Bengaluru
More Than A Tech City
Before the startups and skyline, Bengaluru was a city of mud forts, royal gardens, water tanks, busy markets and old neighbourhoods. Today, flower markets, filter coffee, tree-lined avenues and living crafts still carry traces of that past.
Step outside the conference room and discover the Bengaluru beyond the tech capital. There’s more of the city waiting for you.
The City Before the Code
The Many Sides of Bengaluru
Many arrive in Bengaluru knowing one story: India’s tech capital. But there’s more to the city than that.
Its story begins with Benda Kalooru, the “town of boiled beans,” named after a 12th-century king who lost his way in a forest and was offered a plate of boiled beans by an old woman.
In 1905, Bengaluru became the first city in India to light its streets with electricity. And the plague of 1898 devastated the city but forced its first telephone lines, sanitation laws, and modern hospital, accelerating its transformation.
The Peninsular Gneiss inside Lalbagh is nearly three billion years old. Sitting over 900 metres above sea level, Bengaluru has a climate so mild that summer once barely called for a ceiling fan.
Today, royal gardens and cantonment lanes sit alongside busy markets, hundreds of pubs and technology parks. Each belongs to a different Bengaluru, yet they all coexist in the same city.
Known for
Eat & See: The Bengaluru Locals Know
Eat like the Locals
Must-Try Dishes & Spots
Rava Idli
Bengaluru’s wartime invention
Mavalli Tiffin Room (MTR), Lalbagh
A fluffy semolina idli born during wartime, when rice was scarce. Made with roasted rava, curd and a tempering of mustard, curry leaves and cashews, it is served hot with ghee, chutney and potato sagu.
Donne Biryani
Bengaluru’s military hotel classic
Traditional military hotels across Bengaluru
Made with short-grain seeraga samba rice, meat and a green masala of mint, coriander and green chillies, then traditionally served in a dried areca-leaf bowl (donne) at Bengaluru’s military hotels.
Brewed Beer
Arbor or Toit
A Bengaluru craft-beer rite of passage, don’t leave without trying the TintinToWit and Bangalore Bliss.
Kesari Bath
Bengaluru’s sweet side of breakfast
Local darshinis across Bengaluru
A ghee-rich semolina sweet flavoured with cardamom and often pineapple. Best enjoyed alongside savoury khara bath in a classic Chow Chow Bath.
Honey Cake
Bengaluru’s bakery nostalgia
Traditional Iyengar bakeries across Bengaluru
A soft vanilla sponge soaked in honey syrup, layered with fruit jam and finished with desiccated coconut, best found in the city’s old neighbourhood bakeries.
As recommended by a Local
Sights worth the Detour
Hennur Bamboo Forest
Bengaluru’s bamboo-lined escape
Mitganahalli, Bellahalli
A dense bamboo forest with a flat 10 km trail, popular with local cyclists, runners and early-morning walkers. Come early, when the canopy is cool and quiet.
Sankey Tank
Bengaluru’s neighbourhood lake
Kodandarampura, Malleshwaram,
Built in 1882 to protect Bengaluru from water shortages, its tree-lined 1.7 km loop draws locals to walk, run, watch birds or simply slow down by the water.
Rezwan Razack’s Museum of Indian Paper Money
India’s history, note by note
Brunton Road, Ashok Nagar
From colonial-era notes to rare ₹10,000 bills, explore 200 years of India’s history through its currency, one note at a time.
Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath
Where Bengaluru makes art
Kumara Krupa Road
Walk through Roerich paintings, generations-old folk puppets and contemporary works, then wander the Sunday market for handlooms, pottery and handmade finds.
Pottery Town
Neighbourhood shaped by clay
Benson Town
A century-old potters’ neighbourhood where everyday lanes become workshops. Meet the makers, watch the wheels turn and try shaping clay.