Roopkund Trek

The Roopkund Trek is open during two main seasons. The summer season includes April, May, and June, offering pleasant weather, clear skies, lush green meadows, blooming rhododendrons, and moderate temperatures that make the walk enjoyable. The autumn season covers September and October, when you get crisp air, stunning mountain views, vibrant autumn colours, and less rainfall, which also keeps the trails in good condition. The monsoon months of July and August are avoided because the trails become extremely slippery and prone to landslides, while winter is not recommended due to heavy snowfall, extreme cold, and dangerous trail conditions.

Roopkund Lake is famously known as Skeleton Lake because hundreds of human skeletons were discovered scattered around its edges and in its shallow waters. The skeletons were first noticed by a British forest guard in 1942, and for decades, theories ranged from an epidemic to ritual sacrifice. Recent DNA studies have revealed that the skeletons belong to two distinct groups, one from the Mediterranean region and another from South Asia, who are believed to have died around eight hundred to a thousand years ago. Scientists now conclude that they were caught in a catastrophic hailstorm while crossing the high-altitude pass, with hailstones as large as cricket balls causing fatal head injuries. When the snow melts during the summer months, trekkers can sometimes see the skeletal remains around the lake, adding a hauntingly fascinating element to the trek.

Accommodation is arranged at a hotel or guesthouse in Lohajung on the first and last nights of the trek, with twin-sharing rooms. On the other trekking days, you stay in dome tents with triple sharing, and the organizers provide sleeping bags and sleeping mats for your comfort. The food provided throughout the trek is pure vegetarian with eggs, and includes breakfast, lunch, evening snacks, and dinner every day. The meals are simple, nutritious, and high-energy, typically consisting of dal, rice, roti, vegetables, soups, porridge, and other easily digestible mountain fare. However, food during the pick-up and drop-off transfer drives to and from Rishikesh is not included, so you need to make your own arrangements for those meals.

You need to pack warm clothing including thermal inners, a fleece jacket, a down jacket, a waterproof windcheater, trekking pants, multiple pairs of woollen socks, gloves, a woollen cap, and a sun hat. Waterproof trekking shoes with good ankle support are absolutely essential, along with sandals for relaxing at camp. Other mandatory items include sunglasses with UV protection, a headlamp or flashlight with spare batteries, trekking poles, a daypack of forty to sixty litres with a rain cover, sunscreen of at least SPF fifty, lip balm, a personal first-aid kit, medicines for altitude sickness, water bottles or a hydration pack of at least two litres, and water purification tablets. The organizers provide tents, sleeping bags, sleeping mats, snow grips or micro crampons if needed, forest permits, and medical amenities like first-aid kits, oxymeters, and oxygen cylinders. Additional trekking gear can also be rented or purchased through the organizers if you are missing anything.