Ranikhet in Uttaranchal is a small hill station situated in the Kumaon hills. It offers a panoramic view of the mighty Himalayan peaks, making stressed urbanites visit the place for the fresh invigorating mountain air. The environs of Ranikhet are sylvan, peaceful and attractive. Legend has it that a beautiful Kumaoni queen fell so deeply in love with the green glades and meadows that her King, Raja Sukherdev built her a grand palace there and named the place Ranikhet, meaning queen’s meadow.

The British developed Ranikhet as a hill station for their troops and established a cantonment in 1869. Ranikhet is still a cantonment town and is the Kumaon Regimental Center.

Ranikhet has museums, temples, colorful bazaars, and fruit filled orchards. It’s one of the best places to also do nothing but just relax under a soothing sun and enjoy the Himalayan view while sipping tea. There are government orchards at Chaubatia, 10 km to the south of Ranikhet. You can go for a picnic there and buy fruit freshly plucked from the orchards.

Bhalu Dam, 3.2 km away supplies Ranikhet with water. You can procure permission from the District Forest Officer and go fishing there. For those who love Golfing and would like to do so at an amazing altitude, there is the Army Golf Course in Upat where you can play for a fee of Rs 500 or in Golf Clubs for a fee for Rs 100. One can also visit an old temple dedicated to Goddess Kali from where the town of Kalika gets its name.

There are quite a few hiking trails around Ranikhet. There the winding route from behind the Army Holiday Home to the AMU Guest House or the trek up from the Mall towards the same guest house or the 1 km trek south of the West view Hotel. You can also walk up to the Jhula Devi Temple and continue to the orchards of Chaubatia then walk another 4 km along the top of a ridge to the man made lake of the Bhalu Dam.

Another Must do is a visit to the KRC Museum that houses memorabilia from the wars that the regiment has fought. The Regiment prides in getting the first Param Vir Chakra by Major Somnath Sharma. Also visit the Mankameshwar Temple and the Weaving factory both maintain by the KRC.

For Shopping you have options like the woolen jackets, kurtas, shirts, tweed shawls and the famous bal-mithai sweets.

Best Time to visit: All year around

Distance from Delhi: 354 km
How to reach:
By Air – The nearest airport is a Pant Nagar (Nainital).
By Rail – The nearest railhead for Ranikhet is Kathgodam.
By Road – From Delhi- NH-24 to Rampur-Hapur-Garhmukteshwar- Gajraula-Joya-Moradabad; NH-87 To Kathgodam via Rudrapur and Haldwani;state highway to Ranikhet via Bhimtal,Bhowali and Khairna.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 at 12:51 am and is filed under Hill Station. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.