Roopkund: 300 Bodies in a Frozen Lake, 1,000 Years Apart

A frozen lake in the Indian Himalaya hides the remains of more than 300 people. For 80 years everyone blamed a hailstorm. Then scientists read their DNA, and the story fell apart. This is Roopkund, the Lake of Skeletons. 🎧 Also available in Hindi: Settings (gear icon), then Audio track, then Hindi. CHAPTERS 0:00 The Lake of Skeletons 0:41 The Discovery 1:30 The Place 2:13 The Legend 3:09 The Science 4:10 The DNA 5:23 Who Were They? 6:25 Vanishing Evidence 6:50 Two Tragedies SOURCES Harney É. et al. (2019), "Ancient DNA from the skeletons of Roopkund Lake reveals Mediterranean migrants in India", Nature Communications 10:3670. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-11... (CC BY 4.0) Wikipedia, "Roopkund": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roopkund National Geographic (2019), "DNA study deepens mystery of lake full of skeletons" IMAGE CREDITS All photographs and documents from Wikimedia Commons (commons.wikimedia.org, search the file name). Author: file name(s), grouped by licence. [CC BY-SA 4.0] Vaibhav Dautkhani: Ali Bugyal Shaswat Nimesh: Bedini Bugyal 01 Palljo: EVENING AT BEDINI; SUNSET IN BEDINI; TRISHUL PEAK FROM BEDINI Deepaksinghrana049: P 20170506 130632; P 20170505 091757 HDR Rbreidbrown: Hand holding hail in a strawberry patch Sebbog13: Hailstones and a ruler, 08.06.2025, IMG 3395 IBalbeerdanu: Himalayas route Utkarsh Nandan Oreya: Kartikeya, 10th Century A.D., Kannauj Museum PadFoot2008: Kingdom of Kannauj 910 AD Harshit SR: Nanda Devi before sunrise; Trishul Peak in the Golden Hour Schwiki: 20140823-Pattharnachuni 4711-2; Roopkund Lake; 20140824-Roopkund Temple 4762-2; Human Skeletons in Roopkund Lake Neha iitb: 22 A mysterious lake Shubhamrathod15: Roopkund - The Mystery Lake Debabrata Bardhan: Illusion of Ice Arijit95jitu: Mt. Trishul and Mt. Nanda [CC BY-SA 2.0] Luke McKernan: Archive shelves (41054237191) [CC BY 4.0] Rudolph.A.furtado: Pack mules with raincoats in Ghangaria village. Éadaoin Harney et al.: S41467-019-11357-9 [CC0] Unknown: Tetradrachm of Alexander the Great MET DP-13132-043 Rajat78: Chhatoli woven from ringal; Maa Nanda Devi at Bedni Bugyal; Nanda Badi Jat-Raj Jat 2026 at Bedni Bugyal.; On the way to homkund during Nanda Badijat or Nanda Rajjat 2026; Chausinghya Khadu at Nanda Badi Jat or Nanda Raj Jat 2026; Temple Of Maa Nanda at Homkund.; A grand welcome to Maa Nanda (Badhaan,Dasholi, Band) & Jwalpa Devi Lwani in Wan village during Nanda Badijaat 2026 Vivekkhushrang: Hail storm Daniel Romanson: Mysterious Skeleton Roopkund Lake Trek route-10; Mysterious Skeleton Roopkund Lake Trek route-11; Mysterious Skeleton Roopkund Lake Trek route4; Mysterious Skeleton Roopkund Lake Trek route-5; Mysterious Skeleton Roopkund Lake Trek route-6; Mysterious Skeleton Roopkund Lake Trek route-8; Mysterious Skeleton Roopkund Lake Trek route-9 [Public domain] Unknown: The Bombay Gazette, 23 February 1864 (IA dli.granth.23279) United Kingdom Hydrographic Office: Admiralty Chart No 2536b Eastern part of Candia or Crete, Greece, Published 1858 Uknown painter: Oil painting portrait of Ioannis Papadiamantopoulos Nerdybeng at English Wikipedia: A field of hailstones Frederick James Havell (1801 -…: Haridwar, Gateway to Hari, 19th century Batten S: Official Reports On The Province Of Kumaon (IA dli.pahar.0412) Unknown author: 1936 photo of Nanda Devi (cropped); Indian and Gurkha soldiers inspect captured Japanese ordnance during the Imphal-Kohima battle, 1944 Kurt Boeck: Nanda devi from a hill above Milam Konstantin Kapıdağlı: Ottoman ceremonial No 9 Army Film & Photographic Unit,…: The British Army in Burma 1944 SE1231 British Information Service,…: Gurkhas advancing with Lee tanks to clear the Japanese from Imphal-Kohima road Imperial Japanese Army: Soldiers of IJA 15th Army are carrying a Type 92 battalion gun [No restrictions] Internet Archive Book Images: Trans-Himalaya; discoveries and adventures in Tibet (1909) (14802731893) Scenes marked AI ILLUSTRATION are illustrations, not photographs. Narration: AI voice. Music and sound effects: Mixkit (Mixkit License). Himalayan Shadows: true, dark and forgotten stories from the roof of the world. Subscribe for the next story. #Roopkund #DarkHistory #HimalayanShadows