Gooty Fort

Previously this place was known as Gowthampuri and later renamed as Gooty. The earliest inscriptions on the walls of this fort date back to the 7th century. As per the inscriptions, the place was called as Gadha meaning Fort while an inscription of Bukkaraya mentions this place as King of Forts.

Gooty Fort is one of the oldest hill forts of Andhra Pradesh. It fort was made of granite rocks and the domes were constructed with fine stone, mortar and Lime ensuring the sustainability. Built in the shape of a shell, this fort actually comprises of 15 small forts with different gateways. The out wall with bastions connects all the gateways of smaller forts. The fort also features two imposing buildings, one of which is a gymnasium, while other is a barrack. On the edge of the cliff, there is a pavilion of polished limestone called Morari Rao’s seat.

The fort of Gooty is an amalgamation of Hindu-Islamic architecture. Various wells were created at the top of the hill. There are several temples within the fort like the Lakshmi Narasimha Temple, Nageswara Swami Temple, Hanuman Temple, Jyothimma Temple and the Ramaswamy temple. There is also a Dargah inside the fortification. There are several ruined structures on the upper level of the fort.