Ranikhet is situated in the northern part of the state of Uttaranchal, in the northern region of India. It is situated in the Kumaon hills and is located on an altitude of 1824 m above sea level. Ranikhet is 59 km from Nainital and 50 km from Almora.
It is believed that the hill resort of Ranikhet derives it name from the Rani Padmini, queen of Raja Sukherdev, the local ruler. The queen was awe-struck by the beauty of the place. The queen was so captivated by the place that she decided to stay there, and the place came to be known as Ranikhet i.e. the queen's field. The region around Ranikhet was ruled by local Kumaoni rulers and later came under British rule. 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. Till date the hill resort of Ranikhet offers refugee to the sun baked people of the plains.
