Adilabad is a city which serves as the headquarters of Adilabad district, in the Indian state of Telangana. Telugu, Urdu, Marathi, and Lambadi, gondi are the most spoken languages of Adilabad. Adilabad is famous for its rich cultivation of cotton. Hence, Adilabad is also referred as "White Gold City". It is located about north of the state capital, Hyderabad, from Nizamabad and from Nagpur. Adilabad is called as the "Gateway to South India".
The earlier name of Adilabad was Edlabad during the rule of Qutub Shahis. Adilabad derives its name from the erstwhile ruler of Bijapur, Muhammad Yusuf Adil Shah. It wasn't a homogenous unit for a long period. Adilabad was ruled by many dynasties like the Kakatiyas, Mauryas, Satavahanas, Chalukyas, Qutub Shahis, Asaf Jahis and by Gond Rajas of earlier sub-districts Sirpur and Chanda. It was created in 1872 by the ruler and In 1905 it was declared to be an independent district with a prominent headquarters. Later, many regions were combined and set apart. In 2016, it was divided into four districts namely, Adilabad, Nirmal, Asifabad, Mancherial.
Telugu is the most spoken language in Adilabad (65% as native language). Due to geographical proximity with Maharashtra, Marathi is also widely spoken and understood (10.5% as native language). Other languages spoken in Adilabad include Hindi, Urdu and lambadi,Gondi.
Adilabad has an average elevation of 264 metres. The district shares its boundaries with Nirmal districts of Telangana to the south, Komaram Bheem district on the east, with Nanded on the west and Yavatmal and Chandrapur districts of Maharashtra to the north.
The Kuntala Waterfall, rivers like the Godavari, Painganga, etc flow through the district. Mavala lake, built during the Nizam period, is situated 6 km south side of Adilabad city. There is a park adjacent to the lake. Other waterfalls in Adilabad include Pochara waterfalls also and Gayatri waterfall, where different rope games are conducted in year-round.