The RoopKund : Mystery Lake Trek

Roopkund is a high altitude glacial lake situated in the state of Uttarakhand. It is one of the mysterious places in India and, one of the most popular trekking destinations as well. This lake is situated in the lap of Trishul mountain range, and is known for the hundreds of human skeletons found at the edge of the lake. There are a lot stories associated with the skeleton lake. This lake has caught the attention of a lot of people due to the presence of 300-600 human skeletons. Roopkund is an inaccessible frozen lake that requires a minimum of four day hectic travel to reach the proximal locality. It has been a place of mystery for scientists and historians who want to unravel the mystery of this lake. Some people believe the mass grave is a result of death of people due to hailstorm. Based on another study of some anthropologists, it is said that this may also be a mass ritualistic suicide. Whatever might be the mystery behind the lake, the picturesque lake is a must visit place for all the brave hearts who want to witness the mystery and know the unknown. The lake is a treat for adventure lovers. There are different routes to travel to roopkund.

Brief Itinerary:

Day 1 : Kathgodam – Lohajung Drive (213 km)

• Reach Kathgodam on the Ranikhet express.
• Once you reach feel a change in the entire atmosphere.
• The Roopkund trek has its starting point from here. The mystery lake trek would give you a remarkable experience you might just feel that you are living your dream.
• The Roopkund trek is also known as the skeleton trek as skeletons are what you would see on reaching the destination.
• Kathgodam is a small yet beautiful place . Once you reach Kathgodam.
• You can travel easily to Loharjung through the roadway.
• Overnight at Lohajung.

Day 2 : Lohajung – Didna (8 km)

• Start your journey from Lohargunj, take the trail that takes you to Raun Bagad. It is a fairly marked trail that descends through mixed forests.
• It is a moderate trek and you would take around 2-2½ hrs to reach the Ruan Bagad, which is an iron bridge across the famous Neel Ganga river.
• There is also an alternative route to reach here from Lohargunj which is through the road towards Wan an easy 6km walk to Kulling Village where after there is a steep slope towards Ruan Bagad.
• You can opt for the latter, which is easy to travel but you would certainly miss on the beautiful mixed forests.
• Hereafter the climb to Didina starts once you cross the iron bridge. It is a difficult climb and you may get tired pretty soon.
• With a relatively tough time in the beginning, you would reach Didina in about and an hour and a half’s time.
• You would have e great mountaineering experience all this while.
• Overnight at Didna.

Day 3 : Didna – Ali Bugyal  (10 km)

• There are two routes for Ali Bugyal from Didna. If you look in the direction of the valley, you would look at Tolpani which is almost 3 kms away and 1000 feet high.
• From Tolpani, you take a trail that climbs to Tolkaan in the northern direction. The meadow trek goes through a series of switchbacks and grassy oak mountains.
• From Tolkaan, you take a sharp left towards the south and steer through the ridge to come out of the forest at Ali Bugyal.
• The alternative route is to climb directly towards Ali Bugyal without going through Toplani. You would certainly save on distance but it a relatively much steeper and tiring climb. It takes nearly two and a half hours to reach Ali Bugyal on this route.
• To enjoy the seductive views from Ali Bugyal, you need to reach there before afternoon. It is a great post monsoon trek as well as a pre monsoon trek.
• The day 3 is however the day when you trek to Chang Ma. This might be a difficult trek and you may experience the joy of a snow trek.
• You would like to spend the night her.
• Overnight stay in tents.

Day 4 : Ali Bugyal – patharnachuni (5 km)

• Continue trekking from Ali Bugyal to Patharnachuni is an easy trek and follow a straight line ahead of you for about 3 kms.
• On your gradual increase to the slope, the trek brings you to the other side of the ridge.Enjoy the marvelous`sight over the ridge.
• Patharnachuni is a brilliant campsite and offers you great views all around.
• Overnight at Patharnachuni.

Day 5 : Patharnachni – Bhagwabasa (6 km)

• Start your trek through the steep dash to gain altitude and finally trek in the snow line. The day’s snow trek will bring you to an altitude of 14,500 ft from 12,500 ft. It is an high altitude trekking.
• You would have to start your day early as you would like to reach Bhawabasa as early to acclimatize to the weather.
• Continue to climb to Kalu Vinayak, which is a steep and zig-zag way to take you up the mountain. Go through this section carefully and slowly.
• It takes around one and a half hours to reach Kalu Vinayak.
• The route from Kalu Vinayak to Bhagwabasa is simple and gradually sloping downwards.
• Bhagwabasa is 2 kms away and you can have a view of the Bhagwabasa huts from here.
• Overnight in the Bhagwabasa.

Day 6 : Roopkund summit and back to Bedini Bugyal (3 km)

• Start the day as early at 5 AM as the snow is still hard, while later in the day, it would get soft and your feet would start sinking in.
• Roopkund is a 5 km gradually up-hill climb from Bhagwabasa. You will have steep climb towards the end of the trail to reach Roopkund. It would take about 3 - 3½ hours to reach Roopkund.
• Once you climb to Roopkund, you must climb up to Junargali.
• The climb to Junargali is not long. It is around 200 ft and doesn’t take much time. It is hardly a climb of 25 - 30 min.
• You can start off early to return back to Bedni Bugyal via Bhagwabasa.
• Be careful in trekking back as the snowy slopes may be very slippery.

Day 7 : Bedini Bugyal – lohajung (15 km trek & 15 km by car)

• Enjoy your journey back to Lohajung via Wan. The path is fairly simple and you would not feel any distress throughout.
• You would cross the oak forest as you go and the scenic beauty is just mesmerizing. You would see the end of meadows after a few minutes.
• Get astonished by looking at the Trishul on your way back from Bedni Bugyal to Wan and pass the Rhododendron forest.
• This will be a steep descent for the Neel Ganga. Faster trekkers reach there in approximately one and a half hours. However you should take your time and enjoy the beauty as you go by.
• From the river, it takes about half an hour to climb to the ridge above Wan village.
• Overall it takes about 6 and half an hour to Wan.
• Drive back to Lohajung.

Day 8 : Lohajung – Kathgodam

• After getting to the base camp at Loharjung and finish the Roopkund trek
• Spend a leisure day at Loharjung while enjoying the high altitude trek that has left your adrenaline pumping.
• Enjoy the lovely weather on your journey.
• End this tour and head back home with lots memories.