Manipal is a

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separ ...

and university town within

Udupi Udupi (alternate spelling Udipi; also known as Odipu) is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. Udupi is situated about north of the educational, commercial and industrial hub of Mangalore and about west of state capital Bangalore by road. ...

, in

coastal The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in ...

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO 15919, ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reor ...

, India. Manipal is located five kilometres away from the centre of

City, in

Udupi District Udupi district (also Udipi or Odipu in Tulu language) is an administrative subdivision in the Karnataka state of India, with the district headquarters in the city of Udupi. It is situated in the Canara coastal region, there are seven talu ...

, Karnataka (state) in south western India. It is administered by the Udupi City Municipality. The suburb is located in coastal

, 62 km north of

Mangalore Mangalore (), officially known as Mangaluru, is a major port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bangalore, the state capital, 20 km north of Karnataka– ...

and 8 km east of the

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea ( ar, اَلْبَحرْ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Bahr al-ˁArabī) is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channe ...

. From its location on a

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ...

, at an altitude of about 75 m above sea level, it commands a panoramic view of the Arabian Sea to the west and the Western Ghats to the east. Home to the

Manipal Academy of Higher Education Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) is a private deemed university located in Manipal, India. The university also has campuses in Mangalore, Bangalore and Jamshedpur in India , and global campus in Dubai and Malacca (Malaysia). As o ...

, the town attracts more than twenty five thousand students every year and hence most of the population is students or university staff. It is one of the most

cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Food and drink * Cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a "Cosmo" History * Rootless cosmopolitan, a Soviet derogatory epithet during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1949–1953 Hotels and resorts * Cosmopoli ...

towns of India, reflected in its numerous cafes attracting students and faculty from around 60 countries. There are numerous spots throughout the suburb that attract students from nearby

and

such as End Point, Manipal Lake and Malpe Beach. The city owes its rapid development to

for converting this into a student city. It is called "Campus Town" by the locals. A regional information technology hub, Manipal has one of the highest densities of mobile phones in India.

Etymology

Manipal derives its name from Manna Palla'' (Kannada: ಮಣ್ಣ ಪಳ್ಳ) (meaning "muddy hole" or "muddy lake" in Tulu) commonly called Manipal Lake, a freshwater lake within Manipal.

Location

Situated east of the center of the temple city of

and north of

, Manipal was previously part of the

Shivalli The Shivalli Brahmins are a Hindu community in Karnataka. They are divided into two groups, the first of which follows the Dvaita philosophy founded by the Vaishnava saint Madhvacharya of Udupi are called Shivalli Madhva Brahmins, and the secon ...

village panchayat. Now it is part of Udupi city. The name is derived from "munn" and "palla",

anglicised Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...

to Manipal . ''Munn'' means "mud" and ''palla'' means "lake" in

Tulu language Tulu () in Kannada script, ml, ത‍ുള‍ു ഭാഷെ in Malayalam script. ''bhāṣe'', , ''bhāśe'', and ''bāśe'' are alternative spellings for the Tulu word ''bāse'' in the Kannada script. The correct spelling for the word ...

. This lake, roughly in the shape of 400 mtrs. diameter circle, after which Manipal is named, is located in the middle of the town and about . away from the Arabian Sea, and has a boating facility. The Swarna river passes just north of Manipal. Recreational facilities are available through End Point Park and Tree Park. Manipal was once a barren hill with few trees. This hill was transformed into the university town it now is by Dr.

T. M. A. Pai Tonse Madhava Ananth Pai (30 April 1898 – 29 May 1979), was an Indian physician, educationist, banker and philanthropist, most well-known for building the university town of Manipal, India. He was the first to start a private, self-finan ...

, who first started the

Kasturba Medical College Kasturba Medical College, Manipal and Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, together known as KMC, are two private medical colleges in coastal Karnataka, India, established in 1953.Agumbe Agumbe is a village situated in the Thirthahalli taluka of Shimoga district, Karnataka, India. It is nestled in the thickly forested Malenadu region of the Western Ghats mountain range. Owing to its high rainfall, it has received the epithet ...

Kudremukh Kudremukha(ಕುದುರೆ ಮುಖ) is a mountain range and name of a peak located in Chikkamagaluru district, in Karnataka, India. It is also the name of a small hill station iron ore mining town situated near the mountain, about 20 kilo ...

, Kapu and

Malpe Malpe is a natural port in the Udupi District in Karnataka, India. Located at the mouth of the Malpe River about six kilometers to the west of Udupi, it is an important port and a major fishing harbor on the Karnataka coast. The town of Malpe i ...

are also located nearby. Sunset manipal

Climate

From September to February, the weather in Manipal is

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

with daily temperatures averaging . From June to mid October, Manipal witnesses one of the most extreme

monsoons A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscill ...

in the world, with the annual precipitation ranging from . The months of December to May are hot and humid, with the daily temperatures typically peaking at . Being away from large urban centers and the highly tropical climate of the town attracts a large number of birds, with 155 different species of birds being recorded in February 2015, including rarities such as the Tickell's Thrush,

Blue-eared Kingfisher The blue-eared kingfisher (''Alcedo meninting'') is found in Asia, ranging across the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It is found mainly in dense shaded forests where it hunts in small streams. It is darker crowned, with darker rufous und ...

and

Slaty-breasted Rail The slaty-breasted rail (''Lewinia striata'') is a rail species native to the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Breeding has been recorded in July near Dehradun in the foothills of the Indian Himalayas. Despite traditionally being considere ...

Transport

Road

Manipal is connected to

(takes about 75 minutes via road) and towns such as

Karkala ''Karkala'' also known as Karla in Tulu language, is a town and the headquarters of Karkala taluk in the Udupi district of Karnataka, India. Located about 60 km from Mangalore in the Tulu Nadu region of the state,it lies near the foothill ...

and

Kundapur Kundapur, also called Kundapura, is a coastal town situated in the Udupi district of the state of Karnataka, India. This town was known as Coondapoor while it was part of the erstwhile South Canara district (1862–1947) of the Madras Pr ...

by several private bus services and

KSRTC KSRTC may refer to: * Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation * Kerala State Road Transport Corporation Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) is a state-owned road transport corporation in the Indian state of Kerala. It is one o ...

City Buses which run every thirty minutes. The town also has overnight bus services to

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern Indi ...

, Goa and

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...

. There are also buses which connect to the famous nearby tourist attractions like Malpe beach, Delta Beach,

Dharmasthala Dharmasthala (earlier known as Kuduma) is an Indian temple town on the banks of the Nethravathi River in the Belthangady taluk of the Dakshina Kannada district in Karnataka, India. The town is known for its centuries old Dharmasthala Te ...

Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation - (Karnataka SRTC), is a state-owned public road transport corporation in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is wholly owned by the Government of Karnataka. It serves routes to towns and cities in ...

runs air-conditioned bus service between

Mangalore International Airport Mangalore International Airport , is an international airport serving the coastal city of Mangalore, India. It is one of the only two international airports in Karnataka, the other being Kempegowda International Airport, Bangalore. Mangalo ...

and Manipal.

Rail

The nearest railway station is Udupi station (UD) on the

Konkan Railway The Konkan Railway (abbreviated KR) is one of the 19 railway zones in India with its headquarters at CBD Belapur in Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. The first passenger train ran on Konkan railway tracks on 20 March 1993, between Udupi and ...

line, located four kilometres west of Manipal. It has trains connecting

, Goa,

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South Ca ...

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Hous ...

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 195 ...

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the second ...

Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ...

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 ...

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi Language, Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also Romanization, romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the I ...

. It is about a kilometer away from the National Highway 169A. Mangalore Central (MAQ) is the nearest major railway station and is located in

, south of the town.

Air

The nearest international airport is

, which is located around south from Manipal, connecting it to Indian cities like Mumbai,

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 ...

and

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

, and internationally to the middle eastern countries like

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Ku ...

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and a ...

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the Ara ...

, and

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (Middle East, The Middle East). It is ...

. Pre-paid taxis are available to transport passengers to and from Manipal and Udupi. Buses also connect Manipal directly to the

Kempegowda International Airport Kempegowda International Airport is an international airport serving Bangalore, the capital of Karnataka, India. Spread over , it is located about north of the city near the suburb of Devanahalli. It is owned and operated by Bengaluru Int ...

in Bangalore, to cater to the large number of international students studying at the university. KSRTC recently started "Flybus", a premium daily bus service from Manipal to

in Bangalore.

Education

Manipal gained prominence when Dr. T.M.A. Pai founded the

Kasturba Medical College Kasturba Medical College, Manipal and Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, together known as KMC, are two private medical colleges in coastal Karnataka, India, established in 1953.Manipal Institute of Technology Manipal Institute of Technology (shortened MIT Manipal) (formerly Manipal Engineering College) is a private constituent institution of Manipal Academy of Higher Education that specializes in engineering. MIT contains 17 academic departments an ...

in 1957, a popular institute for engineering and 21 other colleges later, all of which became a part of Manipal Academy of Higher Education in 1993. Manipal Academy of Higher Education has been granted the status of Institute of Eminence in the year 2018. It has also been ranked among the top ten private engineering colleges within India. It is ranked 2nd within the state of Karnataka. Pai also founded the Manipal Pre-University College. View of Manipal in Karnataka

Manipal is a major technology and medical research hub, with major conferences and seminars organized almost every week. Since the establishment of Manipal University Technology and Business Incubator (MUTBI), the in-house business incubator of the university, a large number of student-run technology and media startups have sprung up.

References

External links

{{Authority control Populated places in the Western Ghats Cities and towns in Udupi district