Giving hope to tourists eagerly looking forward to celebrating the New Year amid snowfall in Shimla and some other places, the Meteorological Department of India’s Himachal Pradesh, on Tuesday forecast snow in the state starting January 2.
Himachal’s Shimla, which is a favourite hill station for honeymooners and tourists, is also known as the Queen of Hills.
“There are chances of snowfall in many places on 2 and 3 January as the western disturbances will be active", Manmohan Singh, Director of the MeT office in Shimla told Indian media agency IANS.
The department said there is high possibility of snowfall in tourist hotspots such as Shimla, Kufri, Narkanda, Manali, Kalpa, and Dalhousie.
Tourists in Himachal are eagerly waiting snowfall to welcome the New Year, especially after bright sunshine put a damper on Christmas this year.
"There is no significant western disturbances active in the region. Most towns in the state will witness sunny days until 28 December", Singh forecast.
Tourists from across the country have flocked to the hill state with bookings for resorts and hotels reaching maximum capacity.
"From tomorrow onwards, most of all our properties have been packed to capacity", a senior official with the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC) told the media.