KR Market flower hall

What it is

Krishna Rajendra Market, known to everyone as KR Market or City Market, is the main wholesale market of old Bengaluru. Its flower section is a sea of circular heaps: orange and yellow marigolds, crossandra the colour of salmon, white jasmine, purple asters and rose petals sold loose by the kilo. Vendors sit in the middle of their mounds and measure garlands by the arm's length. The flowers come overnight from farms across Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Locals shop here for pujas, weddings and the big festival days of Ugadi, Varamahalakshmi and Dasara, when prices and crowds both climb.

Before you go

• Arrive soon after sunrise for the fullest heaps and the softest light.
• Climb to the upper level and look down on the flower floor.
• The surrounding streets are jammed. Come by metro or on foot from the old city.

The flowers you will see

Aztec marigoldThe golden-yellow flower of Mexican altars and Day of the Dead offeringsArabian jasmineA small white jasmine with a strong, sweet scent, treasured in Asia for garlands and ceremoniesRoseWoody perennial plants with showy, often fragrant flowers in many coloursChrysanthemumAutumn-blooming flower with thousands of varieties, cherished in East Asia and beyond

Also part of it, and being written: Crossandra infundibuliformis.

More in Bengaluru

🇮🇳 Bengaluru · All yearLalbagh and its Glass House flower showsBengaluru's historic botanical garden, with big flower shows around Republic Day and Independence Day. 🇮🇳 Mumbai · All yearDadar flower market at dawnMumbai's wholesale flower market beside Dadar station, at its busiest before the city has had breakfast. 🇮🇳 Kolkata · All yearMullick Ghat flower market under Howrah BridgeA crowded riverside flower market on the Hooghly, in the shadow of Howrah Bridge. 🇮🇳 Chennai · All yearKoyambedu wholesale flower marketThe flower block of Chennai's vast Koyambedu wholesale complex, busiest before sunrise. 🇮🇳 Madurai · All yearMadurai malli at the Mattuthavani flower marketThe wholesale market that sets the daily price of Madurai malli, the jasmine the city is famous for. 🇮🇳 Delhi · All yearGhazipur phool mandiDelhi's wholesale flower market in the east of the city, where the capital's bouquets and garlands begin.