After a long trek of 50 km from Almora, Ranikhet offers some spectacular sights to see as you trail through its mountains and thick forests. This is the place that won the heart of Queen Padmini and she chose it as her home and hence the name originated which means 'Queen's fields. This is also known as paradise to nature admirers and has been the Kumaon Army regiment headquarters.
A day's rest in Ranikhet is ample to begin your next route. Start your trek from Ranikhet to Gagas where you are can see the Ranikhet-Kalika ridges elevated at 2000 mts that define this region then walk till Dwarahat covering a total distance of 38 km from Ranikhet where you can see ancient sculptures dating back to the Katyuri Kings who made Dwarahat the capital of their dynasty. Then keep walking through the foot trails covering 14 km that leads you to Dunagiri where you can visit an ancient Goddess Durga Temple that has a bronze plate dated 1181 AD. This trek should complete in 2 days.
The second route is from Ranikhet to Sitalakhet via Kalika ridge, Majkhali and Kathpuriya covering a distance of 24 km in total. This town provides you with a panoramic view of the Himalayas. Trekker can enjoy walking through the thick forests and orchards which envelopes this small town. It also has a forest rest house where you could rest as it takes 2 days to complete the journey.
The final route to trek through is from Ranikhet to Kausani via Majkhali and Gochhina also known as the best route in this region that covers a total distance of 75 km. Majkhali is about 13 km from Ranikhet where trekkers are welcomed with a grand view of snowy peaks of the Himalayan ranges and Kausani that is a picture perfect image of Switzerland owning to its landscapes and ice laden peaks that will transcend you to a different world altogether. The total journey should take 2 days to complete and you can rest overnight at any good hotel or forest guest houses at Kausani from where you will further travel through much better trek routes waiting to be explored.
