Sun shines bright in Himachal hills

Shimla: After two days of widespread snowfall, Shimla, Manali and other hill destinations on Wednesday woke up to a bright, sunny but bone-chilling day, the weather office said.

Residents of Shimla shivered as icy winds after snowfall brought down the minimum temperature to 1.9 degrees Celsius.

For the past two days, the "Queen of Hills" and its nearby destinations, including Kufri, Mashobra and Narkanda, saw the season's second significant snowfall.

Another picturesque tourist resort Manali, around 250 km from the state capital, saw a low of minus 4.4 degree Celsius amid snowy landscape.

Kalpa in Kinnaur district saw the minimum temperature at minus 4 degree, while it was minus 0.6 degree in Dalhousie and 6.6 degree in Dharamsala.

Thousands of holidaymakers, especially the young couples, have reached across the state to enjoy the Valentine Day, say members of the hospitality industry.

Snow is a big draw for tourists, especially from the plains of northern India.

"We are going to extend our stay in Shimla as its nearby tourist destinations still have a plenty of snow cover," corporate executive Sonali Nagpal from Delhi told IANS.

The mountain peaks viewed from Shimla's historic Ridge have been wrapped in a thick white blanket of snow.

Popular resort Manali and Shimla nearby destinations Kufri and Narkanda are getting a good share of tourists as the hills there have plenty of snowy landscape.

Meanwhile, traffic movement beyond Dhalli, 10 km from Shimla, which remained partially suspended for the past two days since a large stretch of the highway was under a thick blanket of snow, restored.