Roopkund — The Skeleton Lake: A Himalayan Mystery Wrapped in Ice

 

Beautiful Mysteries for Travel Enthusiasts — Part 1

At an altitude of around 16,500 feet in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand, a glacial lake high up in the lap of the Indian Himalayas, there is a glacial lake so bewildering to scientists, historians and trekkers alike that it is called Roopkund or The Skeleton Lake.

Picture a pristine alpine trail, where you are walking, but upon the walk, you stand by one frozen water body, riddled with hundreds of ancient human Roopkund skeletons.

This is no fiction. Programmed to self destruct in 2992, it is one of India’s most captivating and haunted travel places India, as well as one of the dream destinations for the curious traveller.

The Enigma of Roopkund skeletons

Roopkund distinguishes itself from the other high altitude lakes due to its eerie legacy.

When summer starts to melt the ice, the lake disclosed another surprising reality, that it was also home to hundreds of human skeletons.

Explorations later added layers of intrigue, eventually capable of being initially assumed to be the remains of a single catastrophic event.

Over 500 skeletons were found, many amazingly well preserved due to the glacial climate.

What was most mysterious was that some Roopkund skeletons had deep cracks in their skulls — with no external injuries except, in some places, blunt trauma.

Not only was this a burial ground. It was frozen in time as a historical puzzle.

Who Were They?

But in the early 2000s a multidisciplinary team consisting of archaeologists, anthropologists and geneticists went deep on these bones.

Their findings destroyed the one event theory.

In 2019, a DNA analysis published on 2019 January 29 in Nature Communications identified the remains as two distinct groups of people separated by over 1000 years.

A group of South Asiatic people who lived from the 7th to the 10th century.

Surprisingly, a later group of Mediterranean descent from the 19th century.

So what was a Mediterranean people doing in such a remote part of the Himalayas in the first place — and perishing there? This led researchers with more questions than answers.

Was this a pilgrimage messed up? A military campaign? A long-forgotten trade route?

Legends of Roopkund

It wasn’t short of theories in local folklore. One of the most popular myths is that King Jasdhaval of Kanauj, together with his pregnant wife and entourage, were undertaking a pilgrimage to the shrine of Nanda Devi when the person was caught in such a bad hail storm, that it killed all of them.

He had etched the “dance of death” into folk songs that generations of trekking in Uttarakhand had passed down.

At the same time, the hailstorm theory was scientifically validated. With more than a quarter of the skull fractures matching injuries from round hailstones the size of a cricket ball, which could prove fatal in the high Himalayas, researchers confirmed that the place was pelted by hail.

The Roopkund Trek — A Trail Through Time

The Roopkund trek is commonly known as a trail through time and another name is Skeleton lake trek.

But if anything, because of its grim reputation, Roopkund has become one of the most sought after treks in India.

The Roopkund Trek boasts a length of approximately 53 kilometers and features a tremendous tour through forests of oak, meadows, icy ridges and also snow covered landscapes.

The trek starts from Lohajung and takers move ahead to enchanting villages named Didna and Wan and meadows known as Bedni Bugyal, a place where the nature sounds like an forgotten tales are whispering to us.

The mountain’s mood changes at every step, sometimes serene, sometimes ominous. Roopkund Lake is the last stop on this journey and you will find the skeletal remains (most of which have been covered because of conservation) along with the stark beauty of the surroundings, quite haunting.

The best time to visit Roopkund is from May to June and September to October.

As there are landslides and slippery trails, it is advisable to avoid monsoons.

Trekking Suspended: Preservation and Safety

Since the last few years the Uttarakhand’s forest department has restricted the Roopkund Trek to stop the adverse effects of tourism on an already sensitive ecosystem.

It was based mostly on environmental grounds, including littering and degradation of alpine meadows.

Though official routes are suspended, adventure lovers have found a way of accessing close by trails legally and carefully under governed eco-tourism rules.

Always check current permissions to verify if guide and operators have ethical trekking practices.

Tips for the Curious Traveler

1. Altitude: Altitude sickness is a possibility as the highest altitude of the trek crosses 15,000 feet.
2. Moderate to difficult: trek to fitness first. Start physically prepare at least a month before.
3. Thermal wear, high ankle boots, windproof jackets, and walking poles have to be packed as essentials.
4. Respect others on this site. It may be a site of historical or spiritual significance. Never remove or touch any of the skeletal remains.

What Roopkund Teaches Us

Frozen bones are the essence of Roopkund, but beyond it is a powerful lesson in humility.

In this silent amphitheater of Himalaya, nature’s wrath and human resilience, and the fragility of life fold into one.

Not just for trekkers, it welcomes thinkers, historians, lovers of mystery to something really magical.

Roopkund makes us conversant with that which the world’s concrete jungles would not tell us and the digital distractions would not listen to, stories written in ice, waiting to be read.

What’s Next

Our series of evident mysteries beautiful for travel enthusiasts begines with Roopkund.

For Part 2, we will take you to another lesser known mystery which merges history, myth, and nature — Loktak Lake’s Floating Islands of Manipur.