Old Peshawar Walking Tour: A Self-Guided Walled City Route

This self-guided old Peshawar walking tour starts at Kabuli Gate and follows the old city's spine: through Qissa Khwani and the coppersmiths' bazaar to Chowk Yadgar, west to the Mahabat Khan Mosque, then east past the clock tower along the restored heritage trail to Sethi House and Gor Khuttree. It is roughly two kilometres of walking but takes three to four hours with stops. Go on a weekday morning between October and March, and avoid Fridays.

The route below takes the stops in order, says what to look for at each and how long to allow, and ends with practical advice on timing, dress, safety and whether to take a guide.

Before you set out: the walled city

Until the middle of the 20th century, old Peshawar was enclosed by a city wall with sixteen gates. The wall in its later form dates from the Sikh period, when an earthen rampart was faced with brick. The gates had names, many of which survive as the names of neighbourhoods: Lahori, Kabuli, Kohati, Bajauri, Asamai, Kachehri, Sard Chah, Ganj, Hashtnagri, Yakatut, Ramdas, Dabgari, Reti, Sirki, Rampura and Sar Asia.

Kabuli and Lahori were the main entrances, facing the roads to Kabul and Lahore. Almost all the gates and most of the wall were demolished during the 20th century, and a few, including Kabuli, Lahori and Ganj, have since been rebuilt. Treat the gates as markers on a map; the interest is inside, in the bazaars, mosques and merchants' houses.

The route, stop by stop

1. Kabuli Gate

Start at Kabuli Gate, at the western end of Qissa Khwani, a short walk from the Khyber Bazaar BRT station. It faced the caravan road to the Khyber Pass and Kabul.

2. Qissa Khwani Bazaar

Walk east along Qissa Khwani, the storytellers' bazaar, where caravans once camped and professional storytellers entertained the traders. It takes about ten minutes without stopping. Pause at the white marble memorial to those killed by British troops here in 1930, and sit for a pot of qehwa at the old Qehwa Khana. Our guide to Qissa Khwani Bazaar tells its story in full.

Allow: 30 to 45 minutes.

3. Bazaar Misgaran and the Qasim Ali Khan Mosque

At the eastern end of Qissa Khwani, turn left into Bazaar Misgaran, the coppersmiths' street, where a few shops still sell engraved brass and copper. Here stands the Qasim Ali Khan Mosque, whose prayer leaders are famous for their own Ramadan and Eid moon sightings. It is a working mosque, so look from the entrance unless you are there to pray.

Allow: 15 minutes.

4. Chowk Yadgar

Misgaran brings you into Chowk Yadgar, the central square of the old city. The first memorial here was put up in 1883 in memory of a British officer, Colonel Hastings, and the square has long been Peshawar's gathering point for rallies and speeches. Today it is also the centre of the city's money changers, with a shawl market to the south.

Allow: 10 minutes.

5. Andar Shehr and the Mahabat Khan Mosque

From Chowk Yadgar, walk a few minutes west along Andar Shehr, the jewellers' street, a narrow lane of gold and silver shops. The Mahabat Khan Mosque opens off it: a 17th-century Mughal mosque with a large courtyard and a painted prayer hall. Try to arrive before the midday prayer. See our guide to the Mahabat Khan Mosque for its history and visiting etiquette.

Allow: 45 minutes to an hour, with the bazaar.

6. Ghanta Ghar, the clock tower

Walk back through Chowk Yadgar and a short way east to Ghanta Ghar, the Cunningham Clock Tower. It was built in 1900 to mark Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee, stands about 26 metres tall, and was named after the commissioner of Peshawar at the time. This is the start of the heritage trail.

Allow: 10 minutes.

7. The heritage trail: Bazaar-e-Kalan and Mohallah Sethian

From the clock tower, a restored trail of about 500 metres runs east through Bazaar-e-Kalan and Mohallah Sethian to Gor Khuttree. The provincial government restored the facades of some 85 buildings along it, from the Mughal, Sikh and British periods. Mohallah Sethian was the quarter of the Sethis, a merchant family whose trade reached Central Asia, and their wooden havelis line the lane.

Walk slowly and look up. The ground floors are mostly shops, but the upper storeys keep their carved wooden balconies, screens and doors.

Allow: 30 minutes, plus time in Sethi House.

8. Sethi House

Halfway along the trail, Sethi House is the finest of the Sethi havelis and the one you can go inside. It was completed in the 1880s, and it has a courtyard, a cool basement for the summer heat, carved woodwork, and coloured glass imported from Europe in its windows. The government bought it in 2006, restored it, and it now runs as a museum under the provincial Directorate of Archaeology and Museums. Check it is open before you plan around it, and pay whatever entry fee is posted.

Allow: 45 minutes to an hour.

9. Gor Khuttree

The trail ends at Gor Khuttree, a walled compound about 160 metres square with gateways on two sides. Its layers are the history of Peshawar in one place:

• Excavations here from the 1990s to 2007 traced settlement back to at least the 3rd century BC, confirming Peshawar as one of the oldest living cities in South Asia.
• In 1641 Jahan Ara Begum, Shah Jahan's daughter, built a caravanserai on the site for travellers.
• Under Sikh rule it was the residence of the Italian general Paolo Avitabile, the governor of Peshawar, and the Gorakhnath temple at its centre dates from that period.
• From 1917 to 2002 it served as a police and fire brigade headquarters, and old fire engines from those years are still on show.

Parts of the compound have been under renovation, so what you can enter varies.

Allow: 45 minutes to an hour.

Timing the walk

A good plan for a weekday:

1. 9 to 10 am: start at Kabuli Gate, before the heat, and take qehwa in Qissa Khwani.
2. Late morning: Misgaran, Chowk Yadgar and Andar Shehr, reaching the Mahabat Khan Mosque before the midday prayer.
3. Around 1 pm: lunch. Chapli kebab from a busy pan in the bazaar is the easy choice; see our guide to the best chapli kebab in Peshawar.
4. Afternoon: the clock tower, the heritage trail, Sethi House and Gor Khuttree.
5. Mid to late afternoon: a rickshaw back to your hotel, or on to dinner in Namak Mandi.

To add the Peshawar Museum, see it the morning before.

Practical tips

• Avoid Fridays. Many shops close for Jumma prayers, and the mosques are full.
• Dress conservatively. Men should wear long trousers; women will be more comfortable with arms and legs covered and a dupatta or scarf.
• Wear shoes that come off easily for the mosques, and that cope with uneven lanes.
• Carry cash for qehwa, snacks, entry fees and rickshaws.
• Photograph with care. Ask before photographing people, especially women, and don't photograph police posts or security staff.
• Don't drive. Parking in the old city is almost impossible. Take the BRT to Khyber Bazaar, or a rickshaw or ride-hailing car.

Should you walk alone or take a guide?

The route is easy to follow on your own if you are comfortable in crowded bazaars. A local guide adds a lot, though: courtyards you would not find, the stories behind the havelis, and someone who knows the lanes off the main route.

On a first visit, especially with family or as a woman travelling without male relatives, we would suggest going with someone who knows the old city. If you would rather see the city from a car and a few selected stops, our guide to places to visit in Peshawar sets out a less demanding day.

Is it safe to walk in old Peshawar?

The old city is densely lived in, and thousands of people shop in its bazaars every day. It has also been targeted by militants in the past, with bombings in Qissa Khwani in 2013 and at a mosque in Kocha Risaldar in 2022, and the security situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was tense again in September 2026, including a counter-terrorism operation in Peshawar against suspected suicide attackers.

Walk in daylight, keep away from rallies and large gatherings, and check local news and police advice on the morning you go. Foreign visitors should know that the UK government advises against all travel to Peshawar, and travelling against that advice can void travel insurance. If you would like the old city arranged as part of a longer trip, send us your plans.

Frequently asked questions