Ranikhet :India
Ranikhet means ‘Queen’s Field’ and is said to be named after the wife of the 12th-century raja, Sudhar Deve. The rani (queen) may have visited but she did not stay and the field remained in the hands of its farmers until the British chose to turn it into a cantonment in 1869.

Spread along a ridge at 1,830 metres (6,004 feet). Ranikhet is covered with pine and oak forests. On its northern side it offers fine snow views. The climate is especially pleasant, being protected from the southwest monsoon by a high plateau which reduces the average annual rainfall to 127 centimetres (50 inches), half that of Nainital. It is, however, slightly warmer than its more famous neighbour, and although it snows in Ranikhet the snow rarely settles. Ranikhet is still a cantonment and the army must take the credit for limiting the spread of the bazaar and maintaining the forests, The town is now the home of the Kumaon Regiment, one of the Indian army’s best. Its history goes back to 1780 when a Kumaoni battalion was raised to serve Hyderabad state in southern India. Many buildings in Ranikhet bear the regimental crest, and most of the vehicles driving on the Upper Mall belong to the regiment. Young recruits undergo their 36-week basic training here and can be seen drilling on the parade grounds.

The summer tourist invasion is not too much in evidence here, and Ranikhet is worth visiting in May or June.