Cherupuzha, Kannur

Cherupuzha is one of the main towns in Kannur district. Cherupuzha town, which is the headquarters of the Cherupuzha Panchayat, is located about 31 kilometers east of Payyannur and 44 kilometers south of Kanhangad and 65 kilometres (via Alakode) north of Kannur city.

History

Cherupuzha and its surrounding areas was ruled by many royal dynasties in the past, including the Mooshika dynasty of Ezhimala, Chirakkal dynasty of Kolathunadu, Tipu Sultan of the Kingdom of Mysore, before it became a part of the British Raj. The original inhabitants of the area were primarily Hindus. Later on this region gained a sizable Christian and Muslim population. Now the place has Christians as majority. The arrival of Christians from middle Kerala helped in the development of this place, this led to the construction of schools, colleges, hospitals etc. in the area. The economy was agrarian with strong feudal system - Janmi-Kudiyan system - permeating everyday life in past and in the present mainly small and medium farmers.

Geography

Cherupuzha is a small hilly town (part of Western Ghats) on the eastern side of Kannur district. The terrain is undulating in nature and the extreme eastern side has forests bordering Karnataka state.

Tejaswini River

Tejaswini River, also called "kariamgode puzha" in Malayalam, which is comparatively small among 44 rivers of Kerala, flows beside this town. It originates from Brahmagiri hills of Coorg forest in Karnataka, enters Kerala near Pulingome, flows through the districts of Kannur and Kasargod and meets the Arabian Ocean, near Nileshwaram as a part of Valiyaparamba Backwaters. Tejaswini, which is 64 km long, do have a rafting stretch of 20 km with plenty of rapids extending up to class-3.

Nearby towns and villages

Satellite towns that are nearby and places at a long distance which has direct bus route from Cherupuzha includes Koluvally, Pulingome, Palavayal, Rajagiri, Thayyeni, Kozhichal, Josegiri, Chittarikkal, Nallompuzha, Alakkode, Karuvanchal, Thirumeni, Padichaal, Payyanur, Kannur, Pala, Kottayam, Pathanamthitta. These population centres are well connected to Cherupuzha by road.^[1]

Places of worship

Kottathalachi Mount
Baptist Church Kokkadavu (Thirumeni)
St. Mary's Forane Church
Cherupuzha Shri Ayyappa Temple
Pulingome Makhaam
St. Agustines Church Rajagiri
St. Sebastians Church Kozhichal
Kripalayam Retreat Center
St. Joseph's Church Pulingome
Holy Family Church Koluvally
Narambil Bhagavathy
Kokkadavu Sivapuram Mahadeva Temple, Kokkadavu
Thulaseevanam Mahavishnu Temple, Muthuvom, Thirumeni
Cattiyoorkkavu Arakkal Bhagavathi Temple, Thirumeni

Transport

The national highway passes through Perumba junction through proposed Ezhimala - Bagamandalam Highway. Goa and Mumbai can be accessed on the northern side and Cochin and Thiruvananthapuram can be accessed on the southern side. The road to the east of Iritty (Malayora Highway) connects to Mysore and Bangalore. The nearest railway station is Payyanur on Mangalore-Palakkad line. Trains are available to almost all parts of India subject to advance booking over the internet. There are airports at Mattanur, Mangalore and Calicut. All of them are international airports but direct flights are available only to Middle Eastern countries.

Direct Buses are available to Bangalore, Manglore, Ernakulam, Kottayam Thrissur and other places of Kerala and Karanataka.

How to reach Cherupuzha

Nearest railway station (34 km): Payyanur railway station
Nearest airport (70 km): Kannur International Airport

Cherupuzha is 71 km from Kannur, 31 km from Payyanur and 44 km from Kanhangad and Taliparamba. Many buses travel from Bangalore, Kochi, Kottayam, Kozhikode and Kannur. Bus route between Payyanur and Cherupuzha operates frequently.

Roads

Two main roads are Cherupuzha-Payyanur and Cherupuzha - Alakode All the other roads in this area were built by the people themselves. The roads, Cherupuzha-Pulingome – Kottathalachi, Edavaramba – Koombankunnu, Kariyakkara – Koombankunnu, Cherupuzha-Pulingome-Rajagiri, Rajagiri-Josegiri, Vazhakkundam – Churappadavu, Chunda – Vilakkuvettam and Umayanchal – Kottathalachi are examples of the collective effort of people of Cherupuzha and Pulingome. Another important road in the area is Cherupuzha-Thirumeni- Muthuvom road which is of a length of 9 kilometers. From Thirumeni, one can reach to its outskirts like Chathamangalam, Thabore, Muthuvom and Korali.

Both private and public transport buses are available from Cherupuzha to Kannur, Kozhikode, Cochin and Bangalore.

Ezhimla-Payyannur-Cherupuzha-Pulingome - Thalakkaveri-Bhagamandala-Bengaluru road

A new bridge has already been constructed over Pulingome river near Cherupuzha, connecting Kerala and Karnataka. Talks are on between Karnataka, Kerala and central Governments on this project. If this road became a reality, the distance to Bangalore and Mysore would be reduced by more than 60 kilometers also 120 kilometers between Kannur and Bangalore.

Cherupuzha-Prapoyil-Thirumeni -Chathamangalam-Parappa-Karthikapuram Road : Bypass Road for Hill Highway

This road, though development is still underway, is very significant because it connects Cherupuzha to places like Karthikapuram, Parappa, Neduvode and Rayarome at the shortest distance. This is the only road that goes through the common meeting place of Cherupuzha, Alakode and Udayagiri panchayaths. Efforts are on to renovate the road completely and make it the bypass of Alakode-Therthaly-Cherupuzha Road. The advantage is in case of any complication on the major road, the bypass can be used.

If developed properly, additional long route buses can make trips covering places like Prapoyil, Thirumeni, Chathamangalam, Parappa & Karthikapuram. All these places have only local bus services now and can act as a proper alternate route for the HIll Highway.

Cherupuzha-Chittarikkal: Malabar Hill Highway

This road is part of Malabar hill highway, stretching across Kerala, connecting Kannur and Kasaragod districts.

Hanging Bridge

The major attraction in Cherupuzha is a hanging bridge in Tejaswini river (also known as karyamkode puzha) which connects both Kasaragod and Kannur districts.^[2]

Hospitals

St. Sebastian's Hospital Kakkayamchal^[3]
Cherupuzha Co-operative Hospital

Education

St. Mary's High School
JMUP School
St. Joseph's HSS
Archangels Public School
Navajyothi College

References

[1] ttps://www.google.com/maps/place/Cherupuzha,+Kerala+670511,+India/@12.2708592,75.3502463,14z/

[2] ttps://www.google.com/maps/place/Cherupuzha,+Kerala+670511/@12.2752094,75.3609189,3a,75y,260.94h,82.04t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipPG3Hic0Ly4aJZIvWKa3JC4U2mkk6g-rOMC7d6P!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipPG3Hic0Ly4aJZIvWKa3JC4U2mkk6g-rOMC7d6P%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi0-ya67-ro-0-fo100!7i8192!8i4096!4m5!3m4!1s0x3ba45d9e2fbe89ab:0xafa5be5105111138!8m2!3d12.2728397!4d75.3672001

[3] ttps://www.google.com/maps/place//data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x3ba45da1a623889f:0x6d534de9ebf71620?source=g.page.share

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