Snow greets tourists in Solang valley

MC Thakur and Abhinav Vashisht

MANALI, NOVEMBER 18

The Solang valley and its adjoining areas experienced the season’s first snowfall today while the lower parts of the region were lashed by widespread rain, resulting in a fall in the day temperature.

Hundreds of tourists, who have arrived in Manali, made a beeline to the Solang valley to enjoy the fresh snow. There was a festive atmosphere at different places between Palchan and Solang. Tourists were surprised to see the valley covered with a white blanket of snow. They were seen throwing snowballs at each other and had photo sessions.

Due to snow in the upper region, all vehicles were stopped at Palchan, about 9 km from here, on the Manali-Rohtang road, as a precautionary measure.

Meanwhile, the snow has brought a smile on the faces of hoteliers, taxi operators and people related to other tourism activities, who were expecting a rise in tourists inflow in Kullu-Manali.

The Rohtang Pass, gateway to Lahaul-Spiti, also experienced heavy snow today. The entire higher reaches of the Kullu valley, including Pir Panjal ranges, Chanderkhani Pass, Hamta Ski slopes, Bhrigu slopes, Marhi, Gulaba, Kothi, Dhundi and Beas kund had fresh snowfall. The entire region was in the grip of severe cold, leading to a further decline in temperature.

Chill grips Kullu after rain

KULLU: Intermittent rain in the lower region and snow in the higher reaches today brought the mercury down in the entire Kullu valley. The sky cleared after 2 pm but the cold wave conditions prevailed throughout the valley.

The chill in the weather intensified throughout the valley. Bhuntar recorded a minimum of 9.8 degrees Celcius and Manali recorded a low at 3.8 degrees Celcius. The peaks of Tirthan and Manikaran valleys were covered with snow.

No HRTC buses to Lahaul-Spiti 

Mandi: The tribal district of Lahaul-Spiti received a heavy snowfall on the second day today crippling the normal life. All routes connecting villages had been blocked for days because at many places, it was up to 60 cm snow. According to locals at Gondhla, around 60 cm of snow fell, while in the Tod valley, it was around 30 cm, Pattan valley 15 cm, Chandra valley 45 cm and at Keylong, it was around 7cm. The vehicle movement had been standstill since yesterday and the HRTC had decided to stop the bus service until the roads were cleared of snow. With the closure of Rohtang Pass, residents of Lahaul-Spiti could not move out of the district for days. TNS