Menggala

Menggala
Subdistrict/Town
Streets of Menggala
Menggala Location of Menggala in Lampung
Coordinates: 4°28′30″S 105°14′29″E / 4.47500°S 105.24139°E / -4.47500; 105.24139Coordinates: 4°28′30″S 105°14′29″E / 4.47500°S 105.24139°E / -4.47500; 105.24139
Country	Indonesia
Province	Lampung
Regency	Tulang Bawang Regency
Area
• Total	344 km2 (133 sq mi)
Population (2016 est.)
• Total	49,767
Time zone	WIB (UTC+7)
Postcode	34611-34614
Area code(s)	+62 726

Menggala is a subdistrict and a town in Tulang Bawang Regency, at the southeastern portion of Sumatra. It is the seat of the regency, with a population of about 50,000 in 2016. Menggala administratively covers an area of 344 square kilometers. The town's current administrative division, as a kecamatan or a subdistrict of the Lampung province, was established in 1946. It is about 100 km away from the city of Bandar Lampung.

Menggala is one of the oldest towns in the province, with records dating back to the fifth century. Sitting on the right bank of the Tulang Bawang River, one of the primary rivers in Lampung, Menggala was for a long time an important port for the region until the nineteenth century when it was eclipsed by Telukbetung. Before and during the colonial era, the town served as an entrepôt for the pepper trade.

Menggala is located on the right bank (south side) of the Tulang Bawang River, around 200 kilometers from its mouth and 97 km away from the provincial capital at Bandar Lampung. The Menggala subdistrict covers an area of 344 square kilometers and is administratively further divided into nine villages.

As with the rest of Indonesia, Menggala has a tropical climate classified as Af in the Köppen climate classification with an average temperature of 25.6 °C (78.1 °F) and precipitation of 2653 mm annually.

Menggala is one of the oldest settlements in Lampung. A polity in the territory that today constitutes Tulang Bawang Regency has been recorded in Chinese sources as early as the fifth century, when a location referred to as Pohuang (Dolang Pohuang in some sources) sent seven missions there. The Buddhist monk Yijing took note of the region during his voyage and time in Palembang at the coast. As with most of southern Sumatra, Menggala was under Srivijayan influence during the empire's peak.