Shimla receives first snowfall of season

Himachal Pradesh's popular tourist spot and capital Shimla received the season's first snowfall, making the hill town even more picturesque.

Himachal Pradesh's popular tourist spot - and capital - Shimla received the season's first snowfall early on Sunday, making the hill town even more picturesque.

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“Shimla and its nearby areas received snowfall early on Monday morning. This is the first snowfall of the season in this town,” Manmohan Singh, director of the meteorological office in Shimla, told IANS.

He said other tourist spots Kufri, Fagu and Narkanda in the district also experienced snow.

While the picturesque Jakhu hills, the Mall commercial centre, the historic Ridge and the US Club in Shimla received one to three centimetres of snowfall, the lower areas in the town like New Shimla, Vikas Nagar, Sanjauli and Khalini experienced moderate rainfall.

“Kufri, Fagu and Narkanda had two to three inches of snowfall,” Singh added.

This is the second time Kufri, known as the honeymooner's paradise, Fagu and Narkanda experienced snowfall this season. They were covered with snow Nov 22, 2008.

Tourist resort Manali in Kullu district also saw its first share of snowfall on Sunday.

“Upper areas of Manali had one to two centimetres of snowfall on Sunday morning. The Solang valley and Kothi received a good spell of snow,” said Mehar Chand Thakur, a travel agent in Manali.

While lower areas of the state like Dharamsala, Solan, Nahan and Mandi received moderate rains, higher reaches of Kullu, Kinnaur, Chamba and Lahaul and Spiti districts had heavy snowfall.