Tourists flock to Himachal after widespread snow

Shimla, Jan 16 (IANS) Shimla, Manali and other parts of Himachal Pradesh are wrapped in a blanket of snow to the glee of tourists. There was more snowfall on Monday.

The government has advised motorists to check road conditions before travelling to higher reaches in the hills as there were chances of heavy snowfall till Tuesday.

People in the state capital shivered as icy winds along with snow kept the minimum temperature at minus 0.3 degree Celsius. Manali recorded zero degree.

Shimla and Manali towns experienced 10 cm and 21 cm of snow respectively.

Tourist destination Narkanda, some 65 km from here, experienced snowfall, giving skiers a chance to enjoy the sport.

The Solang ski slopes and Dalhousie in Chamba district too were covered by snow.

Bharmour in Chamba district saw 45 cm of snow, the highest in the state. The picturesque Kothi near Manali recorded 38 cm of snow.

Kalpa, some 250 km from Shimla, got 9 cm of snow, with the minimum temperature dipping to minus 3 degrees Celsius.

"High-altitude areas of Lahaul and Spiti, Chamba, Mandi, Kullu, Kinnaur, Sirmaur and Shimla districts have been experiencing moderate to heavy snow since Saturday night," a Met official said.

Widespread rains lashed the lower areas of the state like Dharamsala, Palampur, Solan, Nahan, Bilaspur, Una, Hamirpur and Mandi, bringing down the temperature.

Ghumarwin in Bilaspur district recoded 27 mm of rain while it was 22 mm in Dharamsala, which saw a low of 8.2 degrees Celsius.

As news of the snowfall flashed across the plains, tourists started arriving in Shimla, Manali, Dalhousie and other places.

The weatherman said the weather would remain dry after Tuesday as the western disturbances would recede from the region.