Gandhari Khilla

Gandhari Khilla is a hill fort on sandstone hills near Bokkalagutta in Mandamarri mandal, Mancherial district, about 270 km north-east of Hyderabad and 3 km from the village, close to NH 363. The Gond tribes raised it in the 12th century, aided by the Kakatiya rulers of Warangal, though archaeology suggests work began as early as the Rashtrakuta era and went on until the 16th century. It has not been fully excavated, and forest still covers part of it.

The Gandhari Maisamma temple stands within the fort, and every two years it holds the Gandhari Maisamma jatara, which brings in tribal people from Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh; the yearly Mahankali jatara draws over 10,000 people. The surrounding forest is rich in medicinal herbs, gathered by local healers for sale and studied by students, and it has been proposed as a medicinal plants conservation centre.