Avenue road Pete heritage walk, Bengaluru

About this place

Step into Bengaluru’s oldest quarter and travel almost 500 years into the past—to the original Pete, a world of fortified walls, bustling bazaars, temples, mosques, merchants and craftsmen. This is where the city’s story begins from end of Avenue to the other. Meet Kempe Gowda I, the visionary chieftain who founded Bengaluru, and discover why he chose this unlikely corner of the Deccan. What drew him here? And what strange signs, according to legend, foretold the birth of the city? Then comes one of Bengaluru’s most haunting tales: the legend of the Southern Gate of the Pete, involving a pregnant woman, sacrifice and the building of the city’s earliest fortifications. Kempe Gowda’s settlement, however, was never destined to remain a small fortified town. Within a century, Bengaluru’s strategic location and growing wealth had made it a coveted prize for the Bijapur Sultanate, the Marathas and eventually the Mughals—before the city passed into the hands of the Mysore kingdom and, after the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War, the British. What made Bengaluru so valuable? What did the original Bangalore Fort look like? And how did this fortified town of bazaars and bastions evolve into the sprawling metropolis we know today? Beyond the monuments, we discover the people who made the Pete thrive—merchants, craftsmen, saints, philanthropists and religious communities whose stories still linger in its streets. Along the way, discover historic temples, the KR market, Sufi shrines, forgotten landmarks and some of Bengaluru’s oldest neighbourhoods. And no journey through the Pete is complete without food. We’ll finish with delicious local snacks at an iconic old eatery tucked just off the road. Come discover the Bengaluru that came before the metropolis. Walk its oldest streets, uncover its forgotten stories, and see the city through an entirely new lens.