Ranikhet

Ranikhet is a hill station and cantonment town in Almora district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. Ranikhet is at an altitude of 1829 metres above sea level and within sight of the western peaks of the Himalayas.

Ranikhet gets its name, which mean Queen's meadow in English, from a legend that an Indian queen visited the site and built herself a palace here, though no palace exists in the area. In 1869, the British established the headquarters of the Kumaon regiment here and used the station as a retreat from the heat of the Indian summer. Ranikhet is a cantonment town and is the home for the Kumaon (KRC)& Naga regement and is maintained by the Indian Army.

Ranikhet becomes very cold in the winters and is moderate in summers. One can enjoy the Himalayan view from October to March. Ranikhet gets snowfall in the winter season, maily in the months of December, January and February. It offers a vast diversity of flora and fauna with vast forests of Pine and Deodar. One can see leopards in Ranikhet as well[citation needed].

The local language of this town is Kumaoni. Ranikhet is well connected by buses from Delhi and Lucknow. The nearest railway station is Kathgodam which is approximately 80 km from Ranikhet.

Demographics
As of 2001 India census,[1] Ranikhet had a population of 19,049. Males constitute 61% of the population and females 39%. Ranikhet has an average literacy rate of 83%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 87%, and female literacy is 76%. In Ranikhet, 10% of the population is under 6 years of age.NORTON'S HOTEL is a very famous and heritage HOTEL of Ranikhet since 1880. Many reknown personalities had visited like M.F. Hussain,former President of INDIA V.V.Giri,former vice President G.S.Pathak,Dilip Kumar,Meena kumari,Sunny Deol,Dharmendra etc. Famous Bollywood movie "Madhumati" was also shot in this Hotel. A team of National Geographic had also visited this hotel for the sake of research of it. American organization 'LET'S GO!' recommended this hotel in 2002. The owner of this hotel Mr.Khalid Masood Salaam Khan and his Sons Rashid Khan and Amir khan are very eminent personalities of ranikhet.

Places to visit in and around Ranikhet

* Golf course Ranikhet's golf course is a natural nine hole course.and is one of the prime attractions of Ranikhet. It is one of the highest situated golf courses in Asia

* Kalika Temple is situated close to the golf course.

* Jhula-Devi Temple is a temple of goddess Durga. It is 8th century old temple and it is believed that if a person asks for something he gets it and on fulfillment of his desire ties a bell in the temple. Very close to jhula devi is the Ram Mandir temple of Lord Rama.

* Chaubattia Garden It is a famous apple orchard. Besides apples, It is also possible to buy honey and fresh fruit juice from the sales counter of the garden.*Garden photos and location

* Hairakhan Temple is situated 4 km from Ranikhet Town at Chiliyanaula is the Hairakhan Temple which was established by Shri Hairakhan Maharaj who is said to be incarnation of Lord Shiva. One can have a good Himalayan view from this place.

* Binsar Mahadev is 15 km from Ranikhet town is the Binsar Mahadev Temple which has a beautiful stream flowing close to it. Apart from a Shiva temple, an ashram, Binsar Mahadev also has a lovely cedar forest surrounding it.An ideal picnic spot.

* Dronagiri is 52 km from Ranikhet lies the 1100 century old Dronagiri Temple. It is said that during battle between Rama and Ravana, when Laxman got hurt with the Arrow of Meghnadh, Hanuman went to obtain Sanjiwani Buti from Himalayas. On his way back, a part of Sanjiwani Buti fell at the place called Dronagiri.One has to climb almost Four hundred steps to reach the temple. Five kilometres away from Dronagiri is the famous cave of Pandavkholi where it is believed that Pandavas stayed during their exile.*Temple photo and location

* Baijnath Temple has a black stone Idol Goddess Parvati which is an exquisite work of art. This place is about 70 km from Ranikhet ahead of Kausani. This place is on the bank of river Gomti in the Garuda valley. At this place one can enjoy feeding large number of fishes but fishing is strictly prohibited.

* Katarmal(Sun temple) is about 25 km from Ranikhet. A beautiful trek leads you to one of the two sun temples of the country, first one being Konark, Orissa. This temple is a 12th century creation and the ancient idol of Sun God is presently preserved at the National museum Delhi. The temple is now protected and preserved by the Archeological Survey of India.

* Jageshwar is about 80 km from Ranikhet (Closer to Almora) is the famous cluster of 124 temples, prominent of them being the jyotirling jageshwar and the Mahamrityunjay temple which is the only temple of this incarnation of Lord Shiva in the world .Fantastic Deodar forest all around.

* Chamarkhan is about 20 km from Ranikhet in the same route to Binsar mahadev. Famous for Golu devta (Gwel jyu) temple. also famous for enormous bells offered by devotees. once a king of this region he is still invited for good occasions in family and also famous for his justice. even today, people apply their petition for want of natural justice, if denied in any court or suppressed by powerful person.

Air:- Nearest Airport is Pantnagar, 112 Kms, but flights are not operational at

Rail:- Nearest Railway heads are Kathgodam - 80 Km. & Ramnagar 96 Km.

Road :- Ranikhet is well connected by roads to important centers in the reigion. Some of the major distances are : Almore (49 km.), Delhi (386 km.), Nainital (59 km.), Kathgodam (80 km)

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nainital