Lake Filled With Human Bones Discovered: Where Is It?

Considered one of the most adventurous trip is a 3 to 4 days trek to Roopkund in the north of India where you can find the mysterious Skeleton Lake, full of human skeletons of about 200 people.

The 16,000 feet above sea level lake was discovered by a British forest ranger back in 1942 when he spotted skeletal remains in the frozen lake. Thinking that these are remains of Japanese soldiers since it was war time, the ranger reported his sighting to the British government who then sent a mission team to investigate the matter, according to Viral Nova.

But after further examination, it was discovered that the bones were old and were merely preserved because of the dry, cold air around it. For years, it remained a mystery and people speculated that the deaths were caused by an epidemic, a landslide or a ritual suicide.

There is a traditional folk song among Himalayan women about a goddess named Nanda Devi who was angry at outsiders who come to her mountain sanctuary and she would throw hailstones that are "hard as iron" to kill them. This was also considered as the cause of their death.

In 2004, an expedition to the lake gave light on the mystery. It was discovered that the bones are from 850 AD and it was from two distinct groups which they call as the pilgrims and the guides. It was revealed that the smaller and shorter bones are from the locals who guided a family or a tribe as they cross the area, according to Atlas Obscura.

Surprisingly, the ancient folktale about the goddess lead to the answer of the people's death. It was discovered that their deaths were caused by head wounds. Others also had blows on the shoulders. These were not due to some weapons but because of something round that hit them.

Since the travelers were trapped in the valley and there was no area to hide, they all died due to a cricket ball-sized hailstones that are about 9 inches in diameter.

These days, since the mystery was already unveiled, the only problem the government is facing are robbers- travelers who bring home with them some skeletons as souvenirs.