meets her sister in the Bhagwati village. This journey is a difficult one because of the difficult terrain it goes through. During the journey, one passes by a Lake known as Roopkund surrounded by hundreds of ancient skeletons. According to local mythology, once a King took some dancers to this sacred spot. Due to heavy snowfall, the people were trapped and the dancers were transformed into skeletons and stones that can be seen in Patarnachonia. Another myth is this that king Yasodhwal's wife was pregnant and while she was giving birth to her child, her placenta flowed down to Roopkund and this in turn caused the death of the people there. Nanda Devi's Worship in Kumaun In Kumaun, Nanda Devi and Sunanda Devi are worshipped together as twin goddesses. The twin peaks of the Nanda Devi and Sunanda Devi Mountain are said to be the abode of the two goddesses. These graceful peaks are visible from most of the Kumaon Division. During the period of Chand kings, Nanda Devi worship took the shape of a fair. Prior to that, Nanda Devi was being worshipped, but at that time only an idol of Nanda Devi used to be worshipped. The custom to make two idols started from the period of Baj Bahadur Chand. Even today, only one idol is prepared in the remote villages. The reason for this addition appears to be because the goddesses Nanda and Sunanda together took birth as princesses in the royal family and to mark this new reincarnation, the practice of celebrating a festival for both sisters together was introduced in which a story from their life is enacted. Though in the Johar Valley region, there is no tradition of Nanda Raj Jaat but the worship, dance and the ritual of collecting Bramhakamal (it is called Kaul Kamphu) is part of Nanda festivals. The Nanda Devi fair is held at Almora, Nainital, Kot (Dangoli), Ranikhet, Bhowali, Kichha and also in the far flung villages of Lohar (like Milam and Martoli) and Pindar valleys (like Wachham and Khati). In the villages of the Pinder valley, people celebrate the Nanda Devi Jaat (journey) every year, while in Lohar people come from far and wide to Danadhar, Suring, Milam and Martoli in order to worship the Goddess. In Nainital and Almora, thousands take part in the procession carrying the dola (or palanquin) of Nanda Devi. It is said that