Ranikhet Hill Station or "Queen's Meadow" is a mesmerizing place falling under the state of Uttaranchal, and located at the height of 1829 m with a sprawling are of 21.76 Sq. Kms. As the story goes, Queen Padmini of Kumaon was desperately in love with this splendid hill paradise, and to oblige the aspirations of his queen, King Sudhardev made a palace built here, and named it Ranikhet or Queen's field.
Set amidst dense forests of pine, oak and deodar, Ranikhet hosts a diverse variety of flora and fauna. This area has moist mixed-deciduous forests, sub-alpine pastures and scrub in abundance Leopard, Leopard Cat, Mountain Goat, Barking Deer, Sambhar, Pine Mertin, Wild Bear, Indian Hare, Red Faced Monkey, Jackal, Langur, Red Fox, and Porcupine are the animals that can be commonly seen here.
At present, Ranikhet is a cantonment town and place for Kumaon Regimental Centre (KRC) and Naga Regiment. The hill station is being maintained by the Indian Army.
Ranikhet is known for its delicious apples, apricots, peaches and various other alpine fruits