Himachal: As snow eludes Queen of Hills, tourists head to other destinations - Hindustan Times
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Himachal: As snow eludes Queen of Hills, tourists head to other destinations

By, Shimla
Jan 29, 2023 02:02 AM IST

Narkanda, a small hill town about 65km from the Himachal Pradesh capital, has emerged as a favourite destination for snow seekers

As tourists are bypassing Shimla to reach other destinations which have recently received heavy snowfall, the local tourism sector is concerned about its business.

The hotel occupancy in Shimla which hovers around 70% to 80% on the weekends is varying between 30% and 40% this time. (Deepak Sansta/HT)
The hotel occupancy in Shimla which hovers around 70% to 80% on the weekends is varying between 30% and 40% this time. (Deepak Sansta/HT)

The hotel occupancy in Shimla which hovers around 70% to 80% on the weekends is varying between 30% and 40% this time.

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“Snowfall in Shimla has been negligible this time, which has led to a dip in tourist inflow. Instead of Shimla, tourists are now preferring nearby destinations,” said Mohinder Seth, president of Himachal Pradesh Tourism Stakeholders’ Association.

Narkanda, a small hill town about 65km from the Himachal Pradesh capital, has emerged as a favourite destination for snow seekers. “It was a great experience to be in the middle of nature. The feeling could not be expressed in words,” said Kiran Khatkar, a tourist from Delhi, who cited her reason for choosing Narkanda as her wish to experience snowfall.

The word-of-mouth publicity has drawn many tourists to the quaint hill town, located on the Hindustan Tibet road.

“We have visited Shimla multiple times, but I think Narkanda is a much better place. It was great to be here when the place wore a white blanket,” said Saurabh, a resident of Kolkata. Another tourist from West Bengal said they had been to Kasauli for two days. “But being in Narkanda was a memorable experience,” he added.

The enhanced tourist footfall has also brought cheers to the hospitality industry in the region, where hotels and homestay units are reporting full occupancy. Hotel Hatu of Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC) was also fully booked.

“Shimla and Kufri didn’t receive good snow this year, so tourists are making a beeline for Narkanda and beyond,” said Dhanveer Singh Negi, manager of Hotel Hatu.

Gajender Thakur, president of Federation of Himachal Hotels and Restaurateurs Association, said, “Tourists are also heading to Kullu, which has registered a good season so far. The hotel occupancy is almost full to capacity. Heavy rush is even resulting in traffic snarls at many places, particularly at the entry and exit points of Manali.”

The tourist arrival in Himachal last year (January to December 2022) was 1. 51 crore, including 29,333 foreigners.

Meanwhile, the director of state disaster management authority (SDMA), Sudesh Kumar Mokhta, said that 178 roads in Himachal, including four national highways, were still blocked for traffic after the snowfall in higher reaches earlier this week.

As many as 136 roads were blocked in the Lahaul-Spiti district and 32 in Chamba. In Kullu, 10 roads were blocked. Many remote areas were facing power outages as 238 transformers were yet to be fixed.

The MeT department has predicted snow and rains across the state till January 31. Shimla MeT centre director Surender Paul said a yellow alert has been issued for heavy snowfall and rainfall over mid and high hills and thunderstorms, lightning and hailstorm in the lower hills and plains on Sunday and Monday.

From January to date, the state has witnessed 15% deficit in rainfall. Kinnaur district saw the highest 67% rainfall deficit followed by 39% deficit in Shimla and 37% each in Mandi and Solan.

Una recorded 58.9mm rainfall against a normal of 37mm, which was 59% surplus followed by Kangra with 54% surplus rains. Chamba and Hamirpur recorded 4% and 14% surplus rains, respectively.

Keylong experienced its coldest night of the season at -11.5 ºCelsius, even as the minimum temperatures in other parts rose marginally.

Kalpa shivered at -0.5 ºC and Manali recorded a minimum of 1.4 ºC. Narkanda and Reckong Peo recorded a low of 2.2 ºC each, Solan 2.5 ºC, Mandi 3.2 ºC, Una 3.4 ºC, Kufri 6.2 ºC and Dalhousie 6.5 ºC. Shimla and Dharamshala recorded a minimum temperature of 7.2 ºC.

Fresh spell of snow, rain in J&K

The upper reaches of Kashmir valley recorded fresh spells of rain and snow on Saturday.

MeT officials said a fresh western disturbance is active in Kashmir and issued a yellow warning that could bring heavy to moderate snowfall in coming two days.

They said it may cause avalanches in areas prone to them and affect surface and air transportation on January 30 besides power supply.

In January, Kashmir has received more than three spells of snow. The upper reaches have received more than 3ft snow this month so far.

(With inputs from HTC Srinagar)

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    Gaurav Bisht heads Hindustan Times’ Himachal bureau. He covers politics in the hill state and other issues concerning the masses.

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