Set amidst the high mountainous peaks, Roopkund Lake remains in the spotlight for its famous mysteries. so has been nicknamed the 'Mystery Lake' as the remains of thousands of human skeletons and horses belonging to the Palaeolithic age can be seen here. On the base of Trisul and Nanda-Ghunghti Mountain, Roopkund is a picturesque tourist destination that is one of the important places for trekking in the Chamoli District, in the Greater Himalayas.
The Roopkund trek starts from Lohajung or Waan village, a tiny pass seated in the Garhwal Himalayas. This shallow lake has a depth of about 2 meters and is the most popular lake in the entire Uttarakhand. The lake is situated foot of Nanda Ghunghati mountain nestled amidst panoramic mountain scenery, surrounded by a glacier. The Lake is flanked by a rock face named Jyuragali to the North and a peak named Chandania Kot to the East.
Roopkund Trek popularly also known as “The Mystery Lake or Skeleton Lake”, Roopkund gained immense popularity after skeletons of horses and people from the past were found here. Spooky! Right. Resting in the inner Himalayan regions of Garhwal, Uttarakhand this lake is known to everyone because of another significant reason which is the Nanda Devi Raj Jaat yatra. Surrounded by massive rock glaciers and peaks the lake remains frozen for the entire year. It is situated at an elevation of 4800m but still, the villages on the trail are highly rich in culture and values. We also get to see lush green meadows like Bedni Bugyal and flower beds seasonally.
If you’re trekking in India, the Roopkund trek is a must-do or if you are a fitness lover you should trek for the Roopkund trek it improves your physical health massively, and spending numerous hours on the trail and climbing around stones and rock bounding and uphills give your whole body a workout, so ts improves your strength and cardio fitness. Roopkund is located in the lap of the Trishul line and is famous because of the hundreds of human bones found at the edge of the lake. You become amazing views of peaks like Kedarnath, Chaukhamba, Neelkantha, Trishul & Nanda khat .
There is the most beautiful campsite in the Roopkund trial. This trek is mostly recommended for experienced trekkers who are good at trekkers and its physically fit because of its moderate weather and difficulty level.
This trek is a long trek and the difficulty for this trek is high, The best time to do this trek is May - June, and September - October. The lake is covered with ice for most of the year, with the best time to trek in autumn (September to October).
Nearby famous location for this trek is Kathgodam.Nanital is 55 km far from Kathgodam, so you can visit Nainital a famous tourist spot in the mountains that is visited by a lot of people all around the year. Naini Lake is the heart of Nainital where you can enjoy boating and paddling. Here is the topmost mountain view where you can enjoy the views of Nainital. You can walk on the famous Mall Road where you can buy some reminders from the trip.
Take a bus from Rishikesh to Gwaldam/Karanprayag early in the morning so that you can reach your destination on time. After reaching Karanprayag, hire a taxi till Tharali village and then another one till Waan village which is our base camp for today. Your stay will be done in a homestay/guesthouse in the village, take a proper sleep as we would have a challenging day tomorow.
Today is the hike day, so be energetic and excited to see the best of nature. We will start our trek from Wan village and head towards Bedni Bugyal, yet another very famous spot/place of Uttarakhand. Bedni Bugyal is a lush velvety green meadow at a distance of 10kms from the village. The hike is not a tough one instead gives you a treat of nature as we pass through green pastures, dark oak woods and wild. The place is also well known for its religious reasons as locals come here to worship their deities. The crystal clear water at the Bedni Kund is also a mesmerizing view with Trishul Peak in the front. Set up your camps here and enjoy nature, wildlife and devotion.
As we come closer to the snow capped mountains and glaciers you will feel a change in the weather on day 3 as we head towards Bhagwa Basa. Today the hike is just 4kms, so we can leave accordingly to the speed of the team but it is important to reach the base camp before dark. Pull out your sweaters and shawls as the weather is going to take a plunge. Bhagwa Basa is a beautiful location surrounded by giant peaks from all four sides.
The route till Roopkund from here is mostly covered with snow, so it is advised to start the trek early today because walking in snow makes us slow. It would take us 3 hours to cover 3kms and reach at the lake before noon. On reaching the lake, relax and breathe, take pictures, listen stories from our guide. Start heading back to Bhagwa Basa and reach before dark.
As we descend towards Waan village, we will come across the magnificent views of Nanda Ghunti peak, Trishuli and cross the meadows again. Don’t be in a hurry, sit and try to capture everything with your naked eyes as this experience would be a memorable one. We would stay in the guesthouses at the village and put your doubts in front of the locals and get ready to listen to the extraordinary lores.
Its time for a wrap up. Pack your bags and leave for Rishikesh with this marvelous experience.
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Lakshmi, 2022-09-22 12:48:36
It was an awesome experience with the firstrek team it was my third trip The firstrek team was as always very helpful and experienced. And the camp from the first trek team provided location was awsome and the services is good in camps , staff is very good and services provided by camp and food is too awsome . I was a complete guide by the team for whole trek . Dinner lunch and snacks provided by team for whold trek is very tasty and healthy and all the camps provided by team is good . we enjoyed ourselves a lot Thank you so much trip on the firstrek team for this adventure trekking. It's an amazing Trekking to go to Roopkund trek :)
Chandan Somayaji, 2022-06-20 08:40:13
Many Many thanks to our tour guide whole instriction made this long trip possible. i miss my camping moments at bhagwabasa and ali bugyal... i was so relaxed there... magnificient mountain views followed me everywhere but when we reached roopkund, the peaks were damn beautiful....the roopkund lake was frozen too. one of the best ever experience of my life.
Urban Sherpa, 2022-06-20 08:38:57
Roopkund is a great trek that has it all. It journeys from vast meadows through dense jungles onto rocky paths before converging into a lake snow bounded by mountains all across. We have a complete review of the trek on our website too.
Kaintura, 2022-06-20 08:36:31
We have done Roopkund trek in October starting from Wan village(1st day stay). We stayed at Bedni bugyal on second day followed with Bhawabasa stay on 3rd on 4th we submit Junargali pass & came back to Bedni bugya for stay, next day we travel back from Bedni bugyal to Srinagar Garhwal & then to Delhi next day. Bhawabasa was having a temp of -7 in night.