MANALI: As a thick blanket of fog descended over northern India on the last day of 2024, affecting routine life, holidaymakers are heading to the hills of Himachal Pradesh to soak in the sunshine and to ring in a “warm” New Year.
However, a word of caution: Get an advance booking of a hotel, otherwise, you may have to spend a night in the chilly cold.
Shimla’s Meteorological Department on Tuesday said sunny weather would continue across the hill state till January 3. Thereafter, there are chances of more rain and snow.
However, it has warned of the occurrence of frost with a coldwave to continue across the state after last week’s widespread snow and rain.
The weather in hill destinations of Shimla, Kasauli, Chail, Kufri, Narkanda, Dharamsala, Palampur and Manali is “warmer” and perfect for a break from the biting chill of the plains where the sun has largely been fogged out.
The hills near Manali, Kufri and Narkanda are still marooned in a white blanket of snow. “What pleasant mornings are there in Shimla these days. We are really enjoying basking in the sun, ” remarked Abhey Singh, a tourist from Noida.
“We feel happy in the hills where the sun is regularly shining these days, compared to the plains where cold shivers down your spine, ” his wife Deepti added.
“We are asking the tourists to come and enjoy long sunshine in the hills when fog has engulfed the plains and they are excited to bask in the sun, ” a senior functionary of state-run Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC) told IANS.
In Shimla, located around 7, 000 feet above sea level, the minimum temperature was 6.4 degrees Celsius with sunrise at 7.19 am and sunset at 5.29 pm. The maximum temperature stayed at 15.7 degrees, 2.7 degrees above normal.
Tabo, an ancient seat of Buddhist religion and culture in picturesque Spiti Valley, was the coldest habitat in the state, with a low of minus 17.3 degrees.
Elated with last week’s snow, members of the hospitality industry say most of the destinations have been chock-a-block with a sudden influx of tourists.
However, locals rue that owing to the sudden rush of tourists, there are massive traffic jams with parking lots constantly congested.
There have been snaking lines of vehicles throughout the day with minimal traffic management by the police at the state entry point of Parwanoo town on the Chandigarh-Shimla National Highway 5, impacting daily commuters who spent hours extra trying to travel.
Hill destinations like Shimla, Kufri, Narkanda, Kasauli, Chail, Manali, Dalhousie, Palampur and Dharamsala are flooded with visitors.
Corporate executive Ravi Aggarwal told IANS, “Most of the hotels in Shimla and its suburbs have doubled their tariffs.”
“Even taxi drivers are openly fleecing tourists by quoting high rates with no government mechanism to regulate, ” said his wife Jayshree, adding “It’s simply fleecing of holidaymakers in the name of nature.”
In the honeymooners’ paradise Kufri and Naldehra, one of the oldest and most scenic golf courses in the country, both located on the suburbs of Shimla, each pony owner is virtually trying to poach a tourist without paying any heed to his or her refusals. And one will end up getting charged an exorbitant fare for a ride in the terrain covered with horse poop as the trail cannot be traversed on foot.
In Manali, for a glimpse of a snowy landscape of the Atal Tunnel beneath the Rohtang Pass, one should be ready to shell out an extremely high fare to hire a cab.
“We have paid Rs 6, 000 for hiring a cab for our to and fro journey from Manali to the Atal Tunnel with a brief stopover at Solang, ” Divya Dutta, a tourist from Delhi, told IANS.
The actual fare of a luxury cab is Rs 2, 000 while an ordinary one costs Rs 1, 000. The south portal of Atal Tunnel is located 25 km from Manali at an altitude of 3, 060 metres, while its north portal is located near Sissu in the Lahaul Valley at an altitude of 3, 071 metres.
Another tourist hotspot is McLeodganj, the uphill quaint town that has already gained prominence for attracting a steady stream of Tibet enthusiasts, Buddhist scholars, back-packers and even Hollywood stars like Richard Gere.
A word of caution. The police have been advising the public not to go near the banks of rivers and streams in the mountains as these places can be risky due to black ice formation where motorists can’t see it, their tires can’t grip it, and their brakes don’t work properly on it.
Also government officials warned to get an advance booking of a hotel or a homestay unit before travelling as most of the hotels in the state capital Shimla, Manali, Kasauli and Dharamsala have 90 to 98 per cent occupancy till January 5.
“The occupancy in most of our properties is nearly 90 per cent. We are expecting to do a good business till the end of this week, ” the HPTDC official told IANS.
Himachal Pradesh has no high-end hotels and restaurants in far-off areas. The trend of rural homestays that was started in 2008 has been driving tourists to the interiors and they are the best option to stay and enjoy the pristine nature and snowy landscape.
The state's economy is highly dependent on tourism, besides hydroelectric power and horticulture.