The Manu River originates in the mountains of Tripura (India) and plunges downward through dramatic gorges and steep escarpments until it reaches a broad plain where it becomes slow and meandering, going northward until it reaches the Sylhet plains.

The river enters Bangladesh through Kulaura Upazila in Maulvi Bazar district, when it changes its course to northwest and north to meet the Kushiyara at Manumuk.