After snowfall, Solang valley abuzz with tourist activities

Tribune News Service

Dipender Manta

Mandi, February 11

The Solang valley of Kullu district is abuzz with tourist activities after recent snowfall in the region. Tourists are making a beeline for the Solang valley and are enjoying skiing and paragliding.

Tourist influx likely to go up

As weather has improved, tourists are rushing to Kullu and Manali to enjoy vacation. These days room occupancy in hotels of Manali is about 40%. Now, the road is through up to Manali from Chandigarh and we are expecting an increase in tourist influx to Kullu and Manali in the coming days. — Anup Thakur, President, Kullu-Manali Paryatan Vikas Mandal

Apart from snow activities and paragliding, the tourists were also enjoying horse- riding in the region. The Anjali Mahdev shrine, situated in the Solang valley, is also attracting tourists in a large number.

Hoteliers said after recent snowfall, online enquiries for room bookings had increased and a slight increase in the tourist influx to Manali had been witnessed.

To attract tourists, the Manali Winter Games were being organised in the Solang valley from February 12 to 14. The HP Winter Games Association was organising the event in which skiing and snowboarding competitions would be held.

A tourist couple, Raj Kumar Goyal and his wife Sushmita from Delhi, who visited the Solang valley, said, “It was a great experience to visit the place and we enjoyed a lot. We took joy in skiing, paragliding and horse-riding in the valley, which was a thrilling experience for us amid the snow. The entire valley wears a white mantle, magnifying its scenic beauty.”

To attract tourists, shopkeepers had made an igloo at the Siyali Mahadev Market in Manali, where tourists clicked selfies during daytime.

Anup Thakur, president of the Kullu-Manali Paryatan Vikas Mandal, said snow was attracting tourists to Manali and Kullu. Manali and its nearby places are covered under a thick blanket of snow these days. Tourists were rushing to Solang and Kothi beyond Manali to enjoy snow.

He said the local administration had restricted the movement of tourist vehicles beyond the Solang valley towards the Atal Tunnel in view of public safety, as the highway was slippery. Only 4x4 vehicles were allowed to move towards the Atal Tunnel beyond the Solang Nullah.

“As weather improved in the past few days, tourists rushed to Kullu and Manali to enjoy their vacation. We are expecting an increase in the tourist influx to Kullu and Manali in the coming days,” he added.

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