Cheppara: A well-hidden gem in the middle of a forest

Cheppara is a beautiful place with in Thrissur district that is not well known to many in Kerala or in the Thrissur district itself. It is a cluster of rocks or on top of the Poomala hills. Cheppara is a great spot to spend a morning to catch the sunset in the evening. The view from top of the rock is beautiful with a forest on one side and rubber plantations on the other side.

I went with my family including my 3-year-old nephew who was home for the Onam holidays. I would not really recommend this place for a female solo traveler in the late hours and here you can read more about it.

Even though it is a huge rock, it is not that steep to climb up or down. Rather it is more like an egg shape spreading out sideways. There is a metal rail that is fixed which makes it easier to reach the top of the rock.

Entry to the place and the rock is free but this might change very soon. Even though it is a long stretch of rock, motor bikes do come up till the top of the rock. There is another route come riding up till the top of the rock. Once the Kerala tourism makes it a tourist destination there is going to be a ticket counter and all these things are going to change.

We reached there around 4pm and the weather was very pleasant. The rock can get slippery when it is raining. It was not like the hikes in Rajgad or any other place where you have to be very careful while climbing up. Therefore it was easy for my nephew and hard for us to control him from running around.

The sides of the rocks are like an arc and instead of the valley, we could see the flat lands of the near by forest and agricultural land with the background of mountain ranges. The picturesque view is worth spending time just sitting here in the evenings. I don't think it is easy explaining in words or pictures, you have to come here for that.

The rocks covers an area of almost 1km and streches 500m long. There are benches at different places to sit or maybe lie down. But, the best spot is to sit on the edge of a rock catching the sunset.

With my nephew who is a toddler now it was very difficult to relax, especially when you are the fun aunt. He won’t running and the edges of the rocks make it seem like a dangerous place for a three year old to play. The truth is it is not. The top of the rock has a larger area to walk and run.

What was interesting is people can actually ride their motor bikes till the top of the rock. For someone like me who is pretty scared of heights, this was a little adventure.

Since the monsoon just got over and the next term of rains is happening, there are few greens here and there. I love how this little purply-maroonish flower is everywhere with a cute little grass surrounding it, never seen it anywhere else. Even the normal grass has these little purple flowers which adds to the beauty of the rocks.

Walking down the rock, there is small water reservoir at the end of the long strech. It seems all the water from the rock is finally collected here through these little water paths through the middle of the rock patches. It is in these patches where the grass is grown.

With my hyperactive nephew we came to an agreement to go jumping together till the water body instead of him running towards it. Getting him out of water is one of the hardest task I had during this trip. This reservior is a little bit slippery if you go farther but not too deep.

In the middle section of the rock, there are two areas that are protected with metal rails. I’m not sure what they are but I’m guessing those are the caves which are knwon as the saint caves. It is being said a saint had come hear and spend his time in these caves. But with the beautiful view around you won’t really notice it.

Cheppara is actually a great place with a breathtaking view and to breath fresh air. In the coming days the face of this place will change when tourism authorities take over the control.

We spend an hour here before heading to another place near Cheppara where there is a dam.

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