Roopkund: the mystery lake on the Nanda Devi Raj Jat route
Roopkund is a small, shallow lake high in Chamoli district, ringed by snow for most of the year. It is known around the world for the human skeletons that melt out of the ice at its edge, and it sits on the high ground that the Nanda Devi Raj Jat crosses on its way to Homkund. It is a place where a living pilgrimage and an unsolved scientific story share the same landscape.
What the booklet says
The Raj Jat booklet we draw on describes Roopkund as lying at about 4,500 m in the interior of Chamoli district, a mysterious shallow lake of roughly two metres’ depth whose edges are snow-covered for almost the whole year. When the snow melts, skeletal remains appear, which the booklet says were believed to be 500 to 600 years old. It adds that many theories have been offered and none is satisfying, and notes that the lake sits amid wide mountain scenery.
What scientists have since reported
That “none is satisfying” was a fair summary when the booklet was written, and the picture has since moved on. The skeletons attracted scientific attention over several decades, and in 2019 a study using ancient DNA and radiocarbon dating, published in the journal Nature Communications, reported that the remains did not belong to a single group or a single event. Its authors described distinct groups of people who died at different times, separated by many centuries, which is a different account from the older idea of one party caught in one disaster.
We are a map-and-guide site, not a research body, and we have not tried to evaluate that work. We mention it because a page that repeated only the old “500 to 600 years” figure would be out of date. If you want the details, read the original paper and any later follow-up work rather than summaries of summaries, including ours.
Where it fits on the route
Roop Kund is listed as one of the “lake or kund” places in our survey data, alongside Gairoli Patal and the two Homkunds. In a straight line it lies about 8.9 km from Bedni Bugyal and about 4.1 km from the larger Homkund, but the walking route between them climbs over loose ground and passes such as Jyuragali, which the booklet calls the “valley of death” because of the drop beyond it. The route data records the stretch from Patar Nachoniya through Kaliyuva Vinayak, Bagwabasa and Jyuragali to Shila Samundar as Day 15, only about 10.0 km in all.
Why it is dangerous
- Altitude. At this height the air holds roughly 40% less oxygen than at sea level. Altitude sickness is a real risk even for fit walkers; read our guide.
- Terrain. The ground around the lake is loose scree and old snow, easy to misjudge in poor light.
- Weather. Temperatures drop below freezing at night even in summer, and mist can remove all visibility.
- Remoteness. Help is days away on foot. Phone coverage should not be assumed.
Etiquette
Do not disturb or remove any remains or objects. Keep to established tracks, take away everything you carry in, and follow the instructions of local guides and the authorities. During the Raj Jat itself, this is a pilgrimage route first and a trek second.
Sources and notes
- Booklet description (height, depth, snow, 500–600 years, “none are satisfying”): a printed Raj Jat booklet, paraphrased.
- Ancient DNA and radiocarbon study of the Roopkund remains, Nature Communications, 2019. Please read the primary source; we have summarised it only in outline.
- Coordinates and distances: our survey files; straight-line figures are geodesic and ignore terrain. Height of 4,500 m is the booklet’s figure; this site does not measure height.