Kaulas Fort

Kaulas Fort, also spelt Kowlas, stands in Kamareddy district in western Telangana, close to where the state meets Karnataka and Maharashtra. Historians date it to the 9th century and the time of the Rashtrakuta king Indra IV. Its position made it a prize: the Chalukyas of Kalyani took it in the 10th century, the Kakatiyas held it until 1323, and the Bahmanis, Qutb Shahis, Marathas, Mughals and finally the Nizams followed. The village's old name is said to have been Kailasa Durgam.

Aurangzeb's commanders Khuni Khan and Ikhlas Khan built two large mosques at the fort. From the 1720s the Nizam placed it under Raja Gopal Singh Gaur, whose descendants ruled Kaulas until 1915; one of them, Raja Deep Singh, was jailed by the British for his role in 1857. The ruins of the fort survive, there are many caves on the hill nearby, and the village has the Anantagiri, Kalyanaramadasu and Shankaracharya temples.