Mettupalayam is a municipal town and headquarters of Mettupalayam Taluk in the

Coimbatore District Coimbatore District is one of the 38 districts in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. Coimbatore is the administrative headquarters of the district. It is one of the most industrialized districts and a major textile, industrial, commercial, educa ...

of the

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

. It is the second largest town in the Coimbatore district after

Pollachi Pollachi is a town and municipality in Coimbatore district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of Pollachi taluk. It is situated near the center of the South Indian Peninsula, surrounded by Western Gha ...

. It is located to the north of

Coimbatore Coimbatore (Tamil: kōyamputtūr, ), also known as Kovai (), is one of the major Metropolitan cities of India, metropolitan cities in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyy ...

city on the way to

Ooty Ooty (; officially Udagamandalam (), Anglicisation, anglicized: Ootacamund , abbreviated as Udagai, ) is a town and municipality in the Nilgiris district of the Indian States and territories of India, state of Tamil Nadu. It is located north ...

, in the foothills of Nilgiri hills. As of 2011, the town had a population of 69,213. Mettupalayam railway station is the starting point of

Nilgiri Mountain Railway The Nilgiri Mountain Railway (NMR), colloquially called the "Toy Train" by locals, is a railway in Nilgiris district, Tamil Nadu, India, built by the British in 1908. The railway is operated by the Southern Railway and is the only rack railwa ...

and it operates the only

rack railway A rack railway (also rack-and-pinion railway, cog railway, or cogwheel railway) is a steep grade railway with a toothed rack rail, usually between the running rails. The trains are fitted with one or more cog wheels or pinions that mesh with ...

in India connecting

and Mettupalayam. It is a suburban area of Coimbatore City.

Geography

Mettupalayam is located at . It has an average elevation of . Mettupalayam is situated on the bank of

Bhavani River The Bhavani is an interstate Indian river which flows through Indian states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, India. It originates from the Western Ghats and is one among the three rivers of Kerala which flows in eastward direction. Hydrography Bhavan ...

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 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 (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

, 25.65%

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

, 4.84%

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

, 0.02%

Sikhs Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Sikh'' ...

, 0.15%

Jains Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion whose three main pillars are nonviolence (), asceticism (), and a rejection of all simplistic and one-sided views of truth and reality (). Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and ...

, 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 Nilgiris.

Transport

The

, which connects Mettupalayam railway station with

Udagamandalam Ooty (; officially Udagamandalam (), anglicized: Ootacamund , abbreviated as Udagai, ) is a town and municipality in the Nilgiris district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located northwest of Coimbatore, and is the headquarters of N ...

(Ooty), is a

UNESCO World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

. Nilgiri Express connects Mettupalayam to the State capital,

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

, via

. Mettupalayam is situated at the base of Nilgiri Hills and hence is the starting point for the Ghat Roads.

MEMU In Indian Railways, a MEMU is an electric multiple unit (EMU) train that serves short and medium-distance routes in India, as compared to normal EMU trains that connect urban and suburban areas. The acronym stands for Mainline Electric Multiple ...

express special trains are operated between

Coimbatore Junction Coimbatore Junction railway station (station code: CBE) is a List of railway stations in India, railway station located in Coimbatore in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the major rail-head in the city ...

and Mettupalayam daily.

is 35 km by road from Mettupalayam, and the nearest airport is

Coimbatore International Airport Coimbatore International Airport is an international airport and the primary airport serving the Coimbatore Metropolitan Area in Tamil Nadu, India. It is located in the neighborhood of Peelamedu, about from the center of the city. It is the ...

. There is a proposal for a bypass road from Sulur ( Kangayampalayam) via Neelambur for Mettupalayam via Odanthurai to Ooty. National Highway 181 (India) connecting

Gundlupet Gundlupet (''Gundlupētē'' in Kannada) is a municipal town situated in the Chamarajanagar district of Karnataka, India. It is also known as "''The flower pot of India''". It is situated on NH 766, 60 km away from Mysuru and approximately ...

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

state to

Nagapattinam Nagapattinam (''nākappaṭṭinam'', previously spelt Nagapatnam or Negapatam) is a town in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Nagapattinam district. The town came to prominence during the period of Medieval ...

passes through Mettupalyam. State highway SH15 from

Erode Erode (; īrōṭu), is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Kaveri river and is surrounded by the Western Ghats. Erode is the seventh largest urban agglomeration in Tamil Nadu. It is the administrativ ...

to Ooty passes through Chithode, Gobichettipalayam,

Sathyamangalam Sathyamangalam (also known as Sathy) is a town and municipality in Erode district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Tamil Nadu. It lies on the banks of the Bhavani River, Bhavani river, a tributary of the Cauvery River, Cau ...

, Sirumugai, Mettupalayam and

Kotagiri Kotagiri is a hill station and a municipality in the Nilgiris district of the India, Indian state, Tamil Nadu. The Nilgiri hills have been the traditional home of the "Kota" tribes. The name 'Kota-giri' itself means 'mountains of the kotas'. ...

. State highway SH80 connects Mettupalayam to Avinashi via

Annur Annur is a town Panchayat and Taluk headquarters of Annur Taluk of the Coimbatore district. It is a suburb of Coimbatore located north-east about from the center of the city. The nearest airport is Coimbatore International Airport, which is ...

Places of interest

* Black Thunder Water Theme Park * Shree Sadhguru Sai Baba Temple, Kuttaiyur * SrInivāsa Perumāl Kovil, agrahāram, near Gandhi statue, Ooty main Road * Karamadai Ranganadar Temple * Forest College and Research Institute, Kotagiri Road * Idugampalayam Aanjineyar Temple * Kallaar Park at Ooty Road * Kumaran Kundru Murugan Temple * Kurunthamalai Murugan Temple * Thekkampatti Elephant Camp * Then Tirupathi Temple * Vana Bathrakali Amman temple * Mettupalayam View Point * Breezeland * Velankanni Church * Madeshwarar Temple, Kuttaiyur

Entertainment

* Movie Theaters: Sri Sakthi, Sivam, and Abhirami. * Shopping: Explore local shops and markets for a diverse retail experience.

Nearby villages

* Marudur Kurumbanoor * Athimathaiyanur * Dhayanur * Dimmampalayam * Jadayampalayam * Lingapuram * Nellithurai * Odanthurai * Paapanur * Palapatti * Thekkampatti * Tholampalayam *

Velliangadu Velliangadu is the largest and capital village of Velliangadu panchayat union in the district of Coimbatore, also known as Kovai in the state of Tamil Nadu, India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. ...

* Kemmarampalayam

References

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