Reminiscing Roopkund - My First Himalayan Trek!
Wednesday, October 07, 2009I went on a trek to Roopkund in the Uttarakhand state of India along with 25 other trekkers to see the
SKELETONS! :D
Okay so now that I have your attention, Roopkund is a mysterious lake in the greater Himalayas where a park ranger found hundreds of skeletons and carcasses one uneventful day(for him). Since then, people have been fascinated and amused by the find. NGC came and put forth its theory while there is a lot of local folklore too. Either way, the stories are interesting for sure. The most scientifically backed theory would be a group of people along with porters on their way to some place were hit by hailstorms the size of cricket balls at Roopkund and met their death instantly. This story goes consistent with the cracks found on each one of the skulls at the site. There will be another post which will be dedicated to the stories associated with Roopkund and its formation. For now let’s just remember the journey and how it felt to be there.
This trek was organized by IndiaHikes and our team was lead by the efficient Mr.Rajesh along with the very knowledgeable Mr. Mahendra, our guide and his group of helpful porters. All the human elements were perfectly in place. The only problems we faced were due to the unknown forces of nature. But we came out with flying colors and now we have an awesome story to tell!
Here are some memoirs of moments during the trek and you can decide how awesome it was.
Did we get awesome views? ✔
Did we spot majestic peaks? ✔
Did we experience a shared sense of camaraderie? ✔
Did we negotiate steep climbs? ✔
Did we see beautiful villages soaked in sunshine? ✔
Did we walk along picturesque mountain slopes? ✔
Did we see awesomely colorful rainbows? ✔
Were we awed by the scenery around? ✔
Did we dream of pizzas and pastas and burgers and yet gulp down our rotis humbly? ✔
Did we cross a high pass? ✔
Did we camp at subzero temperatures? ✔
Did we eat in a single plate to avoid washing plates with the super cold water? ✔
Did we walk and slip and slide in snow? ✔
Did we walk in rain? ✔
Were we hit by the hailstorms? ✔
Did we spend sleepless nights? ✔
Did the forces of nature try to bring us down? ✔
Did we keep up with freaking cold nights? ✔
Did we have FUN? ✔
Did we make it to Roopkund and Junargali despite all? ✔
And what am I if not for my pictures? Here's a view of Beautiful Kali Dak peak as seen from our campsite at Pathar Nauchani. Stay tuned for more detailed updates on my trek and pictures ofcourse!
24 comments
Did u go with the CTC gang? A cpl of ppl I know went with the CTC grp to roopkund and I am so J! Would love to see more pics and detailed accnt of the trip!
ReplyDelete-Aditi
@ Aditi - No, Indiahikes organized this trek which is based out of Bangalore. Thanks for stopping by. :)
ReplyDeleteWill try to update as soon as possible..
ah... your blog updates gets quicker and quicker with each travel! congrats.... :)
ReplyDeletebtw, waiting for all those pics of majestic peaks and colorful rainbows and more.. :D
Wow, now that sure sounds like an awesome trip!! loved the pic..
ReplyDeletenow thats a good starting....waiting for more :)
ReplyDeletemmm.. waiting for more!! :)
ReplyDeletekali dak peak looks awesome thru your eyes.
Must have been a lovely Trek... Great dude...
ReplyDeleteMy Travelogue, Savoir-Faire
@ rt g - :D Am trying to be up-to-date these days. yea..yea..long weekend coming up.. all posts will come soon with all the pictures.. :)
ReplyDelete@ Aaarti - Thanks.. It was an awesome trek! :) Will post the detailed account soon.
@ Deepak - Welcome to my blog.. :D Thanks and do visit again for the updates.
ReplyDelete@ rocksea - Thanks :) The sky cleared just for a minute to show the magnificent blue and then it was all fog again. Luckily i could capture it.
@ Mitr - Thank you. it was an awesome experience this one. :)
That is a beautiful picture and a cool story about skeletons. Can't wait to read the full story.
ReplyDeleteDid you change something in your blog? It looks different than when I visited last month.
@ Vamsee -Thanks.. This place has a lot of stories and very interesting ones too.. :) will update them soon.
ReplyDeleteI haven't changed the layout as such.. but changed the header image.. probably that is the difference.
That picture is very tempting yaar....soon post the rest of them...soon soon :)
ReplyDeletewow.. thats really a great pic. I hope you might have enjoyed the trek a lot. Waiting for more pictures
ReplyDeleteAmazing Snaps and a wonderful blog Neel.....Great Going!...All the very best! and yes Thanks for the visit and comment :)
ReplyDeletelovely reading about your trek and a simply beautifully captured shot...I have also seen the programme on the history of Roopkund on NGC, which was indeed quite fascinating....!
ReplyDelete@ Mahesh / Greener Bangalore - Thank you! :)
ReplyDelete@ Dhanush - oh we did enjoy the trek a lot and how!! rest will come soon.. Thanks.. :)
@ Flyingstars - Oh wow! I am yet to see the documentary. I am sure it would've been interesting with all the stories and mystery surrounding it! Thanks for stoping by! :)
oh Neelima this is so beautiful! waiting for more...
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you for carrying ur camera along!
ReplyDelete@ Joshi - Thanks.. Am almost ready with the next post.. Stay tuned. :)
ReplyDelete@ SloganMurugan - And on the Last day i.e Summit Day i should thank someone else for carrying a camera.. :D Didn't click even one pic from my cam. Was too absorbed with the snow all around. :)
Hi Neelima, here I am after another absence, much longer than I wished :-(
ReplyDeleteWonderful picture!! Interesting post!!
Blogtrotter is still travelling in Turkey. Enjoy and have a great weekend!
@ GMG - thanks for visiting my post from Turkey. :)
ReplyDeleteI have been reading your posts for quite sometime now, and must say, they are really nice.. Mind if I point out a little typo? "This trek was organized by IndiaHikes and our team was lead by the efficient Mr.Rajesh...." Hope you could see it - it should be spelled as "led" instead of "lead"
ReplyDeleteNo hard feelings please, just thought important to inform you, no cruel intentions. Cheers!! :)
A very good introduction of the trip report.
ReplyDeleteI especially liked the checklist format.With your permission can I use the same checklist for my blogpost about roopkund trek?
Hi Aditi...Could you tell me when did you do the Roopkund trek? The exact week-I wish to go on the trek when the largest portion would be on snow while the trek is still accessible?
ReplyDelete