The Darjeeling hills today received their first snowfall of the year in Tiger Hill, but the joy was short-lived as the sun came up almost immediately much to the disappointment of the locals.
Located at a height of 2,560 metres, Tiger Hill is one of the most sought-after tourist destinations, especially for its breathtaking view of the sun rising. It is also one of the coldest places in Darjeeling where temperatures hover around 1 to 2 degrees early morning and night.
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| Tourist flocks to Tiger Hill in Darjeeling after Snowfall |
Locals of the area had rushed to Tiger Hill to enjoy the snowfall when word spread it was snowing there. However, within five minutes, the sun came up to disappoint them.
“I was told it was snowing up in Tiger Hill. I think it was around 10.30 in the morning and I rushed uphill with my 11-year-old son, but sadly the sun broke through the cloud. It was the first snowfall of the year and I wanted to enjoy it with my son,” said a disappointed Bikram Pradhan.
Saturday morning was gloomy and cold as it has been for the past week, raising expectations of snowfall among locals and tourists alike.
“The snowfall started around 10.30 in the morning but it lasted for only about five minutes,” said Pradip Lama, manager of the Tiger Hills Pavilion. “The temperature throughout the day was -2 degrees in Tiger Hill but the conditions did not favour proper snowfall as the weather should be chilly, still and cloudy. But the skies were clear today.”
Sandhakhpu, which is about 61 km from Darjeeling and stands at a height of 3,636 metres, also received few minutes of snowfall today. It snowed around eight in the morning and then stopped abruptly after a few minutes.
Bharat Prakash Rai, secretary of NGO Federation of Society for Environment Protection (FOSEP), said, “I had contacted a person at Sandakhpu today and according to him, there was snowfall for a few minutes in the morning. The person also told me the sun peeped through the clouds just after a few minutes.”
The NGO works in these areas and is in constant touch with the locals there. It may be mentioned here that last year on December 13, it had snowed a little in the Sandakhphu area. Also last year on February 1, there was some snowfall in Tiger Hill, but Darjeeling town, which is situated around 6,400ft, last experienced proper snowfall way back in January 2008.
Source:EOI
