Tourists flock to Shimla to see snowfall

The Himachal Pradesh capital on Tuesday witnessed the season's heaviest snowfall, which snapped internal road links but tourists made merry by hurling snowballs at one another.

"Shimla and its nearby areas experienced snowfall," an official of the meteorological department here told IANS.

Nearby places like Kufri and Narkanda have also experienced snowfall, turning the destinations more picturesque.

As news of the snowfall spread, tourists flocked to this resort destination, known for the imperial grandeur of its buildings that were once institutions of power when the town served as the summer capital of British India.

"For the first time we have snowfall," said Ridhima Ohri, a tourist from Chandigarh, who was in Shimla along with her friends.

Shimla, which saw a low of 1.6 degrees Celsius, recorded more than 10 cm of snowfall, while Kufri and Mashobra recorded more than 20 cm of snowfall each.

The snowy landscape in Shimla will stay this way for two-three days, an official of the Met Office said.

Reports said some of the areas in Jubbal, Narkanda and Kharapathar also experienced snow.

"High-altitude areas of Lahaul-Spiti, Chamba, Kullu, Kinnaur and Shimla districts have been experiencing moderate to heavy snow," the official said.

Manali, which was cloudy, experienced a low of minus 1.6 degrees Celsius. The Rohtang Pass, some 52 km from Manali, also witnessed snowfall.

Kalpa, 250 km from the state capital, and Keylong in Lahaul and Spiti district experienced snow.

These towns saw the night temperature fall to 3.6 degrees and 5.7 degrees Celsius below the freezing point respectively.

The Met Office has forecast dry weather from Wednesday.