Surathkal is a locality under Mangalore City Corporation located in the Dakshina Kannada district, Karnataka state, India. Surathkal is home to one of India's best technical institutes - The National Institute of Technology Karnataka (NITK), formerly known as Karnataka Regional Engineering College (KREC). Surathkal is a suburb of Mangalore city located on National highway 17. Surathkal also houses Vidyadayanee High School and Govindadasa College run by Hindu Vidyadayanee Sangha, Surathkal, which has provided education to thousands of students since pre-independence period. The host petrochemical companies and a port. The nearest airport is Mangalore (Bajpe), 15 kilometres from Surathkal.The New Mangalore sea port is 6 km away. The railway station at Surathkal, on Konkan railway, is an important one due to the presence of several educational institutes,sea port,air port and industries. Surathkal town can be easily accessed by various bus services from Mangalore City by both city buses and the Mangalore-Udupi Express buses.