Chimmony Wildlife Sanctuary

About this place

Chimmony Wildlife Sanctuary, also written Chimmini, is a forest sanctuary in Thrissur district, on the western slopes of the Nelliyampathy hills. The Kerala government declared it a sanctuary in 1984. It sits in Mukundapuram taluk and shares a boundary with Peechi-Vazhani Wildlife Sanctuary. Most people meet it first at the Chimmini dam. The dam holds back the Chimmini river, and the water, the forest wall, and the office at Echippara are the day-visit picture. The road in passes rubber on both sides before the check-post. An entry pass is required. This is not an open picnic ground, and it is not in Ernakulam district.

The feature that matters is the forest around that water. Evergreen and semi-evergreen cover climbs from the reservoir toward the ridge. Evergreen here means the trees stay green through the year, with a closed canopy, damp air, and a floor that does not dry out the way a deciduous forest does. From the dam you see the outer edge of that cover. The interior is steeper, wetter, and closed to casual walking. Elephant, gaur, sambar, and the Malabar giant squirrel are among the animals the sanctuary is known for. Gaur is the large wild cattle of these hills. The giant squirrel is the dark, rusty squirrel of the Western Ghats canopy, easier to hear than to see. None of them is booked to appear. The sanctuary was declared so that this forest and its animals could be protected, not so that they would be lined up for a crowd. A dam-side visit can be only water, forest, and birds. A longer walk is a forest-department programme, not a path you choose at the gate. Kerala’s forest ecotourism site lists treks here, including a land-and-water trek of about eight kilometres that is graded soft to moderate and starts in the morning. Those programmes take a booking, a minimum group, and their own charge. The district tourism page lists a simpler day visit from 6 am to 6 pm, with a small entry charge paid offline. The two pages do not use the same fee, so the amount on the day should be checked with the Peechi wildlife office or the forest booking site.

For a visitor the useful split is this. The dam and the Echippara side are the easy stop: a pass, a view of the reservoir, and the forest edge. The trek is the way into the quieter valleys, and it runs only when the department is taking a group. Sightseers who want a jeep loop through the whole sanctuary will not get one. People who want a half day of green hills between Thrissur and the Athirappilly side can use the dam. Birdwatchers and anyone happy to walk use the booked trek. Carry water. Shops inside the forest should not be assumed. Stay the night in Chalakudy, or ask the forest office about the dormitory it has mentioned near the dam, because that bed is not a hotel you can count on from a tourism listing.

Chimmony suits a Thrissur or Chalakudy day when the aim is a real sanctuary rather than a viewpoint alone. The Western Ghats character is the point: a river dammed in a steep valley, evergreen forest above it, and large animals that live there whether or not a visitor sees them. Searchers looking for Chimmony Wildlife Sanctuary, the Chimmini dam forest, or a Peechi-side sanctuary in Thrissur are in the right place. Confirm the pass, the clock, and any trek before leaving, because the published day-visit hours and the package rates do not match line for line.

🚆 Railway: Thrissur Railway Station (~38 km)

✈️ Airport: Cochin International Airport (~63 km)

🚌 Bus: Pudukkad Bus Station (~26 km) / Echippara

🏨 Stay: Chimmony Forest Inspection Bungalow / Chimmony Forest Department Dormitory / Anaporu Jungle Camp

✅ Notes: Chimmony Wildlife Sanctuary offers regulated trekking, bamboo rafting and overnight forest programmes, with availability dependent on weather and current Forest Department conditions.