THE ROOPKUND MYSTERY LAKE OR SKELETON LAKE (UTTARAKHAND)
About RoopKund ::- Roopkund (Locally Known As Mystery Lake Or Skeleton Lake) Is High Altitude Glacial Lake In The Uttarakhand State Of India. It Lies In The Lap Of Trishul Massif. Located In The Himalayas, The Area Around the Lake Is Uninhabited And Is Roughly At An Altitude Of 5,020 Meters (16,470 Feet), Surrounded By Rock-Strewn Glaciers And Snow-clad mountains. Roopkund Is A Popular Trekking Destination.
Roopkund Is The Size Of The Lake Varies Substantially, But It Is Seldom More Than 40 Meters In Diameter (1000 To 1500 Sqaure Meters In Diameters In Area) And Is Frozen In The Winter. With A Depth of About 3 Meters, Roopkund Is Widely Known For The Hundred Of Ancient Human Skeletons Found At The Edge Of The Lake. The Human Skeleton remains Are Visible At Its Bottom When The Snow Melts. Initial Investigations Led Some to Believe They Were The Remains Of A Semi Legendary Event When A Single Group Was killed In A Sudden And Violent Hailstorm In The 9th Century, But Scientific Research Has Subsequently Shown That The Remains Belong To Three District Groups Who Died In Two Independent Events.
Skeleton were Rediscovered In 1942 By A Forest Ranger Of The Nanda Devi National Park, Named Hari Kishan Madhwal. At First British Authorities Feared That The Skeletons Represented Causalities Of A Hidden Japanese Invasion Force, But It Was Found That The Skeletons Were Far Too old to Be Japanese Soldiers. The Skeletons Are Visible In The Clear Water Of The Shallow Lake During One Month When the Ice Melts. Along With the Skeletons, Wooden Artifacts, Iron Spearheads, Leather Slippers And Rings were Also Found.
When A Team From National Geographic Retrieved About 30 Skeletons In 2003, Flesh Was Still Attached To Some Of Them. Local Legend Says That The King Of Kanauj Raja Jasdhaval, With His Pregnant Wife, Rani Balampa, Their Servants, A Dance Troupe And Others Went on A Pilgrimage To Nanada Devi Shrine, And The Group faced A Storm With Large Hailstones, From Which The Entire Party Perished Near Roopkund Lake. Remnants Belonging To More Than 300 People Have Been Found. The Anthropological Survey Of India Conducted A Study Of The Skeletons During the 1950s And Some Samples Are Displayed At The Anthropological Survey Of India Museum, Dehradun.
Roopkund Is A Picturesque Tourist Destination And One Of The Important places For Trekking in Chamoli District, Himalayas, Near The Base Of Two himalayan Peaks. Trishul (7120m) And Nanda Ghunti (6310 m). The Lake Is Flanked By A Rock Face Named Junargali To The North And A Peak Named Chandania Kot To The East. A Religious Festival Is Held At The Alpine Meadow Of Bedni Bugyal Every Autumn With Nearby Villages Participating. A Larger Celebration, The Nanda Devi Raj Jat, Takes Place Once Every Twelve Years At Roopkund During Which Goddess Nanda Is Worshipped. The Lake Is Covered With Ice For Most Of The Year, With The Best Time To Trek Being In Autumn (Mid-September To October)
How To Reach Roopkund ::- Roopkund Is Well Connected By Motorable Roads To Nearest Destinations Such As Haridwar, Rishikesh And Srinagar From New Delhi ISBT Kashmiri Gate, India. Nearest Railway Station Is Rishikesh By Trains From All Major Cities In India. Nearest Airport Is Jolly Grant Airport Of Dehradun.
