Roopkund, a mystery lake in the Himalayas

By Harpreet Kaur

?A beautiful ice-covered lake hides a horror story. It hides over 1000 skeletons when covered in ice and when it melts, they are uncovered and can be seen openly.

A mystery remains unsolved. Many theories have been put forth but what took place a thousand years back is unknown.?

Roopkund is located 16,500 feet up in Village Wan, Debal, Chamoli, Uttarakhand state in the Himalayas.? This lake is also known as Skeleton Lake as the lake was full of frozen bodies and skeletons. The lake hides the skeletons when covered in snow, which are exposed once the ice melts and water evaporates. The entire lake rim is surrounded by skeletons. It was a shocking discovery by the British during World War II in 1942 where they thought the dead skeletons could be Japanese soldiers trying to find an entry into India and died due to exposure to cold.

The melting ice had revealed the skeletons. The skeletons were not Japanese and they were very old. However, the hair, skin, and bones were in a well-preserved state due to dry cold air. However, where they came from was still a mystery. Why the 200 were killed or died in the valley is still a mystery. Theories include landslide, epidemic, suicide, battle, or killing.

Tests of the bodies done date them back to 850 AD. The DNA test reveals there were two groups of people one group contained people from a single tribe or family with closely related individuals. The second group is a smaller one with probably locals maybe containing guides or porters??

However, a 2004 expedition to the site seems to have finally revealed the mystery of what caused those people’s deaths. The answer was stranger than anyone had guessed. Experts have also found leather shoes; bamboo staves and rings making them believe that these were pilgrims passing through with local guides and porters.?

All have died in the same way from blows directly to the head. Short cracks that are deep and have not been made by weapons but something round. The blows are to the head and shoulder and have been made from above. Even the bodies of women show the same signs. There is a legend here that the goddess was displeased with intruders in her abode and rained down hailstones as hard as iron. The conclusion made is that all died in a hailstorm.?

Trapped in the valley they could not find a way out. The hailstones were the size of cricket balls 9 inches in circumference which resulted in these visitors' death. The bodies have remained there for 1200 years until they were discovered.

The trek to Roopkund starts from Gwaldum in Chamoli. It is a three to four-day trek. It is an enclosed space and there are bodies everywhere and float. It is a scary place. A forest ranger Hari Kishan Madhwal discovered the bodies in 1942. They tried to establish the ancestry of the skeletons and were successful to a certain extent.?

This lake is located at a high altitude in Uttarakhand and is located in Trishul massif in the Himalayas. It is uninhabited.? The altitude is 16,470 feet and is surrounded by other glaciers. It is a popular trek area. The size of the lake varies in summer and winter and is never more than 40 meters in diameter and three meters in depth.? National Geographic recovered over 30 skeletons. Legend refers to the party belonging to Raja of Kannauj Raja Jasdhaval. There is flesh attached to many skeletons.?

Legend says that Raja Jasdhaval along with his wife Rani Balampa who was pregnant along with a dance troupe was on a pilgrim tour to Nanda Devi and was suddenly struck with a hailstorm. The entire party vanished close to Roopkund.

Scientific research

Samples are on display at the Anthropological Survey of India Museum, Dehradun. Three hundred skeletons show injuries made with round objects on the head and shoulders. All have died due to the same cause. Songs and legends talk about hailstorms killing the party.?

Radiocarbon dating at Oxford University dates the bones back to 850 CE plus or minus 30 years.? Along with the genome, a wide analysis of 38 skeletons found at Roopkund concluded that there were three groups of people.

- 23 individuals (dated ~800 CE) had typical South Asian ancestry,?

- One individual (dated ~1800 CE) had Southeast Asian ancestry,?

- 14 individuals (dated ~1800 CE) had ancestry typical of the eastern Mediterranean, specifically mainland Greece and Crete.?

They all died due to the same catastrophic event. South Asian remains are older and were deposited over a period, while the eastern Mediterranean and Southeast Asian remains were deposited in a single event.?

Conservations

Every day there is a loss of skeletons due to tourists and trekkers transporting them away from the lake site.? Earlier they were strewn across the valley floor but today many are stacked or have disappeared.?

The government agency is making an effort to protect the site as an important archaeological and anthropological site.

Trek

The best time to trek is mid-September to October. The trekking path passes through Bedni Bugyal to reach Roopkund in Chamoli District. It is close to Trisul (7120m) and Nanda Ghunti (6310m) Himalayan peaks. To the lakes, north is a rock face called Junargali, and to the east is another peak, Chandania Kot.??

Villagers hold a festival every year at Bedni Bugyal in autumn and another is held at Roopkund every 12 years which is called Nanda Devi Raj Jat and Nanda Devi is worshipped here.?

It is a popular trek and many tour operators offer trek details and help you plan and reach there.?