Roopkund (5029 m) is a small glacial lake situated on the north eastern corner of Chamoli district in the lap of the famous peaks - Nanda Ghunti (6300 m) and Trishul (7120 m). Visitors has taken Skulls as memento with them. Presently one will get a single skull an around 25 leg bones on the banks of Roopkund. There are many theories and legends about the human skeletons found at the lake.

Once, hundreds of years ago, the king of Garhwal had a young daughter of great beauty called Bala Ampa. The king of Kannauj had a handsome son. This prince named Jasidhal, came to Garhwal on a shoot and stayed on as a royal guest. He fell in love with the princess and asked her hand in marriage. This was agreed and the marriage was arranged. So deeply was he in love that the rituals normally performed at weddings were ignored.

Nanda Devi, the presiding deity of Uttarakhand, was not given her due. As a result the kingdom of Kannauj fell on evil days. Enemies of the state gained strength. Royal astrologers were consulted by queen Bala Ampa. They ascribed the bad luck to the negligence in paying homage to Nanda Devi. Bala Ampa was pregnant and lest any evil should befall the child, a religious procession was immediately ordered to proceed to Nanda Devi. King Jasidhal jeered at the blind faith of the queen. However, he reluctantly gave permission for the procession, which started with great pomp and show and reached the village Wan. King Jasidhal wanted to combine pleasure with duty. Even dancing girls were taken along. This further aroused the wrath of goddess Nanda. The dancing girls were the first to be struck.As they started singing lewd songs, they were transformed into stones. Since that day, the exact spot of this occurrence is called Pather Nachauniyan or petrified dancers. Some buglers, drummers and other musicians with the party were the next to be struck down and they become ghosts. Even now, the sound of bugles and drums is heard at times as this unearthly procession moves in the area. A little beyond Bala Ampa had labour pains. She was taken to a cave where a daughter was born to her. The cave to be called Bala Ampa ka Khelra or the maternity home of Bala Ampa. This cave is about 5 km short of Roopkund.

As the procession arrived at the lake, the full fury of the elements hit them. A severe blizzard started with attendant and avalanches which engulfed the whole party. Here they lay for centuries till discovered in the early fifties. Others believe that the skeletons are of a contingent of the army General Zorawar Singh, a Dogra General who attacked and conquered the western Tibet in 1841.