Old Bangalore Historical Walk thro Palace, Temples, Fort & Market

After meeting and greeting, the Govt. of India Approved and licensed guide shall accompany you and show Tipu Palace. Its a 230 year old palace, all in teak wood, and built in typical Islamic architecture, showing the diwas-e-am and diwan-e-khas. Also, a brief history of Tipu Sultan, his trysts with the French, the Anglo-Mysore wars, his contributions and controversies shall all be discussed. A visit to the Museum in the premises throws more light on how he came to be known as the Grandfather of Rocket Science in the whole world!

This temple is adjoining the Tipu Palace. It was built in 1690 AD by Chikkadevaraja Wodeyar and showcases wonderful stone sculptures of Indian mythological characters on its walls. The highly carved and ornate stone columns inside the temple reflect high quality workmanship of our artists. Hindu devotees have to book months in advance to offer "Kalyanotsava" (marriage ceremony of Lord Vishnu with Lakshmi) in this temple. It is said that the Garuda Gamba of this temple saved Tipu Sultan from a cannon ball attack from Cornwallis which would have otherwise fell on his palace. The next stop is the Bangalore Fort which is a 10 minute walk from here.

Kempegowda, the founder of Bangalore, built a mud fort in the 16th CE which was rebuilt in stone by Hyder Ali in 1760s. Only about 5% of this Fort remains and is now open to visitors. Very neatly maintained, this largely unknown monument is worth visiting.

There is enough and more in this Market and its environs for all your sensory organs. Vendors, workers, coolies, hawkers, buyers, cows, dogs, cylces, rickshaws, bikes, scooters, etc jostle for space with each other. Heaps of vegetables, fruits, flowers, spices, etc are found everywhere. But there is order, in this disorder! Come and experience this pulsating and throbbing Indian Market of essentials.

It is in fact, a religion contemporary to Buddhism. The principle tenets of Jainism are - Non-violence and Vegetarianism. The Jain community forms less than 0.4% of India's population but they contribute more than 24% to personal tax collections in the country. Jains own more than 28% Indian property and has the highest literacy rate at 94%. Nearly half of India's stockbrokers are Jains. Their contribution to the success of Indian business houses is worth its weight in gold. Entry to a Jain temple is subjected to certain conditions and restrictions.