‘Rani’ is a Hindi word that means ‘Queen’ while ‘gat’ is a Pashto word which means a ‘huge rock’. The remains of the valley, which owes its name to the huge standing rock on the top of the mountain that shoulders the ruins, can be seen from far off areas of the district.

According to the archeologists, Ranigat, a developed state, remained the center of Buddhist art and culture for centuries.

Ranigat, belonging to the period of first-sixth century AD and protected under the Antiquities Act 1975, has been a celebrated part of folklore – songs and stories of which still echo from the coffee-hued ruins in Totalai in the Buner District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.