Ranni’s history can be traced back 5000 years. It is linked to the early settlement of Adi Dravidans around Sabarimala and Nilackal. It is said that an ancient trade route used to pass through Nilackal between Kerala and the Pandian kingdom. There is evidence that Buddhists had a presence in the town at some point.
The former rulers of Ranni, known as the Ranni Karthas or Karthkal of Ranni, built Ranni Ramapuram temple. It is similar to the architectural style of the Aranmula Sree Parthasarathy temple. The Karthas were related to the Thekkamkoor Rajas whose kingdom stretched from the Meenachil river near the Western Ghats to the Vembanad lake in present-day Kottayam.
When Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma of Vennad annexed the Thekkamkoor kingdom in the 18th century, the land that belonged to the Karthas was also confiscated. It was during this era that the Knanaya Christians migrated to Ranni, establishing the St. Thomas Church of Ranni. As Malankara Orthodox Christians and Mar Thomites also migrated to Ranni in due course, the place became a part of the Central Travancore region. The Ranni forest division comprises the ranges of Ranni, Vadasserikkara and Goodrical with its headquarters at Ranni.
