Cherupuzha is a town in Kannur district, Kerala, India. It is the headquarters of the Cherupuzha Panchayat which is a special grade panchayat in Kerala.
Location
It is located about 31 km east of taluk HQ Payyanur, 66 km north east of district HQ Kannur, 524 km from Capital city Thiruvananthapuram, 332 km away from Eranakulam, 150 km from Kozhikode, 121 km away from Mangalore and 326 km from Bangalore.
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 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 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.
Tourism
Surrounded by green terrains and mesmerizing hills, Tejaswini river in Cherupuzha offers adventurous tourist activity like white water rafting in Western ghats. Kollada near Cherupuzha is the starting point to kick off the rafting trip on the river. The rafting experience at Cherupuzha is an ideal stepping stone for those who aspires challenging high altitude rapids. Inflatable rafts are used here which is less expensive and easily maintained. White Water Rafting at Tejaswini river is one of the 17 best places for rafting in India.
Demographics
As of 2011 Census, Cherupuzha Grama Panchayat had a population of 30,733 where 15,004 are males and 15,729 are females. There were 7,052 families residing in the panchayat limits. The sex ratio of Cherupuzha was 1,048 lower than state average of 1,084. In Cherupuzha, 9.7% of the population was under 6 years of age.
Average literacy rate of Cherupuzha was 95% higher than state average of 94%. Male literacy stands at 96.3% and Female literacy at 93.7%.
Administration
Cherupuzha Grama Panchayat is a part of Payyanur Block Panchayat. Cherupuzha Panchayat is politically a part of Payyanur Assembly constituency in Kasaragod Loksabha constituency.
Connectivity
Satellite towns that are nearby and places at a longer distance which has direct bus route from Cherupuzha includes Pulingome, Palavayal, Kozhichal, Thirumeni, Padiyotchal, Peringome, Chittarikkal, Vellarikundu, Panathur, Alakkode, Chemperi, Payyavoor, Iritty, Payyanur, Kanhangad, Taliparamba, Kannur, Kasaragod, Kozhikode, Mangalore, Bangalore, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Thodupuzha, Pala, Kottayam, Pathanamthitta etc. These population centres are well connected to Cherupuzha by road.
Water bodies
Tejaswini River, also called "kariankode 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 Kasaragod 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.
Places of worship
Kottathalachi Mount
Cherupuzha Shri Ayyappa Temple
St. Mary's Forane Church
Assemblies of God Church(Pentecostal church),Cherupuzha
Pulingome Makhaam
St. Joseph's Church Pulingome
St. Sebastians Church Kozhichal
Kokkadavu Sivapuram Mahadeva Temple, Kokkadavu
Holy Family Church Koluvally
St. Agustines Church Rajagiri
St. Antony's Church Thirumeni
Baptist Church Kokkadavu (Thirumeni) Narambil Bhagavathy Kripalayam Retreat Center Thulaseevanam Mahavishnu Temple, Muthuvom, Thirumeni Cattiyoorkkavu Arakkal Bhagavathi Temple, Thirumeni St. Alphonsa Church Mulapra
Transport
Air
The nearest airport (70 km) is at Mattanur and Mangalore, Calicut are not far away. All of them are international airports but direct flights are available only to Middle Eastern countries.
Rail
The nearest railway station is 34 km away Payyanur on Shoranur-Mangalore Section. and Kannur Railway Station. Direct trains are available to Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Mangalore, Ernakulam, Kozhikode, Thiruvananthapuram, Chennai and other parts of the country.