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Roopkund - Roopkund, also known as Skeleton Lake or Mystery Lake, is a glacial lake in India.

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Location -

The lake is located near Wan village in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhanin, in the Himalayas.

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Location - Skeleton Lake is a high-altitude lake located at around 5,029 meters (16,499 feet) above sea level.

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Snow - The lake is covered in snow for about eight months of the year.

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Lake discovery - In 1942, a British forest guard made a macabre discovery: a frozen lake full of human bones!

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Skeletons - But it was about to get even more bizarre. As the ice melted during summer, the lake unveiled even more skeletons.

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British investigation - WWII was underway at the time and the British government suspected these were the remains of Japanese soldiers who died en route to a land invasion.

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Japanese soldiers - The British government sent a team of investigators to Roopkund. More shock: they came to the conclusion that the bones were too ancient to be from Japanese soldiers.

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Mystery - Many theories arose at the time, including a landslide, an epidemic, or even ritual suicide as the cause of all those deaths.

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Expedition - In 2004, an expedition to Roopkund was organized with the express goal of solving the mystery.

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Old bones - It was concluded that the skeletons were dated to around 850 AD.

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Remains - The local weather conditions made it possible for some hair, flesh, and even clothes of the victims to remain preserved.

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DNA testing - Two distinctive groups of people were identified from the remains. One was a group of closely related individuals, who could have been a family or a tribe.

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DNA testing - The other group was composed of individuals from 200 years ago with genetic affinity with east mediterraneans.

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Who were they? - It is believed that the bones belong to pilgrims who were crossing the mountains with the help of local guides.

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How did they die? -

Despite the many theories put forth, there was only one common denominator in all skulls: they were cracked.

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How did they die? -

The cracks on the skulls were deep and short. The shoulders also presented wounds. All of these seemed to have been inflicted from above.

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How did they die? - The conclusion was that hailstones were the cause of death. Violent and sudden hailstorms supposedly hit the group and killed them.

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Hailstorms - Being unable to hide, pilgrims and locals alike were hail-stoned to death.

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Ancient song -

The lyrics to an ancient Himalayan folk song tell the story of a goddess who became so enraged when her sanctuary was damaged by outsiders that she killed them with hailstones as hard as iron.

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Nanda Devi Raj Jat - The Nanda Devi Raj Jat is a pilgrimage and festival dedicated to the worship of goddess Nanda Devi.

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Nanda Devi Raj Jat - Roopkund is on the pilgrimage route of Nanda Devi Raj Jat.

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Local legend - Legend has it that once a king took some dancers to Roopkund, but heavy snowfall transformed them into skeletons and stones.

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Local legend - Another folk story mentions King Yasodhwal's pregnant wife. It goes that while giving birth, her placenta flowed down to Roopkund and killed everyone there.

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Roopkund Trek - This is one of India's most popular trekking routes.

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Trekking route - The trek can be demanding, but the surrounding landscape is absolutely breathtaking.

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Getting there - A three to four-day trek is required to get to Skeleton Lake.

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