The Ranikhola is a river in

Sikkim Sikkim ( ; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Koshi Province of Nepal in the west, and West Bengal in the ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, that flows near the state capital

Gangtok Gangtok (, ) is the capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Sikkim. The seat of East Sikkim district, eponymous district, Gangtok is in the eastern Himalayas, Himalayan range, at an elevation of . The city's population of 100 ...

. It is a tributary of the

Teesta River Teesta River is a long river that rises in the Pauhunri Mountain of eastern Himalayas, flows through the Indian states of Sikkim and West Bengal and subsequently enters Bangladesh through Rangpur division. In Bangladesh, it merges with Jamu ...

. The Mangar queen committed suicide on this river after the death of her husband at Mangarzong in 1642, so this river is named Ranikhola. The Ranikhola originates from the Himalayas and flows below Gangtok where it is joined by Ratey River and flows towards Ranipool where it is joined by another river called Roro River. The river then borders villages of Gangtok Subdivision in

Gangtok District Gangtok District is an administrative district of the Indian States and territories of India, state of Sikkim. It was renamed in 2021 as a result of administrative reorganisation of the state, which also saw three subdivisions of the East Sikki ...

and Pakyong Subdivision of Pakyong District. National Highway 10 runs parallel to the Ranikhola from Ranipool to

Singtam Singtam is a town which lies mostly in Gangtok District and partly in Pakyong District in the Indian state of Sikkim about from the state capital Gangtok. The town lies on the banking of the rivers Teesta and Ranikhola, which join together ju ...

and then the river ultimately flows into River Teesta at Singtam.

Hydropower project

The first hydropower project commissioned in Sikkim was a micro-hydel on Rani Khola below Gangtok in 1927. This one had an installed capacity of 50 kW.

References

Rivers of Sikkim Tributaries of the Teesta River {{India-river-stub