Mettupalayam, Coimbatore

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Mettupalayam (Tamil: மேட்டுப்பாளையம் Meṭṭuppāḷaiyam [me ː ʈ ː ː a ː ɯp ɭaijʌm ] ) is a city in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located in the district of Coimbatore, at the foot of the Nilgiri Mountains. The city lies at 305 meters above sea level and is drained by the river Bhavani. The nearest city is Coimbatore about 50 kilometers south. According to the Indian census of 2011 Mettupalayam has around 69,000 inhabitants.

The main transport links in the Nilgiri mountains lead over Mettupalayam. The train station of Mettupalayam is the terminus of a broad-gauge route from Coimbatore and the beginning of the mountain railway Nilgiri Mountain Railway, which leads to Udagamandalam, overcoming a distance of 46 kilometers above 2000 meters altitude difference.