Surrounded by a variety of landscapes, the city of Adilabad in the Indian state of Telangana is a fine base to explore the sights of the surrounding area.

Understand

Adilabad was once part of Maharashtra but borders have changed since 1945 to make it a town of Andhra Pradesh, and subsequently, Telangana. The city of Adilabad is capital of the district of Adilabad. Adilabad district is separated from its neighbouring districts by river Godavari. Among the districts of Telangana, Adilabad ranks first in earning revenue from minerals. It is well endowed with rich reserves of coal, iron ore, lime stone and clays. Due to the heavy amount of transactions involved in cotton business, this city is also called of "City of Cotton".

The district has been the home for some of the tribe sects like Gond and Lambada, whose mother tongues do not have a script. There is a fort in the town of Utnoor which is 55 km from Adilabad which was built by Gond kings who ruled this area. Utnoor is the operational headquarters for the Integrated Tribal Development Authority (ITDA) set up by government of AP for the benefit of tribals.

Get in

The Alidabad train station is served by the overnight Krishna Express (17405), connecting to many regional cities and ending in Thirupati. It arrives daily at 6:15AM and leaves, also daily, at 8:45PM. The city is also a stop on the Nandigram Express (11402), from Nagpur to Mumbai, stopping in Adilabad daily at 1PM.

There are plenty of options to get in by bus, as the city bus station is well served with lines to and from Hyderabad, Nagpur, Nizamabad and many others.

See

The Kuntala waterfalls are a popular daytrip from Adilabad

There are a number of mosques and temples in town, but the best sights are in surrounding villages. As several of them are small, and typically don't have a lot of accommodation options, they are commonly visited as a day trip from Adilabad.

• Kuntala Waterfalls. These waterfalls are he highest in Telangana, and located some 30 km out of town. It's a popular day trip, not only from Adilabad but even from Hyderabad. Legend has it that the waterfall derived its name after Shakuntala, beloved wife of King Dushyanth. They are said to have fallen in love with each other in these beautiful surroundings. The story also tells that Shakuntala used to bathe near the waterfall. To get here, take a bus to Neredikonda and a taxi or rickshaw from there. 
• Jainath Temple. 21 km out of town, this temple complex has all the architectural treats of the Jain temple style. In it, you'll find stone inscriptions in prakrit, including 10 ślokas, or verses. 

This surrounding area is full of natural beauty. It is famous for green forests, rivers, waterfalls, wild animals, etc. There are beautiful waterfalls, namely Kuntala, Pochera and Sadarmaat. There are a lot of wild animal sanctuaries. The beautiful ghat roads and cotton fields near Kerameri.

• Goddess Saraswati temple on the banks of river Godavari in the temple town of Basar. This is the only Saraswati temple in the entire South India.
• Pilgrimage Centres Basar, Utnoor and Keshlapur Temples.

Buy

If you're not planning on going to Nirmal, which is a much larger centre for the regional Dhokra metal crafts, Adilabad has some good options to pick up these traditional handicrafts. This kind of non–ferrous metal casting goes back some 4000 years and typically takes the shape of simple decorations, including many small animal statues.

Fine quality long staple cotton from the tribal farmers near Kerameri.

Eat

• Wheat Roti
• Jawar Roti
• Rice

Drink

• Mahua (Gulmohar)drink (Ippa Kallu)
• Taddy (Kawal one is the best)

Go next

• Karnataka
• Bidar
• Hampi
• Ballari
• Pattadkal

• The town of Basar or Basara is known for its splendid Saraswathi temple, as it has a design unique in India.

Adilabad district