Bengaluru · Stop 1 of 7 · 2001
Minsk Square and the HAL Tejas jet
A full-size supersonic fighter on a pedestal, at a traffic island outside Cubbon Park Metro's Exit A. It is the most photographed thing on Raj Bhavan Road and almost nobody knows what it is.
Worth seeing when you're there
- The aircraft is a HAL Tejas, India's homegrown Light Combat Aircraft, designed at HAL across the road with the Aeronautical Development Agency.
- Walk round it: the delta wing with no tailplane is the Tejas's signature shape.
- The square's name is on the signage: Minsk, the capital of Belarus, Bengaluru's twin city since 1973.
- Across the road is the HAL campus itself, which is why the jet lives here.
A little history
The Tejas took its first flight in 2001, designed minutes from where its gate guardian now stands. Minsk Square honours the 1973 twinning of Bengaluru with the capital of Belarus, at a time when the city was emerging as India's science and defence capital. There is a Bangalore Square in Minsk in return.
Getting there, hours, cost
Cubbon Park Metro (Purple Line), Exit A, puts you on the square. Autos and cabs can drop you at the Metro gate. The jet is on a public road island and viewable at any hour; daylight is best for the walk.
- Open
- Always (public road)
- Closed
- Never
- Cost
- Free
- Note
- Traffic island: use the crossings.
Hours change. Recheck official sources close to your date. Navigate here · Trail map
Nearby: eat, see, rest
- Coorg Story's filter coffee Coffee · 1 min on foot
- Bal Bhavan Kids' park, toy train · 6 min on foot
- Namma Bengaluru Aquarium Aquarium · 6 min on foot
- McDonald's, Kasturba Road Quick food · 7 min on foot
More on the trail map and in A Cubbon Park walk.
On the trail
This landmark is Stop 1 of 7 of Namma City Decoded: The Broken Timeline, our self-guided puzzle walk through the Cubbon Park district. The clue here uses what you can see from exactly where you are standing.
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