Himachal Pradesh's tourist resort Manali and Shimla's nearby destinations Kufri and Narkanda were on Monday enveloped by a blanket of snow, the season's first, giving the resort and its neighbouring areas a picturesque look.
The timely snowfall has brought cheers on the faces of hoteliers.
The residents of Shimla shivered as icy winds accompanied overnight rain brought down the minimum temperature.
This was the season's first snowfall that froze Manali, Kufri, Narkanda and Kharapathar.
The hills overlooking Manali also experienced moderate spells of snow, an official of the meteorological office here told IANS.
He said the picturesque Kalpa, some 250 km from here, too experienced snow.
"High-altitude areas of Lahaul and Spiti, Chamba, Mandi, Kullu and Kinnaur districts have been experiencing snow since Sunday," he added.
"As news of the snowfall flashes across the plains, tourists will start arriving at Manali and the nearby hills -- and in Kufri, just 15 km uphill from Shimla, and Narkanda", say hoteliers.
The mountain peaks viewed from Shimla and the Dhauladhar peaks overlooking the Tibetan Buddhist leader Dalai Lama's official palace in McLeodganj near Dharamsala were also covered by a white blanket.
The other hill destinations of Dharamsala, Nahan, Chamba, Dalhousie and Mandi got rains.
The Met Office said western disturbance -- a storm system originating from the Mediterranean-Caspian Sea region and moving across the Afghanistan-Pakistan region -- will start receding in the region from Tuesday.
