m, and the hill area covers about 10.5 square kilometres on the western side of the Pune Municipal Corporation area, according to Wikipedia. It is part of the Bhamburda Van Vihar forest and belongs to the Western Ghats. The Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) campus sits on the hill, which is why runners talk about the “ARAI hill” or “ARAI tekdi” section. A single access road climbs from the south, with a public parking lot along it, and the forest department maintains an observation deck near the Vetal temple.

The running is on a web of dirt and rock paths, and Kothrud is the usual side to start from. A route mapped on the Pacer app measures 4.5 miles (about 7.2 km) with about 74 m of climbing, while a magicpin guide (updated October 2026) gives a loop of 6–6.5 km and around 200 m of gain. Both are plausible depending on how many of the climbs you include. Go early: magicpin’s suggested window is 5:30–7:30 AM, and the paths are rocky enough that you will want daylight. In the monsoon, stick to the main paths, because the same guide notes snake sightings off-trail.

Taljai and Hanuman Tekdi: forest trails in south and central Pune

Taljai Tekdi near Sahakar Nagar is the south Pune runner’s hill. Wikipedia lists its highest point at about 2,000 ft (610 m) and says the park is open from 5 AM to 10 AM and from 4:30 PM to 7 PM; LBB gives the morning jogging window as 5–9 AM. Vehicles are not allowed inside, the approach road runs through the Shivaji Maratha College campus, and the hill is a designated wildlife reserve where you will see peacocks. Stalls at the foot sell coconut water, which is welcome after an April run.

Hanuman Tekdi is the smaller option for runners in central Pune. Magicpin describes a 3–4 km dirt loop. It is short enough for hill repeats on a weekday: four or five efforts up the main climb, walking down, then home.

Synthetic running track in Pune: Balewadi and other flat options

If you searched for a synthetic or professional running track in Pune, the main one is at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, better known as Balewadi Stadium, in Mahalunge–Balewadi. It is run by the Government of Maharashtra, sits about 15 km from central Pune and 5 km from Hinjawadi, and its main stadium has an eight-lane track. The complex hosted the 1994 National Games and the 2013 Asian Athletics Championships. For west Pune and Hinjawadi runners, it is the best place in the city for measured intervals such as 5 × 1 km.

Access for casual runners is less clear. Magicpin’s guide gives three different answers, from a ₹100 day pass to ₹100–500 a session to a monthly fee, and we couldn’t find an official fee list, so ask at the complex office before planning a weekly session there. Other flat options, all with figures from the magicpin guide rather than an official source:

• Pune Race Course, Camp: a loop of about 3 km, open early mornings and evenings and closed on race days. Magicpin notes that public access typically needs permission, so check before you go.
• Savitribai Phule Pune University campus: a tarmac loop of about 5 km, best used early in the morning before campus traffic builds.
• Joggers Park, Kalyani Nagar: a 500 m loop for easy laps in east Pune, free to use.
• Empress Garden, Camp: a 39-acre garden run by the Agri-Horticultural Society of Western India since 1892. Its official timings are 9 AM to 5:30 PM, so it suits a walk or cool-down rather than an early run.

When to run in Pune: dry winters, a hot April and the monsoon

Pune’s running calendar is easy to read from its weather normals. The city gets about 841 mm of rain a year, and almost all of it falls between June and October. July is the wettest month, with about 190 mm over 13 rainy days. April is the hottest, with an average high of 37.9 °C. December and January are cool, with lows of about 11–12 °C, and February is almost completely dry.

• November to February: the best weather of the year. Mornings start at 11–15 °C and evening humidity drops to 27–47%. This is the season for long tekdi runs and races, but read the air quality section below first.
• March to May: dry and hot. Highs pass 35 °C from March, so finish before 8 AM, carry water on the hills and save fast sessions for the track or the treadmill.
• June to September: the monsoon. Rain is frequent but gentler than Mumbai’s, and highs drop to about 28–32 °C. Tekdi paths turn to mud and rock gets slippery, so most runners move to tarmac (the university campus or quiet roads) and use the season to build easy mileage.
• October: a warm, sticky changeover, with highs back above 31 °C and the last showers. Good for rebuilding speed before the December races (see marathons in Pune).

Pune’s winter paradox: the best weather and the worst air

The months when Pune feels best for running are the months when its air is worst. Daily data from monitoring stations, compiled by the AQI.in dashboard on the US AQI scale, show that in December 2025 Pune had 11 days rated “unhealthy” and 20 rated “severe”, and in January 2026 it had 28 “unhealthy” days. In July and August 2025, by contrast, every single day was rated “moderate”. The 2025 average was 118 on that scale, with the worst monthly reading in December and the best in July. IQAir’s earlier city summary reached the same conclusion: December and January are Pune’s worst months, July its cleanest.

That doesn’t mean you should stop running in winter. It means three practical changes. First, run on the tekdis rather than beside roads: Vetal, Taljai and Hanuman Tekdi are green, and away from the exhaust on Pune’s main roads. Second, check the AQI on the CPCB’s Sameer app before a hard session, and on poor days swap intervals for an easy run or an indoor strength session. Third, if you have a winter race, accept that some of your quality sessions will have to be indoors.

Running clubs and running groups in Pune

Pune has an active running community, and most of it is organised through Instagram and WhatsApp groups that meet on the tekdis or at the university on weekend mornings. If you search for running clubs in Pune, the easiest way in is to show up at Vetal Tekdi or Taljai at 6 AM on a Sunday and ask, or to ask at a running shoe shop in your area. We couldn’t verify a current, official list of Pune clubs in October 2026, and we couldn’t find a parkrun (the free, weekly timed 5 km) in Pune either, so clubs are the free option.

Pune also has a dense race calendar, from the Pune International Marathon, one of India’s oldest, in December to trail races in the Sahyadris. Our guide to marathons in Pune covers dates, cut-offs and how to train for them, and if you would rather walk the hills than race them, see treks near Pune.

Strength work for Pune’s hills

Tekdi running is mostly a strength problem: the climbs load your calves and glutes, and the rocky descents hammer your quads and ankles. Two short sessions a week, on non-running days or after an easy run, cover it. Our national guide to strength training for runners explains the sets and progressions in detail.

1. 1

   Slow step-downs, 3 × 8 each leg

   Stand on a step and lower the other heel to the floor over three seconds. This is the strength that protects your knees on Vetal’s descents.

2. 2

   Step-ups, 3 × 10 each leg

   Use a sturdy chair or a staircase. Drive through the whole foot, the same way you climb Taljai.

3. 3

   Single-leg calf raises, 3 × 12 each leg

   Steep climbs and rocky paths put most of the work through your calves and Achilles tendons.

4. 4

   Single-leg balance, 3 × 30 seconds each leg

   Close your eyes for the last 10 seconds once it gets easy. Better balance means fewer rolled ankles on loose rock.

If you already train in a society gym in Wakad or a gym near your office in Kharadi, Personal Gym Training in Pune brings the same coach to your phone there. Running with friends? Group classes in Pune are ₹499 per person for a live session. Coming back from a running injury with your physio’s go-ahead? Rehab & Recovery in Pune rebuilds strength carefully. To work out how much to eat on heavy training weeks, try our TDEE calculator. For everything else, see online personal training in Pune.