Shimla receives first snowfall of season

Shimla, Jan 4 (IANS) Himachal Pradesh's popular tourist spot - and capital - Shimla received the season's first snowfall early Sunday, making the hill town even more picturesque.

'Shimla and its nearby areas received snowfall early this morning. This is the first snowfall of the season in this town,' Manmohan Singh, director of the meteorological office here, 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 Sunday.

'Upper areas of Manali had one to two centimetres of snowfall 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.