Mettupalayam is a municipality town and taluk of the Coimbatore district in the

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

. It is the second largest town in the Coimbatore District. It's located to the North of the Coimbatore city on the way to

Ooty Ooty (), officially known as Udhagamandalam (also known as Ootacamund (); abbreviated as Udhagai), is a city and a municipality in the Nilgiris district of the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located north west of Coimbatore and so ...

in the foothills of

Nilgiri hills The Nilgiri Mountains form part of the Western Ghats in northwestern Tamil Nadu, Southern Karnataka, and eastern Kerala in India. They are located at the trijunction of three states and connect the Western Ghats with the Eastern Ghats. At le ...

. As of 2011, the town had a population of 66,595. Mettupalayam Railway Station is the only Railway Station which still operates Steam Engine Train from Mettupalayam to Ooty.

Geography

Mettupalayam is located at . It has an average elevation of 314

metre The metre (British spelling) or meter (American spelling; see spelling differences) (from the French unit , from the Greek noun , "measure"), symbol m, is the primary unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), though its prefi ...

s (1033

feet The foot ( : feet) is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is a separate organ at the terminal part of the leg made ...

). Mettupalayam is situated on the bank of Bhavani River at the foot of the Nilgiri mountains.

Demographics

According to 2011 census, Mettupalayam had a population of 69,213 with a sex-ratio of 1,022 females for every 1,000 males, much above the national average of 929. A total of 6,808 were under the age of six, constituting 3,543 males and 3,265 females.

Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...

accounted for 14.76% and 0.08% of the population respectively. The average literacy of the town was 77.11%, compared to the national average of 72.99%. The town had a total of 18,423 households. There were a total of 26,595 workers, comprising 147 cultivators, 437 main agricultural labourers, 704 in house hold industries, 23,870 other workers, 1,437 marginal workers, 8 marginal cultivators, 60 marginal agricultural labourers, 92 marginal workers in household industries and 1,277 other marginal workers. As per the religious census of 2011, Mettupalayam had 69.24%

Hindus Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

, 25.65%

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

, 4.84%

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

, 0.02% Sikhs, 0.15%

Jains Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...

, 0.04% following other religions and 0.05% following no religion or did not indicate any religious preference.

Politics

Mettupalayam (State Assembly Constituency) is part of Coimbatore (Lok Sabha constituency).

Transport

The

Nilgiri Mountain Railway The Nilgiri Mountain Railway (NMR) is a railway in Nilgiris district, Tamil Nadu, India, built by the United Kingdom, British in 1908. The railway is operated by the Southern Railway zone, Southern Railway and is the only rack railway in India. ...

which connects Mettupalayam railway station with Udagamandalam (Ooty) is a

UNESCO World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

Nilgiri Express The ''Nilgiri Express'' (Also known as the Blue Mountain Express, or Nilagiri Express) is a night express train service operating between Chennai Central and Mettupalayam, Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, India. It is operated by Indian Railways. ...

connects Mettupalayam to capital

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

via Coimbatore. Mettupalayam is situated at the base of

Nilgiri Hills The Nilgiri Mountains form part of the Western Ghats in northwestern Tamil Nadu, Southern Karnataka, and eastern Kerala in India. They are located at the trijunction of three states and connect the Western Ghats with the Eastern Ghats. At le ...

and hence is the starting point for the

Ghat Roads Ghat Roads are access routes into the mountainous Western and Eastern Ghats, mountain ranges of the Indian subcontinent. These roads are remarkable feats of engineering, and most were constructed during the British Raj. Ghat roads were built to ...

. MEMU express special trains are operated between Coimbatore junction and Mettupalayam daily. Coimbatore is 35 km by road from Mettupalayam and the nearest airport is

Coimbatore International Airport Coimbatore International Airport is the primary airport serving the industrial cities of Coimbatore and Tiruppur in Tamil Nadu, India. It is located in the neighbourhood of Peelamedu, about from the center of Coimbatore. It is the 18th-bus ...

. There is proposal for a bypass road from Sulur Kangeyampalayam via neelambur for Mettupalayam via odanthurai to Ooty.

National Highway 181 (India) National Highway 181, commonly referred to as NH 181, is a highway connecting the city of Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu to Gundlupete in Karnataka state, South India. The city of Mysuru is connected to Ooty by road via Nanjanagudu, Gundlupete, Ba ...

connecting Gundlupete in

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

state to Nagapattinam passes through Mettupalyam. State highway SH15 from Erode to Ooty passes through Chittode, Gobichettipalayam, Satyamangalam, Sirumugai, Mettupalayam and Kothagiri. State highway SH80 connects Mettupalayam to Avinashi via Annur.

Places of interest

*Vana Bathrakali Amman temple *Kurunthamalai Murugan Hill Temple * Black Thunder Water Theme Park * Kallaar Park at Ooty Road, Mettupalayam *Idugampalayam Aanjineyar temple *Then Tirupathi Temple *Kumaran Kundru Murugan temple * Karamadai Ranganadar temple *Thekkampatti Elephant Camp *Forest College and Research Institute, Kotagiri Road, Mettupalayam

Villages

*Odandurai *Marudur *Dhayanur *Tholampalayam *Thekkampatti *Dimmampalayam *Velliyangadu

References

{{Municipalities of Tamil Nadu Cities and towns in Coimbatore district