The town is noted for the Chengannur Mahadeva Temple[2] and the Old Syrian Church of the ancient St. Thomas Christians community.

The Ay Kingdom's territory extended from Pamba River in the north to Nagercoil in the south.

[4] In the medieval age, Chengannur was controlled by the Vanjipuzha chieftains of Mundencavu, of Tulu Brahmin origin.

The economic, social and religious esteem and the political power and sway of Vanjipuzha family over Chengannur continued to be intact throughout even the British period uninterrupted.

The current Chengannur market, known as Shastham Puram Chanda, was developed by Velu Thampi Dalawa.

During the 19th and 20th centuries, this market played a major role in selling and buying goods produced in the eastern mountains with the towns along the coast.

In 1938 as part of Indian independence movement, large gathering of people from all over Central Travancore were present at the Mills Maithan in Chengannur in response to a notification circulated by the State Congress.

There was police lathi charge during the meeting and a person named 'Kutilil George' died and scores of people were injured.

Chengannur has produced several great Kathakali artists, the most famous being Chenganoor Raman Pillai.

Chengannur was also historically famous for the craftsmen who were brought by rulers of Travancore to build the Sabarimala temple.

The Chengannur Suriyani Church, built by the Vanjipuzha Chiefs, is famous for its unique architecture.

The annual custom of Aval Nercha (offering of flattened rice) at this church is another tradition believed to have been initiated by a member nearly 400 years ago.

This custom is still practiced by the local Nasrani community and is organised by members of the Mukkath Kudumba Yogam on Maundy Thursday.

Some of the Major destinations are Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Kozhikode, Mangalore, Mukambika, Kanyakumari, Coimbatore, Palani, Kannur and Wayanad.

Private buses leave this stand heading to various places in the Alappuzha, Kottayam, Pathanamthitta and Kollam districts.

In addition to these, private luxury buses are available to major cities like, Bangalore, Chennai, Coimbatore, Mysore, Salem, Mangalore etc.

By rail, Chengannur is well connected to major cities in India like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, Agra, Ahmedabad, Bikaner, Mangalore, Bhopal, Guwahati, Nagpur, Jammu and other major cities of the country.

Chengannur is served by the Trivandrum International Airport, which is about 115 kilometers from the city via Main Central Road.

Under the local self-government system, Chengannur is divided into 1 statutory town and development blocks consisting of 11 panchayats.

Other major source of income is from the Non Residential Indians, which is a common economical factor in the central Travancore region, and the rest of Kerala as well.

In Sabarimala season, which starts from mid-November to mid-January there is a huge boost in economical activities in this town.